What to Look for in the Best Frozen Soup Dumplings
There’s no shortage of soup dumplings in grocery stores these days. However, how can you tell if you’re getting the best frozen soup dumplings without paying the price of trial and error or tasting a bunch of mediocre (or worse, dry) samples?
We’ve spent years determining what makes a soup dumpling good. These are the key components we look for.
Marks of Quality Frozen Soup Dumplings: Flavor
The best frozen soup dumplings should have a complex flavor profile—once you finish cooking them, of course. They should taste like an umami explosion that creates a unique, fuzzy feeling on the tongue with extra notes of aromatics like ginger and scallions to cut through it.
The Wrapper
The wrapper on your frozen soup dumplings should be made with high-protein flour. It creates a supple, delicate skin that won’t easily give way during the cooking process and is easy to bite into without tasting gummy.
The Meat
The meat inside a good frozen soup dumpling should be substantial, tender, and taste like you’re biting into a really tasty meatball. It shouldn’t taste like you’re biting into a piece of mystery meat. There may be some bits of fat floating around it, which is a sign that the dumpling has a good, fatty blend of meat for more flavor.
The Smooth, Comforting Broth
The broth starts as an aspic inside the dumpling that slowly melts into soup. That’s the source of the umami sensation, so it should taste substantial but delicate, with multiple flavor notes.
All the Flavor Options!
The best soup dumplings on the market offer multiple flavor options, all with quality ingredients inside. Some of our favorites include:
We have an appreciation for the classics at MìLà, but we’re also always looking for new ways to innovate. Expect a few exclusive drops with flavors like creamy corn soup or dessert flavors if you watch our social media pages closely.
What You Get in Each Bag
50 Dumplings
Many of the best-known frozen soup dumpling sellers will put just six in each box, which is barely enough to whet our appetites. That’s why we provide ours in a bag of 50 and load them up with both meat and broth.
Steamer Liners
Not everyone has cabbage leaves on hand all the time. Likewise, not every craving is worth having to cut up a circular piece of parchment paper and punch holes in it for proper ventilation.
That’s why we offer a few steamer liners in every package of our frozen soup dumplings. These liners are perforated to let the right amount of steam reach every dumpling in your steamer basket and prevent any spillage of that liquid gold broth.
A More Compact Storage Profile
In most cases, the best-known soup dumplings you’ll find in the grocery store aisles come with six dumplings in a box. They’re all kept several inches apart from each other and come in a box that’s roughly the size of a standard frozen TV dinner.
All that space in your freezer for just six measly dumplings per box? Come on now.
MìLà offers the best soup dumplings frozen in a compact bag with a storage profile that takes up the same space as that package of frozen vegetables you have yet to use. Yes, your math is correct—that’s at least eight times as many dumplings as you’d get from those guys who sell theirs with six in a box.
Where to Buy Frozen Soup Dumplings
MìLà’s frozen soup dumplings are now available in stores across the United States! However, if you’re looking for a full-size bag or want to pair it with our Chinese noodles or sauces, ordering online is always a safe bet.
We can ship our frozen soup dumplings anywhere in America, so even if you don’t live near one of our retail partners, you’ll always be able to get your XLB on.
Ready to Satisfy Your Soup Dumpling Fix?
We can ship our bags of 50 soup dumplings to you in two days or less. Order online today and let the Chinese comfort food feast begin right in your kitchen!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are Frozen Soup Dumplings Precooked?
No, our dumplings are not precooked. If you want to heat up frozen soup dumplings so they’re cooked through and safe to eat, we always recommend steaming them for at least 10 minutes with a minute to rest before you eat them.
We also don’t recommend trying to cook frozen soup dumplings in the microwave for this very reason—most microwaves can’t cook the meat safely. They’re just not ready for that jelly. Steaming them on the stove, in your rice cooker, or a pressure cooker guarantees better results.
How Do I Cook Frozen Soup Dumplings?
Follow these souper simple steps to have a restaurant-quality XLB experience in just 11 minutes:
- Bring 2–3 inches of water to a steady boil in a pan or wok
- Place a steamer liner from your bag of soup dumplings in a bamboo steamer basket
- Place up to 12 dumplings on top of the liner with a 1-inch gap between dumplings
- Steam the dumplings for 11 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat
- Rest the dumplings for one minute with the lid on, and then another minute with the lid off
- Enjoy in a dipping bowl with your favorite sauce combinations!