Dumplings are one of the most beloved and popular dishes, distinguished by their unique characteristics for each country. Russia has long been considered the birthplace of the dish, but the very first dumplings were made in China. What are dumplings with fish called? It turns out that the name of the dish comes from the word “pelnyani”, consisting of “pel” - ear, “nyan” - dough.
What names do dumplings have?
Dumplings have conquered all corners of the world, in each of which they acquired their own name, shape, and recipe. Ravioli is considered to be an Italian dish. They can be boiled and fried, stuffed with meat, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits. Wontons are one of the many types of Chinese dumplings made from chicken, pork, shrimp, fish, cabbage, mushrooms and fruits.
Modak - Indian dumplings made from rice flour, coconut pulp, palm sugar, steamed or fried in oil. Khinkali are Georgian dumplings in the form of a bag of dough with meat filling and broth inside. Dim sum are translucent Chinese dumplings made from rice dough and various types of fillings.
Currently, fish dumplings are not inferior to meat dumplings in popularity. Fish is a lighter filling option, but just as filling. It has a reserve of substances valuable to the body: iodine, phosphorus, polyunsaturated fatty acids. There is a wide variety of fish varieties, so fish dumplings never get boring.
Secrets of selecting fish for minced meat
There are fatty and lean varieties of fish, bony and practically boneless. It is preferable to use fillets of marine varieties: hake, pollock, sea bass, catfish, pangasius, pink salmon. They do not contain as many bones as river fish. For connoisseurs of delicious river fish, you should prefer pike, pike perch, burbot, and catfish. They contain the least amount of bones. The main varieties of fish for minced meat and the subtleties of its preparation for dumplings:
- Chum salmon, pink salmon. The fish has medium fat content, with medium fibrous meat. Females have less fat content than males, so lard is added to the minced meat;
- Pike, zander. The fish has dense scales that are difficult to clean. The pike is cleaned using a fish scaler in the form of a fine grater. It is very difficult to clean pike perch, so the skin is removed and thrown away. The presence of many small bones requires the use of a meat grinder. After separating the tail, ridge, fins and ribs, the fillet is passed through a meat grinder twice. Pike and pike perch meat is slightly dry, so lard or onion fried in oil is added to the minced meat;
- Salmon, trout. This is a very tasty fish without small bones. Therefore, the recipe does not require any special tricks. Minced meat is prepared from finely chopped salmon or trout fillet, onion and spices;
- Som. This fish has a large amount of fat, most of which is concentrated in the tail. Therefore, cooking minced meat does not require adding additional fats, just spices and onions.
The main condition for creating good minced fish is softness and uniformity. Minced fish goes well with chicken, vegetables, cheese, and mushrooms.
Why is a whole carcass better than fillet?
Of course, there is always a temptation to buy ready-made frozen fillets (especially since they defrost quickly) and immediately start cooking without wasting time on cutting. But dumplings with minced fish are still better prepared from whole fish. What are its advantages:
How to cut fish
- Clean the thawed carcass from scales with a regular sharp knife or fish scaler, starting from the tail. It is equally convenient to peel with a serrated paring knife. Make sure there are no scales left on the belly or around the fins.
- Gut the carcass: insert the tip of a sharp knife into the anus and make a cut up to the head, without plunging the knife too deep so as not to damage the gall bladder (otherwise the meat will become bitter).
- Carefully remove the insides without squeezing them. Separate the liver and fat strips. Remove the black film, if any, from the walls of the abdominal cavity.
- Using kitchen scissors, remove the gills from the head and rinse the carcass in running water. Separate the head, tip of the tail and fins - they will be useful for the broth.
- Make the fillet: use a long knife to run from head to tail along the spine, thus separating one half of the carcass. Then use the same motion to separate the second fillet. Remove the ribs with your fingers or tweezers (of course, you can simply cut them off along with part of the peritoneum, but we don’t want to throw away the tender belly meat).
- The skin can be removed, but not necessarily (there is a lot of tasty fat underneath).
Dumplings with red fish (for example, salmon or pink salmon) are well complemented with soy sauce. It can be added directly to the minced meat or served separately with ready-made dumplings.
