How to Air Fry Frozen Dumplings | Lifehacker

I air fry an incredible many issues, however they normally match into a number of particular classes: pizza, numerous greens, and rooster wings. Despite how a lot I like frozen dumplings, I’ve by no means really put them in my air fryer till at this time. Would they cook dinner by correctly? Would the feel endure? I’m joyful to report that air frying frozen dumplings works nicely, they usually’re really crispy in a brand new and thrilling approach. 

I virtually all the time have Trader Joe’s frozen dumplings in my freezer. The taste is superb in comparison with different frozen manufacturers I’ve tried (and I’ve tried so much) and a bag is pretty priced at round $4. Generally, I steam them. It’s simpler and a extra hands-off strategy than pan-frying them, and my one-bedroom residence doesn’t find yourself smelling like oil. Does this imply my days of crispy-fried dumpling pores and skin are over? Hardly.

Pan-frying frozen dumplings normally includes some monitoring to ensure the bottoms brown with out burning. Air frying your frozen dumplings is a approach to cook dinner them with so much much less consideration and even much less splatter. The result’s a moist, meaty middle and a crispy, bubbly exterior. It’s virtually like an egg roll shell, with its teeny, tiny, delicate bubbles. Here’s how you can do it. 

How to air fry frozen dumplings

1. Preheat the air fryer

Like most air fryer nibbles, this one is fast and easy. Preheat the air fryer to 320°F. Put the frozen dumplings on a dish—as many as you’d wish to cook dinner at one time with out crowding the air fryer basket. 

2. Oil ’em up

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

You can use an oil sprayer, however I ended up simply utilizing my arms. Pour a teaspoon or so of impartial oil into one cupped palm. Rub your palms collectively after which begin grabbing up the dumplings, rubbing them with oil. Make positive you coat them completely and utterly. Uncoated spots will find yourself drying out within the air fryer and end in a pasty texture. If you want extra oil, simply tip extra into one hand. 

3. Air fry the dumps

Once the air fryer is prepared, add the dumplings to the basket. Leave them an inch or so of house between one another. Cook them on the “air fry” setting for about quarter-hour. Tip them onto their sides midway by the cooking time to assist crisp the underside. 

The dumplings are a distinct expertise than pan frying, but it surely’s completely different in a great way. Instead of a crispy backside, you get a carefully blistered shell with a crunchy seam alongside the highest. The inside was nonetheless juicy, and my worries that the dense frozen middle may be chilly had been unfounded.

Save steaming for the range prime

Sadly, the air fryer isn’t any place for steaming dumplings. I did a take a look at batch with water within the air fryer basket. I dipped every dumpling in water to moisten the shell and loaded them in. Although steam develops, the machine is well-ventilated, and it’s not sufficient to really steam the meaty pockets; the shells find yourself drying out. You’ll get extra tender dumplings by simply steaming them in a pot on the range.