饺子
Jiaozi
Perhaps no other food typifies the hearty characteristics of Northern home-style cooking more than these meat dumplings. You can buy good-quality wheat dumpling wrappers at Chinese grocers, which makes these a quick, easy snack to prepare.
makes 50
FILLING
300 g (11 oz) Chinese cabbage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
450 g (1 lb) minced (ground) pork
100 g (3½ oz/3 bunches) Chinese garlic chives, finely chopped
2½ tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
50 round wheat dumpling wrappers
To make the filling, put the cabbage and salt in a bowl and toss lightly to combine. Leave for 30 minutes. Squeeze all the water from the cabbage and put the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the pork, garlic chives, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger and cornflour. Stir until combined and drain off any excess liquid.
Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each wrapper. Spread a little water along the edge of the wrapper and fold the wrapper over to make a half-moon shape. Use your thumb and index finger to form small pleats along the sealed edge. With the other hand, press the two opposite edges together to seal. Place the dumplings on a baking tray that has been lightly dusted with cornflour. Do not allow the dumplings to sit for too long or they will go soggy.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add half the dumplings, stirring immediately to prevent them from sticking together, and return to the boil. For the traditional method of cooking dumplings, add 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) cold water and continue cooking over high heat until the water boils. Add another 750 ml (26 fl oz/3 cups) cold water and cook until the water boils again. Alternatively, cook the dumplings in the boiling water for 8–9 minutes. Remove from the heat and drain the dumplings. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
The dumplings can also be fried. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan, add a single layer of dumplings and cook for 2 minutes, shaking the pan to make sure they don’t stick. Add 80 ml (2½ fl oz/1/3 cup) water, cover and steam for 2 minutes, then uncover and cook until the water has evaporated. Repeat with the remaining dumplings.
Serve with red rice vinegar or a dipping sauce.
