As the saying goes, "Dumplings are easy to eat, but hard to cook." During the cooking process, the dumpling wrappers often stick together, and may even break. How can these problems be solved?
If you're cooking homemade dumplings, you can add a little salt to the water. This is because the dissolved salt will cause the proteins in the starch of the dumpling wrapper to coagulate, reducing their stickiness. This makes the cooked dumplings less likely to break or stick. The specific method is to bring the water to a boil, add a small amount of salt, wait for the salt to completely dissolve, and then add the dumplings. If salt was already added during the dough-making process, it's best not to add more when cooking.
Another way to solve the sticking problem is to add a small spoonful of oil to the boiling water before cooking the dumplings. The oil will float on the water, and once the dumplings float to the surface, their wrappers will be coated with a layer of oil, which acts as a protective film, preventing them from sticking together. However, you shouldn't drink too much of the broth cooked this way, as it can easily lead to excessive calorie intake.
The wrappers of many frozen dumplings, especially at the pleats, can be difficult to cook through, and may end up being undercooked. Therefore, it's best to cook them using the "three-boil" method. This means bringing the water to a boil three times after adding the dumplings, adding a spoonful of cold water each time. After adding the dumplings, when the water first comes to a boil, add a spoonful of cold water and put the lid on the pot (after it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low to prevent undercooking). When the water boils and the dumplings float for the second and third times, add cold water again, but this time with the lid off to let the steam escape. The boiling water gradually transfers heat to the dumplings, causing them to tumble continuously, which ensures the outer wrappers are heated evenly and are less likely to break.