Homemade frozen dumplings in East Bay?

[alcoholic29]

Just moved up from LA. Down there I knew some lady who made various dumplings from home. She would freeze them and then sell them to friends and acquitances. That way I could take them home and cook it whenever I wanted. She eventually opened a restuarant and continued to sell them from there. Anyone know some where I can get decent frozen dumplings in the East Bay? Was told of a place in SF chinatown but it's a bit of hassle for me to get out there. I want to avoid those boxed dumplings from supermarkets.

[PeterL]

I know this woman who does this at home. There are probably a whole army of them somewhere in the bay area who does this. Most of them you'll have to be able to speak Mandarin to do business with. However, most restaurants that sell dumplings will sell them in bulk (bags of 50 usually). When you find a restaurant you like, just ask them.

[kc72]

The fridge/freezer at the front of Great Szechuan in the Pacific East Mall had some this past weekend.

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Great Szechuan (closed)
3288 Pierce St, Richmond, CA

[iwantmytwodollars]

If you are out near Walnut Creek, then I would check out the frozen to-go case at Shanghai Gourmet for bagged dumplings. (And while you're there, maybe the fresh to-go case for smoked chicken and bean curd sheets stuffed with lily flowers.)

[alcoholic29]

Thanks for the info. I'll try out Yuen Hop and see how their dumplings are. Glad there is a place. I was starting to think that I'd have to make my own dumplings. Haven't done that for years.

[daveena]

I usually get them from Yuen Hop - I think it's around $9 for 50 dumplings? I'm not sure - the bags aren't marked, and I've never actually counted. It's a big bag, though, I've always felt I got a lot for the money. They're good - big dumplings with good handmade wrappers. They actually taste a lot like the ones I've had at Shan Dong,

Shanghai Restaurant has frozen xiao long bao - I've never bought them, but I've heard good things about them.

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Shanghai Restaurant
930 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94607

Shan Dong Mandarin Restaurant
328 10th St, Oakland, CA 94607

Yuen Hop
824 Webster St, Oakland, CA

[Xiao Yang]

Shanghai Restaurant also sells frozen shui jiao, or used to.

I didn't know about Yuen Hop. I think Shan Dong's price for 55(?) shui jiao was in the double digits several years ago, so they are probably markedly more expensive than Yuen Hop.

[kc72]

Is Yuen Hop on the same block or next to Asian Health Services?

[daveena]

Exactly - it's right next door to Asian Health Services. They dumplings are usually in the furthest freezer section, on the bottom shelf.

[bellatrx]

Does anyone know how to properly cook the frozen dumplings from Yuen Hop? Is the meat in them pre-cooked? How long must they be boiled/steamed/sauteed?

(thanks from a dumpling novice!)

[Chandavkl]

They're raw. Various ways to cook them. I take a dozen frozen, put them in a no stick pan with oil and a half cup of water, cover and cook until the water is gone and the dumplings are browned. Probably takes 10 to 15 minutes.

[daveena]

I usually boil them - 7 minutes seems to do the trick, if I'm using a big pot with a lot of water. Chandavkl's technique is good too, esp since the thick wrappers brown really nicely and don't fall apart.

[PeterL]

The meat is never pre-cooked. For boiling, the method endorsed by the Association of Chinese Mothers is this: Bring pot of water to boil, put in frozen dumplings, bring water to boil again, put in one cup of cold water, bring to boil again, do this three times (3 cups of cold water). For pan frying, I use a covered non-stick electric frying pan, preferably with an air vent. Heat pan to 370 with oil, put in dumpling (or pot sticker), fry for about 5 minutes, put in a cup of water/vinegar mix, reduce heat to 350, cover and cook until liquid evaporated (about another 10 min.), dumplings are done.

[Xiao Yang]

What type of dumplings are you looking for? I'd assume shui jiao, and you can get them at Shan Dong Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown, but your use of the word "boxed" makes me wonder.

[alcoholic29]

Shui Jiao is exactly what I want. I used the word 'boxed' as the dumplings I want to avoid. I'm Chinese, i want the authentic stuff.

I just looked up the website for Shan Dong. I don't see any prices for frozen dumplings.

[Xiao Yang]

I wondered because frozen shui jiao are usually bagged, and some other types of larger dumplings or baozi are "boxed". ;-)

I don't know Shan Dong's current price because I haven't been there in while (I get mine at King of Chinese Dumplings in San Francisco) but I'm sure someone in the East Bay will chime in.

[courtneyp]

Shan Dong's dumplings are around $25 for a bag, which I think holds 50 dumplings.

[Marc Wallace]

It also depends on whether you want sauce or not. Minus sauce it was $21 the last time; with "just some" sauce $24, with the normal amount (good for 1.5 bags at my rate of consumption) $26. But their price does vary.

12-packs of dumplings there are around $7.

(Yes, I buy a lot of dumplings from them for when I come home exhausted from work.)