Chewy Chinese Dumplings

[kupkake]

I steamed some chinese dumplings I made for a party (using wonton wrappers as advised by neighborhood asian market) and they turned out chewy. Anyone know what happened?
I thought maybe I didn't steam them long enough at first but I steamed them longer and still quite a bit chewy or rubbery.
Any help or opinions greatly appreciated

Kupkake

[redace1960]

if it was potstickers, then you crowded the pan while you were cooking them off in the stock. they can't touch sides. been there, done that!

-reading this over you specified steamed dumplings. whup!
lucky you....i'm still full of.....ideas. you might have inadvertantly picked up two leaves of dough instead of one when you were making them. this is really easy to do esp. if you have wet fingers, or if the block froze a little bit while being in the cooler at the store. done that too.

[Mezzaluna]

Not enough moisture? If they dry out, the wrappers get chewy. I recommend gentle steam. Also, were the wrappers on the thick side to start with?

[kc_moses]

You need to make sure the dumpligs are wet during steaming process. Fill a spray bottle with just water, spray the dumpligs a few time during steaming process. That's all you need. Also, when bying wan ton wrap, chose the thinest version if you're going to use for steaming. If you want to fry them, chose the thicker one as it holds the filling better.

From,
Moses

[thetincook]

Also if you are making your dough from scratch you need to add boiling water to the flour for steamed dumplings. This will "kill" the gluten and result in a very tender dough.

Cold water doughs are used for boiled dumplings and potstickers.

Barbara Tropp goes into great detail about these doughs and store bought ones in The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking