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There are two kinds of TikTok food trends: the ones that look good on your phone and quietly disappoint on your plate – and the ones that make you wonder why you weren’t cooking like this all along. Dumpling lasagne, improbably, falls into the latter.
Racking up millions of views (more than 12.6m on one video alone), it takes the bones of a soup dumpling – seasoned mince, ginger, garlic, soy – and rebuilds them into something altogether simpler. No pleating, no folding, no fiddling with dough at the kitchen counter. Instead, wonton wrappers are layered like pasta sheets, stacked with filling and steamed into a soft, juicy slab that slices like lasagne but eats like dumplings.
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all… you haven’t,” says Mimi Morley, senior recipe development manager at HelloFresh. “But I can’t deny how delicious this latest creation is.
“It’s genius! For a busy weeknight, it’s a fantastic way to get those complex ginger and sesame flavours without spending 40 minutes folding dough.”
It taps neatly into a broader shift towards Asian-inspired comfort food, where sticky beef bowls and hyizas have quietly become weeknight staples.
There is, however, a catch. Get the moisture wrong and you’re left with something dense and claggy rather than silky and broth-laced. The trick is keeping things juicy, says Morley. “I’d recommend adding two to three tablespoons of high-quality chicken stock mixed with a pinch of gelatin (available at most supermarkets in the baking aisle) into each layer to ensure the lasagne stays juicy,” she adds. “Additionally, standard wonton and gyoza wrappers are thinner than pasta sheets, so make sure to double up on the layers to ensure a satisfying bite.”
Do it right and you get all the pleasure of dumplings, with none of the labour. Which, for a Tuesday night, feels like a small miracle.
Dumpling lasagne
A weeknight-friendly way to get all the flavours of dumplings without the folding. Steamed rather than baked, it’s soft, juicy and layered with ginger, garlic and sesame.
Ingredients:
450g pork mince
4 spring onions, finely sliced (whites and greens)
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 tsp chilli crisp (plus extra to serve)
A splash of rice vinegar
¾ tsp white pepper (or black pepper)
1-2 tbsp chicken stock (or water)
Wonton or dumpling wrappers
Small bowl of water
To serve:
Soy sauce or tamari
Chilli crisp
Spring onions
Sesame seeds
Method:
1. Make the filling: in a bowl, combine the pork mince, spring onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, chilli crisp, rice vinegar and pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined.
2. Build the layers: lightly dip each wonton wrapper in water, then line the base of a small baking dish or ramekins. Add a thin layer of the pork mixture, then repeat – wrappers, pork, wrappers – until used up. Finish with a layer of wrappers.
3. Add moisture: pour over 1-2 tablespoons of chicken stock or water to keep everything juicy as it steams.
4. Steam: place the dish in a steamer, cover and cook for 25 minutes until the pork is cooked through and the layers are tender. (No steamer? Sit the dish in a pan with a little water, cover tightly and steam that way.)
5. Finish and serve: drizzle with soy sauce and chilli crisp, then scatter over spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot.
Recipe inspired by @heresyourbite. Subscribe to her newsletter here
Dining and Cooking