Step by step recipe
This is a classic recipe for fish dumplings, known to everyone since childhood. Test components:
- wheat flour - 2 cups (preferably with a reserve);
- 150 ml water;
- a couple of pinches of salt.
Minced meat components:
- fish fillet - 500 g;
- onion head;
- lard - 100 g;
- one egg;
- a piece of butter;
- a couple of pinches of salt;
- black pepper (ground) to taste.
For cooking:
- water - 1.5 l;
- a pair of bay leaves;
- butter - 1 tbsp. l.;
- pepper (peas) - a couple of pieces.
Cooking time: 2-3 hours; calorie content - 350 kcal/100 g.
Algorithm for preparing dough and minced meat for dumplings:
- the sifted flour is poured onto the table in a heap;
- a depression is made in the center of the flour slide, into which you need to gradually pour warm water;
- salt is added and the stiff dough is thoroughly kneaded. Its consistency should be elastic, smooth, and easy to roll out;
- The finished dough is covered with film and a moistened towel to prevent venting. Leave for half an hour.
- You can start preparing the filling. Thawed fillet and peeled onions are chopped together. Lard, egg, and butter are added to the resulting mass.
- minced meat is seasoned with pepper and salt.
Making dumplings with fish:
- A piece is separated from the dough and a layer no more than 2 mm thick is rolled out. The surface of the table should be sprinkled with flour to prevent the dough from sticking;
- The layer is divided into squares or circles using a glass;
- Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of each of them, so that there is dough left for pinching the edges;
- The dough scraps are covered with a moistened cloth to prevent it from venting;
- Each of the squares with filling in the center is folded diagonally (circles in half). The edges are pinched and the corners are overlapped together.
To take the sample, put water (1.5 l) on the fire. After boiling, add a couple of laurel leaves, a couple of peppercorns, you can add 1 tbsp. l. butter. Dumplings are laid out gradually in boiling water to avoid sticking. 3 minutes after surfacing they can be removed.
Fish dumplings with pink salmon
Well, now you can start preparing dumplings. To do this, you need to acquire the following set of products: To make the dough:
- flour - 3-4 cups (you may need a little more);
- water – 250 ml;
- vegetable oil, preferably olive oil – 4 tablespoons;
- salt – level teaspoon.
To make minced meat:
- pink salmon meat – 500 g;
- onion – 1 head;
- starch - 1.5 tablespoons;
- lemon juice - from 0.5 lemon;
- ground red pepper and salt - to taste.
Mix vegetable oil, salt and water in a bowl, and then start adding flour to this mixture. Stir the mixture with a spoon, and when it becomes thick enough, knead it with your hands. Add flour until the dough becomes soft and elastic. After this, it must be kneaded properly. Scroll the prepared fish fillet through a meat grinder, along with onion pieces. Salt the mixture, add red pepper, starch and lemon juice, mix well. Divide the dough into several parts. Roll each part into a layer of small thickness and cut circles from it. The easiest way to do this is the old fashioned way - using a glass. Place the filling in the center of each circle and form dumplings. Prepared semi-finished products can be immediately sent to boiling water lightly seasoned with salt. Cook for 5 minutes after boiling. You can serve pink salmon dumplings with butter or sour cream.
Dumplings with red fish
This recipe is good for any type of red fish: pink salmon, chum salmon, salmon, trout. Test components:
- 2 tbsp. flour;
- 1 tbsp. cold boiled or bottled water;
- 5 tbsp. l. vegetable (olive) oil;
- salt - to taste.
Components used for filling:
- red fish fillet - about 1 kg;
- lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.;
- parsley, dill, onion - to taste;
- spices, salt - to taste;
- starch - a couple of tbsp. l.
Cooking time: 2-3 hours; calorie content - 250 kcal/100 g.
The cooking algorithm is the same as for previous dumplings.
Dough for dumplings
Flour, water and salt are all the ingredients needed for this classic dish. Although some housewives add vegetable oil. Then the homemade dough for dumplings turns out to be more elastic.
First, sift 3 tbsp into a bowl. flour. You should end up with a small slide where you need to make a depression. Pour 1 tsp there. salt and gradually pour in 1 tbsp. water. Now you need to knead the dough so that it doesn’t fall apart during cooking.
