Recipe: Chinese Poached Dumplings, Potstickers and Dipping Sauce

CHINESE POACHED DUMPLINGS (JIAOZI)
"The standard filling of pork and Chinese cabbage can be varied: the meat can be lamb or beef, and the vegetable can be spinach or Chinese chives."


Makes 80-90 dumplings
Preparation time about 1 1/2 hours plus 30 minutes standing time
Cooking time 20-25 minutes

FOR THE DOUGH:
4 cups (1 lb.) all purpose flour
About 14 fl. oz. water
Dry flour for dusting
FOR THE FILLING:
Half a head (1 1/2 lb.) Chinese cabbage
1 lb. ground pork
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Sift the flour into a bowl, slowly pour in the water and mix to a firm dough. Knead until smooth and soft, then cover with a damp cloth and let stand for 25-30 minutes.

Separate the Chinese cabbage and blanch in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until soft. Drain, finely chop, then mix with the rest of the ingredients to make the filling.

Lightly dust a work surface with dry flour. Knead and roll the dough into a long sausage about 1-inch in diameter. Cut the sausage into 80-90 small pieces. Flatten each piece with the palm of your hand, then use a rolling pin to rollout each piece into a thin circle about 2 1/2-inches in diameter.

Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each circle. Fold into a semi-circle, and pinch the edges firmly so that the dumpling is tightly sealed. Place the dumplings on a tray lightly dusted with dry flour, and cover with a damp cloth until ready for cooking. (Any uncooked dumplings should be frozen rather than refrigerated.)

Bring 1 quart (32 oz.) water to a rolling boil, and drop in about 20 dumplings, one by one. Stir gently with chopsticks to prevent them sticking together. Cover and bring back to the boil. Uncover and add about 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz.) cold water, then bring back to the boil once more (uncovered). Repeat this process twice more. Remove and drain the dumplings.

Serve hot with a dipping sauce (recipe below).

Any leftovers should be reheated not by poaching, but by shallow-frying them as for Pot-Stickers - see below.

DUMPLINGS (JIAOZI) GRILLED DUMPLINGS (POT STICKERS)
"Grilled dumplings, also known as Pot-Stickers, are actually shallow-fried on one side, then steamed under cover so you end up with jiaozi that are crispy on the base, soft on top and juicy inside. Make the dumplings as in the previous recipe. (Some chefs insist that the dough for Pot-Stickers should be made with boiling water instead of cold water - it does seem to make a difference to the pastry.)"

Heat about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a frying-pan, tilting the pan so that the entire surface is evenly coated with oil.

Arrange 8-10 dumplings neatly in rows and fry over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the base of each dumpling is browned.

Pour about 2/3 cup (5 oz.) hot water down the side of the pan. Cover and increase the heat to high. Cook until almost all the water has evaporated.

Uncover and continue cooking until all the water has evaporated. Turn off the heat, and use a spatula to loosen the dumplings from the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan with a serving plate and quickly turn the pan over, so that the browned side of the dumplings is uppermost. Serve hot with a dipping sauce (recipe below).

Besides poaching and grilling jiaozi, you can also steam them. Place the dumplings on a bed of lettuce leaves on the rack of a bamboo steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes over high heat. Serve hot with a dipping sauce (recipe below).

TO MAKE A DIPPING SAUCE:
Mix together 2 tablespoons light soy sauce with 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, and either add 2 tablespoons finely shredded ginger or 1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions with 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic.

Used by permission to Recipelink.com from St. Martin's Press
Source: The Chinese Kitchen By Deh-ta Hsiung