Frozen Chinese dumplings that you like?

[racer x]

Simple enough: looking for brands of frozen Chinese dumplings (with meat or seafood) that taste good.
When I lived in Queens NYC, I had no trouble finding good frozen dumplings at local asian grocery stores. The frozen dumplings I've tried from local asian grocery stores where I now live have been pretty vile. There are a bunch of different brands to choose from, and I keep making the wrong choices.

Can you help me narrow down the choices?

[linguafood]

OK, I went to the Asian market today and couldn't find the ones I usually get. I bought two different kinds - pork, shrimp & leek, and chicken, vegetable, and black mushroom. Brand is wei chuan. I'll let ya know as soon as I try them!

[boogiebaby]

I buy the Prime Food brand from my asisn market. I usually get the pork mini buns and the pork and cabbage dumplings, but they have other flavors too (DH is mildly allergic to shrimp, so that rules out the shrimp ones in our house).

[coll]

The best pre-made Chinese dumplings or noodles I've ever had are made by Twin Marquis, they are made in Brooklyn but are distributed nationwide. Their dumplings and spring roll/egg rolls are sold under the name Chef One, and their "natural" line is sold under the name Tangs. They also make the buns but you don't see them everywhere.

[lilmomma]

I like the Ling Ling dumplings from Costco.

[justanotherpenguin]

2nd ling ling.

[luckyfatima]

I also like Ling Ling from Costco. Of course fresh tastes better, no question. But if you have to use frozen, these are the best I have tried. They are a bit waterlogged, but much less than other brands which are mushy to the point of being gross. I think what makes them better than others is also that the filling is well seasoned, not just bland mush.

I boil them for 6 minutes (when they start to float), not 8 as suggested on the bag. I let them cool completely, spraying them with non-stick cooking spray so that they don't stick together. Then I pan sear them with non-stick cooking spray. They come with a decent dipping sauce in the bag as well, to which I add a tiny bit of water because it is a tad too strong, a droplet of sesame oil, cilantro, chopped green chiles, and chopped green onions. A bit of care taken and doctoring up yielded very good results for me with Ling Ling dumplings.

I served them with the soy dipping sauce as well as some Nepalese style momo tomato-Szechuan peppercorn chutney that day in the pic I took.

[Caroline1]

You might try my way... I arrange the dumplings in a spiral pattern in an 8" non-stick fry pan, then add a couple of tablespoons of water (depends on what else I add), and a scant teaspoon of sesame oil. Sometimes I add some of the dipping sauce, sometimes ShaoXing wine, sometimes sake, sometimes mirin, sometimes soy sauce. Whim of the moment kind of thing. Then I bring it to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover for about three or four minutes, then remove the cover and let the liquid cook down until the dumplings are browned on the bottom. Nice and chewy bottoms, great flavor, and only one pot! I haven't tried the Costco dumplings, but I have tried brands other than Ajinomoto, but always come back to them.

[luckyfatima]

Mmmmh, that sounds interesting. I'll give it a try.

[Breezychow]

Another vote for "Ling Ling". In fact, around here we can get them at regular supermarkets as well as at Costco.

Sometimes we just enjoy them boiled & soft; other times I do the "pot sticker" thing - either way they're pretty darn good.

[gmm]

For Chinese dumplings, I like Wei-Chuan brand. They make several different flavors as well as a line labeled "High-End Dumpling Series." Not exactly sure how they differ from the standard line. Not asian, but I also like Safeway's vegetable potstickers, and Trader Joe's Thai Shrimp Gyoza.

[Caroline1]

Hmmm... I see you now live in Miami. Well, if you have a Sam's Club nearby and the type of dumplings you're looking for are the ones commonly called "pot stickers" Sam's Club carries the Ajinomoto brand which are very good. Better than some restaurants and at least as good as most.

For the stuffed yeast bun type dumplings, I have a whole bunch in my freezer but can't tell you the brand name of a single one of them. They are made in China, and the labels are all in Chinese. I get them at 99 Ranch Market, a large California chain of Asian markets that is expanding across the country. They've reached me here in the Dallas area, but I don't think they've reached Florida yet. You might check on where the largest concentration of Asians live in the Miami area and go to the markets in those neighborhoods. The freezer sections will likely be a gold mine. Good luck!

[racer x]

Caroline, I've been getting the dumplings from the asian markets here. The problem is I don't know which brands to choose.

[linguafood]

Arrgh. Don't have any in the freezer now, but there's a brand that makes really tasty dumplings - one is with pork and green peas. Next time I'm at the Asian market, I'll check out the brand name.