There is an age old saying that Chinese people live to eat, or in Chinese “民以食为天.” I am Chinese and I can strongly attest to the claim–Chinese people live for the sole purpose of eating and stuffing ourselves silly with food, food, and more food. If Maslow were to create a Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs for Chinese people, it would look something like this…
(OK, that was just me trying to amuse you. It’s sad, but Level 5 is actually not a myth and some people–especially the wealthy–do eat them. But I will never EVER cross into Level 5.)
Hence, Chinese New Year is a celebration of marathon eating and drinking–throw in some gambling, firecrackers burning, karaoke-ing into the mix–for 15 glorious days. For more than two weeks straight (actually 16 days if you count New Year’s Eve into it), we would be out and about looking for great eats–in restaurants, at home, at friend’s and family’s home, or just about anywhere we smell food. As a foodie, I simply looooove Chinese New Year….
Today, I am serving up a dish that most Chinese people (especially from Northern part of China) can’t do without during the Chinese New Year’s festivities--jiaozi (饺子) or Chinese dumplings. Ironically, born and raised in Malaysia, jiaozi/dumpling has never been a part of my family’s dining table. In fact, I only discovered jiaozi when I attended college here in the US, where my Chinese friends from China would make buckets of them for the festival. Well, I must say that I am very lucky to have discovered this delicacy, and now I can’t live without them.
The beautiful thing about jiaozi is its versatility. For the filling, you can pretty much use anything you want: ground pork is the most common ingredient, but you can also fill these jiaozi/dumplings with beef, chicken, shrimp, vegetables (for vegetarian jiaozi/dumplings), or be creative and do a filling of different combos. Once I dined at a Jiaozi restaurant (dumpling house) in Beijing and it serves no less than 30 different kinds of dumplings with every possible savory filling possible. It’s simply mind boggling to decide which one to order, but suffice it to say, you can’t go wrong with jiaozi, regardless of the filling.
For today, I made a very traditional Chinese dumplings with leeks and ground pork filling (韭菜饺子). Other than time consuming, it’s really not that hard to make these jiaozi. I was inspired by my friend Jen Yu at Use Real Butter.
Now, I dare you to make Chinese jiaozi/dumplings from scratch; it’s fun and the rewards are remarkably satisfying and mouthwatering!
Similar Recipes on Rasa Malaysia:
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 cup of chopped chinese leeks (韭菜)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon rice wine
A few dashes of white pepper powder
5 drops of sesame oil
For the skin:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup water
For dipping:
Black vinegar
Method:
Mix the flour with water and knead it for about 20-25 minutes or until the dough gets soft. Separate the dough into two equal portions and roll them into cylinders (about 1 inch in diameter). Cover them with wet towel and set aside.
Prepare the chives by chopping off the root (white part) of the chives. Use only the green part. Mix the chives with ground pork and add all the seasonings. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
To prepare the skin, cut the dough into 1/4 in. length and use a rolling pin to flatten it until it becomes a round skin about 3 inch in diameter. Put a small spoonful of filling into the center of the skin and seal it up tightly with your fingers. (No pleating is needed for this recipe).
Heat up a pot of hot water until it boils. Drop the dumplings into the boiling water and cover the pot. As soon as the dumplings start to float (meaning they are cooked), dish them out on a serving plate. Serve hot with black vinegar.
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{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, I love your dumplings very much…looks juicy.
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祝楼主新年快乐，身体健康。
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Gong Xi Fat Cai! from us the boys!
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Haha, your triangle is very funny and hilariously true. LOL!
- Christine
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I made pierogies today from scratch… that almost counts!
I actually do want to make dumplings though, so it will happen sooner or later.
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That Chinese old saying is true!
Love Jiaozi, I usually dip into Korean gochujang :))))
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Anonymous - thanks. Yes, they are juicy, especially good when dipped in vinegar.
Addie - Gong Xi Fa Cai.
Big Boys - thanks and Gong Xi Fa Cai to you boys, too. :)
Brilynn - awesome…would love to see your dumplings. :)
Andaliman - Yes, it’s true. I am Chinese and a living proof!!! Ooooh, what is Korean gochujang? Will have to try it out.
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these dumplings reminded me of my best fooding in beijing :-)those good times!! and your photos are killing me! they look beautifully delicious!! i will definitely put this in my to “eat list” thanks for sharing!!!
happy lunar new year and happy valentine :-)
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Happy CNY and Gong xi Fa Cai!
I made some pan-fried potsticks last weekend too. but yours looked way better and “juicier” than mine.
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acme across from sugar bean! wow, the chinese dumplings are looking good! wanna learn how to make this.
happy chinese new yaer to you!
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喜欢吃饺子~ 喜欢韭菜饺儿:)
love jiaozi!
love jiucai jiaozi:)
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I’m addict to dumpling :)
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Awsone photos, interesting post, what could I say more ! oh, i like this smalls dumplings, it’s too good! cheers
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Love these.. :)
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haha i dont dare..looks wayyyyyyy too harrddd….
