Finally! I can now eat my fill of jiaozi

without having to go to China for them. This isn't the greatest picture, but they were delicious.

To make dough for the wrappers:

2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a regular mixing bowl) whisk together the dry ingredients. With the paddle attachment in place, turn mixer on to speed 2 or 3. Add boiling water in a steady stream to the flour. Keep mixing until flour comes together in a ragged dough (sort of looks like sugar cookie dough at this point). It won't be formed into a ball. Remove dough from mixer and knead by hand (it won't be overly hot, don't worry) until dough comes together and is elastic (around a minute or two). Place ball of dough in plastic bag and seal. Let dough steam and rest for at least 15 minutes.

Filling:

1/2 pound of ground pork (not lean)

1 cup very finely chopped chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage). You can salt this and let it weep for a little bit and then squeeze it to remove some water. Don't squeeze out too much though. If you do this, maybe adjust the salt you add later. You want this to be almost minced.

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp. fine sea salt (or to taste)

2 large garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp. white pepper (or to taste)

1 tbsp. ground fresh ginger

2 green onions white and light green parts, finely chopped (almost minced)

(I'm sort of guessing on these proportions because I didn't measure anything when I made them. I would suggest cooking up one or two and tasting them, you can then adjust the filling accordingly.)

Add seasonings and oil to ground pork. Stir with a large spoon until meat sort of breaks down and becomes sort of smooth and mushy (I hope that makes sense). Add cabbage and mix well.

To form wrappers:

On a smooth non-porous surface, smear a little bit of vegetable oil into a thin layer over a small area. Oil up your hands and fingers as well, but don't make them too oily. Pinch off a small amount of dough and roll it quickly in the palms of your hand until it is a rough ball shape. Should be about the size of a large cherry. Place ball on oiled surface and press and stretch it until it forms a flat circle around 2.5 in diameter. Take a teaspoon or so of the filling and place it in the center of the circle. Sort of pat it down with the spoon (this just makes it less likely to move when you fold the wrapper). Pick up the side of of the circle farthest from you and fold it over the filling, pressing dough edges to seal. Try to avoid including a lot of air. Pick up dumpling and finish sealing the edges. It should be a fat crescent shape. Dip the bottom lightly into a small pile of flour and set onto a plate or cookie sheet. If you are worried about the completed dumplings drying out, you can cover them with plastic wrap as you work.

To cook:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Drop dumplings in one a time until you have enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Stir to break dumplings up (they will float). When water starts to boil again, add a little bit of cold water to reduce boiling. Cook until all dumplings float on the top. Take on out and test to see if the dough and filling are cooked. Don't over cook.

Dipping sauce:

I like to have a small dish of mashed garlic and salt to dip the dumplings in as well as a dish of vinegar sauce. Mix rice vinegar (white is fine, or dark brown chinese vinegar is also good. Malt vinegar is also an option) with a little bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground chiles. You can just make this to taste.

Ok, enjoy. My favorite filling is lamb and cilantro, or egg and zucchini. I'll blog about those fillings some other time.