Much depends on the quality of flour. Therefore, 3 cups is an approximate proportion. You may need less flour than called for in the recipe. Homemade dumpling dough should be stiff, but not too tight. Don't hammer it too hard. If it doesn’t stick to your hands, it means it’s ready. Now place the ball of dough in a dry, clean container and cover with cling film.
Sometimes sour cream is added to the dough to add tenderness. Some people like to lay eggs. Although the chefs do not recommend it. Indeed, in this case the dough becomes tougher. As a result, the dumplings will not turn out soft and tender.
How to cook lazy fish dumplings
Making dumplings takes a lot of time. But there is a quick and easy way that is accessible even to a novice cook. Set of ingredients for the dough:
- flour - 410 g;
- water - 2/3 cup;
- salt.
Filling components:
- minced fish - 450 g;
- one large onion;
- spices, salt - to taste.
For cooking you will also need laurel (a couple of leaves), herbs, butter, sour cream or sauce.
Cooking time: 2-3 hours; calorie content - 250 kcal/100 g.
Filling for dumplings with fish and mushrooms
Products:
• minced fish – 300 gr.; • lard – 60 gr.; • dry porcini mushrooms – 80 gr.; • spices.
For it, you can take ready-made minced fish or make it yourself. Chop the chilled fish fillet and onion. To make the minced meat more satisfying and juicy, add a little lard (1/5 of the weight of the fish). Use spices at your discretion.
Soak dry porcini mushrooms in water and rinse well. Boil for 5-10 minutes, chop and add to the minced meat.
Recipe for fish dumplings in broth
Dumplings cooked in a clear, aromatic broth can become the main dish not only of an everyday meal, but also of a holiday table. For the broth, you can use a head without gills, skin, or a ridge from a purchased whole fish. For broth, you can purchase a fish head separately, and for minced meat, fillet. Ingredients required for the broth:
- fish head, skin, ridge - 400 g;
- carrots, parsnips - 100 g each;
- leek - 1 pc.;
- allspice - 5 pcs.;
- salt - 1 tsp;
- dill - 40 g.
Test components:
- wheat flour - 500 g;
- salt - half a tsp;
- one egg.
Ingredients for minced meat:
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- halibut and cod fillet - 200 g each;
- one head of onion.
Cooking time: 2-3 hours; calorie content - 250 kcal/100 g.
Algorithm for preparing broth:
- The fish is placed in a pan and filled with cold water.
- The heat is turned high to quickly bring it to a boil. Foam is removed as it appears.
- Then the heat is turned to minimum, so that the broth is cooked on the verge of boiling. After adding vegetables, salt, spices, it needs to be cooked for 1.5 to 2 hours.
Preparation of the dough:
- Flour for the dough should be sifted. Add 200 ml of water, salt, egg to it;
- Steep dough is kneaded;
- After this, you need to cover the dough ball with film and leave it to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
How to make minced meat:
- A finely chopped onion is placed in a blender along with pieces of fish fillet. You should get a coarsely chopped fish mass;
- Add some salt. Add chopped fresh dill. The stems can be added to the broth. Mix.
After this, dumplings are formed. Rows of ready-made dumplings are placed on a board sprinkled with flour. After this, they can be frozen and used as needed. Fish broth can also be frozen after straining. Some of the prepared dumplings are dipped into boiling fish broth and cooked until they float to the surface. Cooked dumplings are good both on their own and in broth. Sour cream is added to taste.
Fish dumplings recipe
First of all, the housewife must decide what kind of fish she will use to prepare the dish. The most delicious recipe is made with salmon, salmon and pike products. The meat of this fish is endowed with a pronounced taste and excellent juiciness. To make the dish really tasty, you should add a lot of onion and a little butter to the filling to add fat to the minced meat.
To prepare you will need:
- half a kilo of pike;
- a little oil;
- 3 onions;
- salt and seasonings.
To prepare the dough, take:
- 200 ml water at room temperature;
- half a kilo of flour;
- a pinch of salt.