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Oooh! These look and sound delicious! We have a lot of Chinese restaurants here and I am a big fan of dumplings…I have never made my own though! Maybe it’s high time I give it a try! :)
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You are tempting me to make my own jiaozi. They look absolutely juicy.
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eek! even if i can afford level 5 exotic food, i wouldn’t want to! i’m not too fond of meat… esp. from animals.
well i don’t like level 4 expensive food too. my family and friends used to say i am stupid because i don’t like good expensive food.
have you guys heard of another saying of the chinese and food?
“the chinese eats anything with four legs except the table.”
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i say no to ur hierarchy no 5 too.
nice dumplings there!
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Bea!! You are such a stud! Those look really good. I am so jealous that you can get such great ingredients (the leeks, I miss those) in So Cal :( Not so trivial out here in the sticks! Happy New Year, you stud woman. I don’t always get a chance to comment, but I always check out your masterful creations. You rock :) xxoo
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Awesome, I’ve been looking for a jaiozi recipe. Perfect timing!
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That looks so good. I don’t know where you find time. I feel rather inspired by you now to try this….one day. One weekend maybe. :)
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Gong Xi Gong Xi!
I also like jiaozi. One of my frens from Shanghai recommended using Qi Cai (another kind of veg) for the pork filling. Nice also. For just jiaozi alone, I can eat buckets of it! :P
Heeee….am also not game for Level 5. Too exotic :O
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hey dont mock the chinese …( this comming from a wannabe chinese ), i’m with them on living for the sole purpose of eating. Gosh u should see me when i’m in HK … i can eat like a freakin cow.
HEHE and yes u did succeed in amusing me with that wacky table. I know some lazy indain expats in HK who rice and soya sauce … or actually so i’ve been told :)
The dumplings are my fav., but i make them with beef not pork.
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Dumpling looks delicious and the recipe seems simple - I’ll try!
A couple of questions:
1) How many dumplings does the recipe yield?
2) Can we pan-fry them like guo-tie?
Thanks!
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We’ve made lots of jiaozi but never attempted making the skin ourselves. Does it take a lot of skill/patience to roll them right?
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Thanks all for your sweet comments. :)
WL - I didn’t count exactly how many it yields because I keep eating them as soon as they were out…LOL, but I think they made about 25 plus minus…don’t quote me…but I got two plates of them.
Nate - it doesn’t take much skill to knead the dough, just patience…haha, I did it while watching TV, so not that painful. :P
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Ooooo..looks really juicy and delicious! I have been looking high and low for dumpling skin recipe as i wanna try doing it at home. Guess i will be making this on Sunday to impress some guests. Hehe..thanks!
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Oppss…one question. Can this be pan fried?
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WL and Precious Pea - for pan-frying, please check out my friend’s post here: http://jenyu.net/blog/2007/10/04/chinese-dumplings-and-potstickers/
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Gong Xi Fa Chai! Keep on cooking! I loved these babies…Slurpz!
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LOL. Love that Maslow’s look alike triangle.
I can’t get enough of dumpling as well. Made some pan-fried ones over the weekend too. Didn’t make it from scratch though.. too lazy!
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新 年 快 樂 ！
pork/leek is my favorite flavor combination for dumplings. i love to add a little bit of shrimp in there. have you been back to D-10053? their shrimp/leek is so good… i’m pretty sure they put egg whites in there to add that a bit of silkiness to it. your dumplings look great.
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I love dumplings and your look so delicious!!! My favorite are the pork Shanghai dumplings.
Ciao.
Orchidea
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Hi,
Pls let me know i cup of measurement yeild for how many ml in malaysia? thanks
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Anonymous - I did an online conversion and it says 1 cup (US) = 236 ml.
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oh rasa M! you have got my number with these dumplings! love the maslow’s herarchy, i should do one for russuan italians girls w/ a penchant for asian flavors!
hahah
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I love to eat jiaozi! When I was in college I would stock up these pre-made dumplings and dump a few into my favorite instant noodles..
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I tried this recipe. It’s really good. It requires much skill making the skin round and uniform in size using this method. To solve this problem i just rolled out the dough and cut them with rounded cookie cutter.
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Hello!
Your dumplings look really appetising and I’m craving for some right now!
I’ve been told that to cook a more delicate dumpling, the boiling itself has a few procedures. Initially, we’ll have to bring the water a to boil, lower heat to cook the dumplings for a couple of mins while stirring. After which, add icy cold water and stir. Cover and let water return to a boil and repeat this for a third time until the dumplings are done. Does it really affect the quality of the dumplings?
-Irene
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Those are yummy looking chinese jiaozi. Im saving this chinese jiaozi recipe for sure!
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Having made jiaozi (and totally fallen in love with them) while I was studying in China, I can say that the fiddly cooking method (with the bringing to a boil 3 times) does make a bit of difference: it helps them not explode with air, and it is handy for timing how long to cook them.
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oh wow that looks good, AND there’s nothing but water and flour in the dumpling?! Even better! Thanks I’m going to try this very soon.
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Hi!
This look so good! Is there a way to subsitute the rice wine? Since, its hard to find it where I lived.
Thanks!
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