Recipe - Fifty Dumplings (Jiao Zi)

1 One half cup Finely minced Chinese
cabbage (Napa)
1 teaspoon Salt
Three fourths pound Ground pork
1 cup Finely minced Chinese garlic
chives; leeks, or scallion
greens

DUMPLING SEASONING
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Rice wine (shaohsing)
2 tablespoon Sesame oil
1 One half teaspoon Minced ginger
1 One half teaspoon Minced garlic

DIPPING SAUCE 1
One half cup Soy sauce
3 tablespoon Chinese Black vinegar or
Worcestershire sauce

DIPPING SAUCE 2
One half cup Soy sauce
2 tablespoon Chinese Black vinegar or
Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Chili oil or chili paste
with garlic

From: Brenda Adams ADAMSFMLE@AOL.COM

Date: Mon, 15 Jul 1996 13:13:28 0400
Meat dumplings typify the hearty, wholesome qualities of northern
homestyle cooking. Traditionally, they are filled with pork, cabbage, and
flavored with a generous amount of Chinese garlic chives.

1. Place the minced cabbage in a large mixing bowl, add the salt, toss
lightly to mix evenly, and let sit for 30 min. (this is done to remove the
water from the cabbage, so the filling will not soak through the dumpling
skin.) Take a handful of minced cabbage and squeeze out as much water as
possible. Place the cabbage in a mixing bowl. Squeeze out all the cabbage
and discard water. Add the pork, minced chives, and "dumpling seasoning".
Stir vigorously in to combine the ingredients evenly. (If the mixture
seems loose, add 2 Tbs cornstarch to bind it together.)

2. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each dumpling
skin, and fold the skin over to make a halfmoon shape. Spread a little
water along the edge of the skin. Use the thumb and index finger of one
hand to form small pleats along the outside edge of the skin; with the
other hand, press the two opposite edges of the skin together to seal. The
inside edge of the dumpling should curve in a semicircular fashion to
conform to the shape of the pleated edge. Place the sealed edge dumplings
on a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornstarch or flour.

3. In a large wok or pot, bring about 3qts of water to a boil. Add half
the dumplings, stirring immediately to prevent them from sticking together,
and heat until the water begins to boil. Add One half cup cold water and
continue to cook over high heat until the water boils. Add another One half cup
cold water and cook until the water boils again. Remove and drain. Cook the
remaining dumplings in the same manner. (This is the traditional method of
cooking dumplings; for a simpler method, boil for about 8 minutes,
uncovered, on high heat.

Serve the cooked dumplings with one (or both) of the dipping sauces.

Variation: add 1 Tbs shredded gingerroot or minced garlic to either of the
sauces.

Most of this came from the book Nina Simonds, "Classic Chinese Cuisine",
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1982. It is an excellent Chinese
cookbook. The recipes are straight forward and typically pretty easy. It
contains nice (often wordy and sometimes slightly dated) descriptions and
historical notes. From: hammond@odin.scd.ucar.edu (Steve Hammond)

Shared By: ADAMSFMLE@aol.com

EATL Digest 14 July 96

From the EATL recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive,
http://www.erols.com/hosey.