Jiaozi Recipes

JIAOZI

Steps:

• Mix the flour and salt. Add a little water and form homogeneous dough, not too soft. Do not add more water than necessary.
• Let the dough rest at least 45 minutes covered with a cloth in a dry place.
• Generously flour dough. Roll it in the pasta machine (ravioli position) and form very thin and wide strips that you will need to cut with a round cookie-cutter (ideally about 3-inch/8cm diameter).
• Slightly brown some green onions in a little oil and then add the stuffing ingredients in the order indicated above. Cook at high temperature just enough time to reduce the liquid, stirring constantly.
• Stuff raviolis (stuffing must be cold) and place them on a floured surface.
• To close the raviolis, you can use some cornstarch diluted in water.
• Place a little less than a tablespoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in two to form a semi-circle and pinch it at half point at the top.
• Pinch the wrapper over twice on each side of the initial middle pinch by folding about ¼ inch (5mm) of the wrapper. You will end up with 5 pinches therefore forming a fan-shaped dumpling.
• Three cooking modes are possible:-Steamed (zhēngjiao)- Boiled (shuijiao)- Fried (guotiē)
• You can choose to consume the jiaozi by themselves or in a broth of meat or chicken.

JIAOZI

Steps:

• To make the filling mix the pork with the soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt. Stir carefully, always in the same direction, to create a thick paste. Add the rice wine and oil. Mix in the same direction. Cover. Let rest 20 minutes.
• To prepare the cabbage, sprinkle with the remaining salt to help draw out the water. Add the ginger, scallion, and pepper and knead for at least 5 minutes into a thick paste. Combine with the filling.
• To make the dumplings, put about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of each skin, holding the skin in the palm of one hand. Moisten the edges with water, then seal the edges with 2-3 pleats on each side and transfer to a lightly floured board.
• To cook the dumplings, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a large pan. Drop in about 20 dumplings at a time, stirring gently with a chopstick to prevent them sticking together. Cover, the return to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover and add a generous cup cold water. Return to a boil, then cover and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep hot while you cook the remaining jiaozi. Serve with dipping sauce.

JIAOZI DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• To make the filling, toss the cabbage and salt together in a large bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage in a colander over a sink and use your hands to squeeze out excess moisture.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, green onions, and pepper. Stir in one direction with a chopstick until just mixed.
• To form the dumplings, rest a wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it around the edge to help make a good seal. Lightly fold the wrapper over on itself but don't touch the edges together. Starting at one end, use your fingers to make a small pleat on the side of the wrapper closed to you, then press the pleat into the other side and pinch together firmly. Keep making pleats down the dumpling opening in this way until completely sealed. Repeat this process with the remaining filling and wrappers.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop half of the dumplings into the water and stir once so they don't stick together. When the water boils again, add 1 cup of cold water to the pot. Then when it boils again, add 3 cups of cold water. The third time the water boils, the dumplings are cooked. Remove them with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve immediately with small bowls of Chinese black rice vinegar for dipping.

JIAOZI (CHINESE PORK AND SHRIMP DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 cup cold water and cornstarch in a bowl until combined. Combine the filling: pork, shrimp, cabbage, chives, onions, ginger, garlic, cornstarch paste, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix well.
• Mix flour and remaining water and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Use extra water/flour to get a slightly smooth and sticky ball. Let sit for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into little balls that roll out into 4-inch diameter circles. You will have about 30 dough circles.
• Place 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the middle of each of the dough circles.
• Wrap by folding the dough circles with filling in the middle in half and pinching the edges to seal.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently add about 10 dumplings into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil and add 1/2 cup more cold water. Repeat this twice before taking the dumplings out to serve; the pork filling should no longer be pink and shrimp should be firm. Repeat the boiling and adding of cold water with each batch of dumplings. Adding the cold water between boils reduces the starch buildup in the water.