Chinese people have enjoyed dumplings for centuries. Today they are a popular street food and whole restaurants are devoted to them. Americans may call them Peking ravioli or potstickers, but whatever you call them they are delicious fillings wrapped in a shell.
Wonton wrappers are readily available in Asian specialty stores and in regular supermarkets. For Chinese New Year shapes often have a symbolic meaning. Using a square type of wonton skin these dumplings can be formed into the shape of a small envelope, to symbolize money and good fortune for the upcoming year. Round wonton wrappers can be folded into a crescent shape, with their original round shape representing a coin or a year that has come full circle.
Basic Jiaozi New Year’s Dumpling – Pan Sauteed
Ingredients:
4 dozen square wonton wrappers (roughly)
1 lb. ground beef or pork (not too lean but not too fatty)
1/2 cup water chestnuts, diced
12 green onions/scallions (or slightly less than 2 bunches), sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 egg
4 TBSP. grated ginger
Directions:
--Mix all ingredients together
--Fill wonton skins. Do not overfill. Fold into the shape of an envelope (to symbolize good fortune with money) by folding into a triangle, then folding down a top flap followed by the corners. Pinch the edges to prevent the filling from coming out.
--Cook in Canola oil in a skillet or wok uncovered, about 2-3 minutes, until bottoms are pale golden.
--When browning, add water, then cover with lid until liquid evaporates and bottoms are crisp & golden, roughly 5-8 minutes. Add more water if needed. These are sometimes called potstickers because they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan.
NOTE: Cooking time will depend on the stove , thickness of wrappers, and the number of dumplings in the pan and could be as long as 10+ minutes.
Variation on Victoria Rose Cruise Dumplings – Boiled
This recipe is slightly modified from a recipe developed by the chef on Victoria Cruises’ ship the Victoria Rose, which takes travelers on a tour of the Yangtze River. It can be folded into any variety of shape.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground pork (can substitute ground lamb or do half pork and half shrimp)
1 bunch green onion
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup either shredded carrots or shredded cabbage
2 TBSP. grated ginger
1 egg
2 TBSP. Soy Sauce
Directions:
--Mix ingredients together
--Fill wrappers and fold, moistening edges with water first
--Boil water in a saucepan
--Add about 20 dumplings. Stir very gently to prevent from sticking to bottom
--Cover and bring to a boil.
--Add about one and a half cups of water, cover and boil again. Repeat this step 1 to 3 more times until dumplings float to top. The fewer dumplings in the water, and the smaller the dumpling, the more quickly it will cook. Could take 3 to 8 minutes.
--Drain and serve
Annabella Gualdoni - Annabella Gualdoni is a lawyer by education but works an educator and real estate professional. She has bought, sold, and renovated ...