If desired, add a little garlic and fresh herbs to the filling.
Preparation:
- The recipe for making fish dumplings at home begins with kneading the dough. In a basin or bowl, mix salt, water and flour. It is important to sift it first so that the flour is saturated with oxygen and becomes lighter.
- Little by little we begin to knead the dough. Then add a little flour to the bowl (on the sides and, if possible, the bottom) and continue kneading. An additional pinch of flour is needed to stop the dough from sticking to the plate.
- Transfer the dough to a table or flat surface, sprinkled with flour in advance, and continue kneading the product to prepare fish dumplings. As a result, you will get a dense lump that will not fall apart.
- Important: the finished dough for pike dumplings is tight. To allow the product to “ripen” a little and rest, wrap the lump in film and place it in a bowl. The product should stand for at least half an hour: during this time the dough will become softer and more elastic.
- While the dough sits, prepare the fish filling. Place the thawed minced meat in a bowl (if the fish is whole, cut the pike along the ridge, remove the bone and twist the fillet using a meat grinder).
- Peel the onion and grind it using a blender. Then salt and pepper the minced meat, add the onion mixture and mix the ingredients thoroughly. That's all - the fish filling is ready (mince with salmon should be lightly poured with oil).
- The next step required by the recipe is rolling out the dough. To do this, sprinkle flour on the table and use a rolling pin to roll out the product very thin.
- Using a glass, cut out small circles of the size you imagine the dumplings to be. We steal the filling into the middle of each circle (it is advisable to do this with a small spoon so as not to overdo it). Now we fill the dough: to do this, fold it and seal the edges, lightly pressing the filling. Important: the edges must be carefully sealed so that the products do not fall apart during cooking.
- We connect the edges of the product together so that the fish dumplings acquire a round shape.
- Place the finished products on a wooden board, previously sprinkled with flour. If you are not going to cook the dish at this moment, the fish dumplings can be frozen.
READ: Preparing minced meat for dumplings
This recipe for fish (pike) dumplings is prepared 5 minutes after the water boils.
Submission rules and other tricks
Ready-made fish fillets are easier and faster to use. But minced fish for dumplings is best made from whole fish. It does not have a thick ice crust and is cheaper. Ungutted fish can be with caviar, which perfectly complements the minced meat. The head, tail, fins and spine are used to make a delicious fish stock. If the minced meat turns out to be excessively wet, squeeze it out before using.
Re-frozen raw fish products have reduced nutritional value. If the minced meat has already thawed and the making of dumplings is postponed, then you can simmer it, place it in a container and put it in the refrigerator. Semi-finished products made for future use are subjected to quick dry freezing (-18 degrees). Store in an airtight container, maximum shelf life is 30 days. Re-freezing dumplings is also not recommended.
Dumplings with fish filling are traditionally served with sour cream. If the minced meat is made from red fish, then it is good to use soy sauce. You can add it to minced meat or serve with ready-made dumplings.
Fish dumplings are good for those who are on a diet or have problems with the heart and blood vessels. These dumplings can be eaten during religious fasting. They turn out tender and juicy, and the variety of fish varieties allows you to create a new taste every time.
Pink salmon filling
This is a very tender and soft fish. Therefore, try to cut it carefully, as it may break into small pieces. To make delicious dumplings with minced fish, you first need to remove all the bones. Then cut off the fins, head and tail. Remove the skin from the fish. To do this, make a small cut on the back. The peel comes off quickly and easily. Pink salmon is notable for the fact that it can be cut in 5 minutes, since it does not contain small bones. Now start preparing the filling itself.
Fillet (1 kg) can be cut or ground through a meat grinder. It all depends on your preferences. As mentioned above, it is not necessary to add lard, since pink salmon is a moderately fatty fish. Grind or finely chop two large onions into the same fillet. Pink salmon fish dumplings turn out more delicious if you add a little lemon juice to the minced meat.
Mix the ingredients well. If desired, you can finely chop 2 cloves of garlic to add flavor. And of course, don’t forget about pepper and salt, which will bring the filling to taste. Now you can make dumplings with fish. You already know how to prepare minced meat and dough, all that remains is to combine everything correctly.
