Flavorful & Juicy recipe for Nepali Chicken Mo:Mo (Nepali Dumplings). Step by step recipe and video included.

I shared my first ever mo:mo post here 5 years ago, followed by jhol mo:mo (soup dumplings), and vegetarian chilly mo:mo short after. Can you believe I have not shared anything mo:mo-related for almost 4 years now? Mo:Mo, Nepali dumplings are my absolutely favorite (like you couldn’t already tell) and I make them at least 2-3 times a month. In case you missed my last post on Homemade Mo:Mo Wrappers, please check that out because great mo:mo begins with good wrappers. Today, I am diving into fillings for mo:mo and sharing a Nepali Chicken Mo:Mo recipe that I have been making lately.

The fillings for Nepali mo:mo is often made with water buffalo (very common in Nepal), chicken, pork, vegetables, soy-based, or mix of meat and vegetables. I don’t think there is a “fixed mo:mo recipe” because everyone puts their own spin when it comes to fillings, spices, shape of mo:mo, and the tomato sauce. The general idea of preparing Nepali mo:mo is the same but when it comes to the taste, it’s really very different from one person/family/region/restaurant to another and that’s the beauty of mo:mo.

In my personal opinion, a great mo:mo is flavorful, juicy, and has a good ratio of meat and wrapper. Here are few notes on making delicious, juicy mo:mo:

• Flavor : Generally, Nepali mo:mo consists of onion, ginger, garlic, green onion. Make sure to chop/mince them very finely. For spices, pre-made mo:mo masala mix (which is widely found in Nepal, Nepali grocery stores, or Amazon) is used for convenience but lately, I have been making my own mix. It’s a simple mix of cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder, and very little cinnamon. Some recipes use soy sauce and MSG too.

• Juiciness : A juicy mo:mo needs ground meat with fats, or you can add fats in the form of butter, oil, or ghee. I usually do a mix of ground chicken breast and legs. If you’ve not tried mo:mo with ghee, it’s absolutely delicious! Also, finely chopped vegetables such as celery, radish, cabbage also adds juiciness to the mo:mo.

• Ratio of meat and wrapper : How much meat goes into the mo:mo really depends on the size of the wrapper and how the wrapping is done. You don’t want to overfill the mo:mo wrapper as it makes wrapping difficult and seams do not close properly but at the same time, you don’t want very little meat that mo:mo becomes hollow and doughy.

Mo:Mo is served with “tomato achar’ aka tomato sauce, which again varies from one person to another. There is thick tomato sauce, runny tomato sauce, tomato sauce made with peanut, sesame seeds, or some recipes call for sichuan pepper. Depending on the recipe, tomatoes are roasted, cooked, or boiled before mixing with other ingredients.  You will have to check back later for tomato achar recipe.

For now, enjoy a step by step video on how to make Nepali Chicken Mo:Mo:

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, you can use store-bought wrappers for convenience but homemade mo:mo wrappers are really delicious and you should give it a try once. Here is a recipe I shared on Homemade Mo:Mo Wrappers. 

I cannot wait for you guys to give Nepali Chicken Mo:Mo a try and share your experience using @foodpleasurehealth on instagram.

Nepali Chicken Mo:Mo

Serves: about 50

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground chicken (use mix of breast + thigh if possible)

• 1 cup finely minced onion

• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

• 2 tablespoon finely minced ginger

• 1.5 heaping tablespoon mo:mo masala (see note below)

• 1.5 tablespoon salt (if you are sensitive to salt, reduce to 1 tablespoon)

• 2 tablespoon ghee (may use oil or butter)

• 1/4 cup-1/2 cup warm water (see note below)

• Optional : 1/2 cup finely chopped red radish, celery, cabbage

• 45-55 mo:mo wrapper

Note:

• Mo:Mo masala is made with a mix of different spices and it’s a personal preference; some people enjoy mo:mo without the spices (masala) and some people like it. In a pinch, you can use garam masala or curry powder or make a spice mix mix using 2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder, pinch of red chili powder, and dash of cinnamon powder.

• Warm water helps mix all the spices & adds juiciness to the mo:mo. I like to add water until the consistency of meat is little fluffy. Start with 1/4 cup warm water and slowly add more as needed because sometimes frozen ground chicken releases a lot of liquid.

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine ground chicken with finely chopped radish/celery/cabbage if using, green onions, onions, ginger, ghee, spices, salt.

2. Slowly mix in and add water to help mix the ingredients. You don’t want mo:mo mix to be too watery.

3. Let it rest for few minutes or longer.

4. In the meanwhile, prepare the dough for the wrapper (or have mo:mo wrappers ready) and mo:mo achar.

5. Fill a steamer with water and grease the steamer basket with oil, oil spray or line it with parchment paper, lettuce or cabbage leaves.

6. Take about 2 teaspoon of mo:mo filling and place it on a mo:mo wrapper and fold them to your desired shape. You may need more or less depending on the shape of the wrapper.

7. Steam for 10-12 minutes (or longer if your wrapper is thick and large in size) and gently shake the steamer basket and transfer it directly into your plate.

8. Enjoy it hot with tomato achar.

Wrapping mo:mos can be tricky esp if you have never tried it before. I always recommend starting with half moon shape and using a fork to get the edges sealed. My friend Tisha has a quick tutorial on how to wrap mo:mo 4 different ways.

I hope you guys are enjoying #nepalimomoweek. Please let me know if you have any mo:mo related questions or any other requests. I shall be back soon with a killer mo:mo achar recipe. Don’t forget to pin or bookmark this recipe for later.