Soup dumplings are a quintessential cozy comfort food, and as temperatures plummet across the U.S., one creator's now-viral recipe for a deconstructed version dubbed "Chinese lasagna" is gaining serious acclaim on social media.
"I definitely did not expect this recipe to go viral," athletic entrepreneur and content creator April Liang told ABC News. "I'm half Chinese and half Salvadorian, so I’ve always loved big, bold flavors. As an athlete, the typical chicken and rice routine wasn’t cutting it, so about two years ago, I started cooking food that actually excited me while still fueling my training."
In just two weeks, Liang has racked up more than 113K likes on Instagram and an additional 125K on TikTok for her Chinese lasagna recipe, inspiring thousands more to make it for themselves.
"It’s been really fun seeing creators I admire, even outside the food space, comment on it or try their own versions," she said.
Fellow home cooks and top food creators alike have tested out the recipe hack, including Nicole Modic of KaleJunkie and Alexa Santos of Alexawhatsfordinner who called it "one of the coolest food ideas" she's ever seen.
"Everyone loves dumplings but not the time it takes to properly wrap them. This trend makes it so easy to enjoy dumplings in no time, requires zero dumpling wrapping skills, plus its more fun because it’s got fun lasagna-like layers," Modic told ABC News. "My boys are obsessed with these and so am I."
"The Chinese 'lasagna' came from seeing these soup meat bowls online, and when I tried it, it felt like too much meat and no veggies, so my husband suggested layering it. That’s how this version was born," Liang told ABC News. "The fun part is you can use any dumpling filling you love and make it your own."
The small serving uses a mini casserole dish, which Liang said can feed two people.
Ingredients
Ground Pork Mixture:
1/2 pound ground pork
1 thinly sliced green onion
1 heaping teaspoon of chicken bouillon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cooking wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1/3 cup water or more
Directions
Once you mix up your meat mixture, layer up your soup bowl with ground pork, cabbage, double-layer wonton wrap (you can add more or fewer layers).
Once you get to the top, add 1/3 cup of water (you can add more if you want more broth).
Then top off with another layer of wonton wrap.
Steam and boil for 20 minutes, top off with garlic chili crunch, and enjoy while hot!
