Jumbo Jiaozi

Photo © Rob Jones

I confess I am a Jiaozi Junkie.

At Chinese New Year they are eaten for Wealth.

For practical reasons, when I was in China I bought the mass produced packets from the supermarket, thinking they took too long to cook, and I just didn’t have the space, or the implements. And anyway wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rate at which I eat them.

Jiaozi are dumplings. Not as we would know them in the UK. These are little delicate snacks made with a wheat flour dough, with a meat or veg filling. They are steamed, or boiled, or pan fried, deep fried, or all three.

The Japanese call them Gyoza. These are more common on the high street but Jiaozi’s are fighting back - and bringing their equally tasty chums Bao Buns with them

And they are really easy to make. Quite mindfull. There’s a lot of waiting about.

First make the dough.

For the wrappers, 250g plain flour. Pinch of salt. And some water. Gradually add the water until you get a pliable ball of dough. Leave it for half an hour to rest.

For the filling:

250g of Pork Mince.
100g of Spring Onions.
A thumb of Ginger, grated.
1 Tablespoon of Oil.
Teaspoon of Salt.
Tablespoon of Soy Sauce.
Tablespoon of Chinese Rice Wine.

Mix it all together.

The size of your Jiaozi is up to you. I don’t really do finesse, and like large portions. So I pinched a golf-ball size of dough, and thumbed it into a thin flat circle.

Pop a small amount of the mince mix into the centre, not as a blob. More in a line. Dab the edges with water and pinch the opposite sides together, starting in the middle.

Boil some water in a pan, and place a cullendar on top. I basted the base of each Jiaozi with a little oil to stop them sticking, and placed them in the cullendar. Pop a top on and steam them for about 10 minutes.

I then fried mine in a pan with a little vegetable oil. Keep turning them.

Eat with a dipping oil.

Experiment with size, and fillings.

RJ