Thai Basil Chicken Dumplings With Rice Paper Wrappers
Updated Feb. 17, 2026
- Total Time
- 1 hour 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup soy sauce
- 6tablespoons sugar
- 6tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 2 to 10bird’s-eye chiles (depending on your heat preference), thinly sliced (see Tips)
- 2garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1pound napa cabbage, cored and finely chopped
- 2medium shallots, finely chopped
- 2¼teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal), divided
- 2cups basil leaves, preferably Thai basil
- 2garlic cloves
- 1bird’s-eye or serrano chile
- 1pound ground chicken, preferably dark meat (92 or 93 percent lean)
- 2tablespoons fish sauce
- 2teaspoons sugar
- 1teaspoon cornstarch
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 12(8- to 9-inch) round dried rice paper wrappers (see Tips)
- Grapeseed or canola oil, for shallow frying
For the Sauce
For the Dumplings
Nutritional analysis per serving (40 servings)
48 calories; 1 gram fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 268 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the sauce: Heat the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, chiles and garlic in a small saucepan over medium, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and divide the sauce among small sauce dishes or bowls. (The chiles and garlic are not meant to be eaten, but impart their flavor to the sauce.)
- Step 2
Prepare the dumplings: Toss the cabbage and shallots with 2 teaspoons salt in a colander and set in the sink to drain for 10 minutes.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, chop the basil, then very finely chop the garlic and chile (seeded if desired, for mild heat). Combine in a large bowl and add the chicken, fish sauce, sugar, cornstarch, black pepper and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Step 4
Using your hand, squeeze the cabbage mixture in the colander to remove as much liquid as possible. Add to the bowl with the chicken, then mix all the ingredients with your hand until very well blended.
- Step 5
Set up an assembly line: Fill a large, wide bowl or pie plate with room-temperature water and place it next to the package of rice paper wrappers. Set a cutting board and sharp kitchen scissors next to that, then place the bowl of filling, a spoon and a sheet pan lined with parchment paper next to that. Set a paper towel-lined rack next to the stove.
- Step 6
Dip a rice paper wrapper in the water to evenly wet it; it should be barely pliable. Use the scissors to cut it in quarters and space each quarter apart on the cutting board. Put a rounded tablespoon of filling in the center of each quarter and pat the filling into a 1½-inch round (scant ½ inch tall). Pull the sides of the wrapper over the filling to encase it completely, overlapping the wrapper on top. It’s OK if a wrapper completely sticks to itself or tears apart and you have to throw it away; that’s why you have extras. Place the wrapped dumplings on the prepared sheet pan, spacing an inch apart. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
- Step 7
Pan-fry in batches: Heat a large nonstick or very well seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Add enough oil to coat the bottom to an ⅛-inch depth. When it shimmers and slides, carefully add some of the dumplings, spacing them an inch apart. Don’t crowd the pan. Cook until the bottoms are browned, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip carefully and cook until the other sides are opaque, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer to the paper towel-lined rack. Repeat with the remaining dumplings, wiping out the skillet and replacing and reheating the oil as needed. Lower the heat if the wrappers brown too quickly; some wrappers may not brown.
- Step 8
Serve hot or warm with the dipping sauce. Rice wrappers are quite sticky, so space the dumplings apart on the serving plate.
- Bird’s-eye chiles, sometimes labeled Thai chiles, are red or green little peppers that pack a lot of heat for their size. Beyond contributing spiciness, red ones have a fruitiness and green ones taste a little vegetal. To enjoy their complexity of flavor with hardly any heat, you can cut a slit in a single chile to simmer with the sauce. If you can’t find these small chiles, substitute other very hot chiles, such as serrano for a green taste or habanero for a fruity one.
- Dried rice paper rounds are known as bánh tráng in Vietnamese and now are also made by companies that label them dried spring roll wrappers. They can be found online, among other Asian ingredients in many general supermarkets and at Asian groceries. Vietnamese brands tend to be thinner and may tear more easily, but also come in larger packs, so you can simply start over if the paper tears too much.
- Make ahead: The dumplings can be assembled (through Step 6), then spaced an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined plate or pan and frozen until very firm. Once the dumplings are hard, transfer to a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook as in Step 7, but cover the pan with a lid as ice crystals will cause the hot oil to splatter.
Private Notes
Comments
Made these with my 11yo for Lunar New Year. We cheated and used a food processor for all of the chopping. They were delicious and so easy to make. A great starter dumpling!
@Kim you can lightly spray them with oil and air fryer them too. That might help if the range hood doesn’t pull enough air. (Also starting the range hood a good 5-6 minutes before you start cooking helps!).
It sounds like your oil may have gotten too hot, past its smoke point, and burned, which can smell quite rancid. It should be shimmery before you add the dumplings, but not smoking or close to smoking. If it starts to smoked, turn the heat down to medium. Hope that helps!
Great base recipe as a spring board for a million variations, especially if you have the chicken and rice paper and nothing else. I used some leftover grilled Hokkaido pumpkin, barely cooked fresh baby spinach and cilantro leaves and the little fried bundles came out super special. I added more acid to the dipping sauce as lime and sour, fish sauce.It too was perfect. Such an easy and tasty light dinner. The drink was your mocktail Negroni. Perfetto! Grazie.
Yes, it's messy, but these were amazing! First time making dumplings. My subs were savoy cabbage, regular basil, TJ's Calabrian Chili Sauce for the Thai peppers, because that's what I had available. The video is super helpful, and the dipping sauce is fantastic! Thank you, Genevieve Ko!
I just made this subbing in ground salmon for the chicken. It worked great! I think the key peice to this recipe that surprised me is just that you need a lot more vegetable than you think because it shrinks so much. You really can’t add too much basil.