Making Dumplings

This weekend I went to a friend’s house and was shown how to make Chinese dumplings or 饺子 (jiǎozi). Chinese people go mad for them!

It was good to see them being made from all the raw ingredients. I didn’t make the dough. I let the expert do that. But I did learn how to roll out the dough into circles and wrap the dumplings. So, here is how to do it, for anyone who’s interested:

1. The filling is usually pork or lamb. We had minced pork with celery. The celery was boiled first for a minute or so and then chopped up finely and mixed in with the meat.
2. First you gotta make the dough from special flour, water and salt. I guess it’s similar to making any other dough (not like I’m an expert or anything). Anyways, you then kneed the dough. Here’s yours truly giving the dough a good going over:
   
   
3. You then make the dough into a long snake and take off small pieces, which will become the dumpling wrapping. You then roll out the little pieces, demonstrated here by our model:
   
   
4. You then put some of the filling onto the circle of dough. You have to judge the right amount. Too little and yer dumpling will be too skinny, too much and you won’t be able to close the little bugger. Here’s me attempting it:
   
   
5. you then close and seal the dumpling and leave it beside its soon to be boiled brothers:
   
   
   
6. The dumplings are then boiled and consumed by first dipping them in a vinegar/garlic mixture and then sticking them in your mouth. Mmmmmm.