Module 5: The 5 Folds
The demo table
One table everyone can see around. Demo happens there – guests gather. They leave their tools at their stations. After demo, P2 hands the LAMINATED folds cheat sheet around (just a few copies, re-used).
The 5 folds
1. Half moon – simplest. Filling in centre, lightly wet the edge with a fingertip of water, fold in half, pinch tip to tip. Good for boiling or steaming. 2. Folded Arms – make the half moon. Fold up the back fold slightly, push filling in centre with your finger bring one end over the other. 3. Gyoza – Seal in the centre and then bring 5-6 times pleats on each side towards the center, flatten the bottom. 4. Triangle – round wrapper (we use round wrappers for all five folds), lightly wet 2 edges with a fingertip of water, fold from just off center on one side turn and bring the end to the middle side.squeeze edges together. 5. Double Pleat – Start in center bring 1 edge to center to create 1 pleat. Mirror on the other side and then seal. Creates a nice curved dumpling.
Demo choreography (6 min)
- 0:00 – Let’s gather around and I will demo the folds.
- 0:30 – Half moon. ~60 sec.
- 1:30 – Folded Arms (half moon variation). ~45 sec.
- 2:15 – Gyoza. ~75 sec. Same-direction pleats and flat bottom.
- 3:30 – Triangle. ~60 sec.
- 4:30 – Double Pleat. ~75 sec.
- 5:45 – Hand cheat sheet around. Back to stations.
Coaching the fold block
- P1 floats one half of the long table, P2 the other.
- Stand next to a struggling guest. Demo on your own scrap. Narrate.
- NEVER take the dumpling out of their hand.
- Watch for: under-filling, over-filling (bursts), no water on seal (tears), thin centre, forgetting flat bottoms on gyoza.
Common fold problems
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Wrapper tears at seal | Not enough water | A fingertip of water is all it needs – too much makes it slip rather than stick |
| Pleats unfold | Pleats too loose | Press hard into the flat back edge |
| Bursts when handled | Overfilled | 1 tsp max for round folds |
| Gyoza wobbles | Forgot to flatten bottom | Press onto bench to set flat base |
| Wrapper splits when rolling | Rolled too thin at edge | Thinner centre, thicker edges |