Dumpling Tacos

5 from 1 vote

These dumpling tacos are such a fun change up from the classic. They are easy to whip up, everyone loves them and they make for a filling, delicious meal during the week. Perfect for a meal prep, they reheat great and the flour tortilla is lightly steamed giving it a nice dumpling texture to pair with the tasty, crispy, ground pork smashed into the pan.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Asian

Diet: Low Lactose

Servings:

Author: Bailey Rhatigan

Equipment

large skillet

Ingredients

Dumpling Mix

1 lb ground pork or ground chicken
3 green onions, chopped use the whites and the green
2 Tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
1 Tbsp brown sugar
⅓ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped more for topping
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp red pepper flakes
10-12 street taco size flour tortillas

Fresh Toppings For Smash Tacos

matchstick carrots
cucumber, diced
salted peanuts, chopped
fresh cilantro
ponzu or soy sauce for dipping optional

Instructions

Make the dumpling mixture. In a large bowl, add the ground pork, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, green onions and chopped cilantro. Mix everything together well, set aside.
Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of the pork mix to the center to the flour tortillas. Adding 2-3 tacos at a time, place them in the hot skillet, pork side down and quickly press them down firmly with a flat spatula for about 30-60 seconds. Essentially pressing the meat down to the tortilla.
Let them cook for 3 minutes and gently flip them. Once flipped, cover them with a lid and cook for another 2-3 minutes. The tortilla will steam and get nice and soft like a dumpling.
You will be working in batches, so I like to add the cooked "dumplings" to a baking sheet while I work quickly to cook the others. Add the toppings as you go, serve them fresh and dunk them in low sodium soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

Notes

If you don't like pork, no problem! use ground chicken or turkey.
You can use corn tortillas if needing to make this gluten free but I do prefer flour tortillas.
By smashing the pork mix down firmly it's forming into a thin layer so it cooks quick! and the brown sugar/soy makes it super crispy.
Eat them warm if you can! They are best served fresh out of the pan.
Optional to serve with dumpling sauce or ponzu sauce.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutrition