Introduction: Chinese Dumplings (jiaozi)

By Expatcucina
About: An Italian living in China with a passion for cooking. I grew up in a picturesque town called Lecce nestled on the “heel of the boot”, Italy’s southern tip, between the Adriatic and Ionian se…
I did it! Yesterday I tried for the first time to prepare Jiaozi.

I have to admit I am a Jiaozi lover! They are definitely my favorite Chinese dish ever! Recently I have been taking Chinese cooking class and yesterday night I have finally decided to test what I have learned, so after work I went to the Chinese wet market and got all the ingredients I needed: light soy souce, sesami oil, pork meat, ginger and rice wine.

They came out pretty good to be honest, and with my surprise none of them broke in the water while boiling…:D

For those who are not too much in Chinese cuisine, Jiaozi are cooked balls of dough, also known as dumplings, cooked by boiling, steaming or frying.

Step 1: Ingredients

For the filling:

  • 200 g minced pork
  • 2 tsp ( 4g) salt
  • 2 tsp (4 g) sugar
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp rice wine
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp green onion
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 20 g water

For the dough:

  • 150 g flour
  • water

Step 2: Step 1: Mix Flour and Water

Let’s start by making the dough (if you don’t want to spend this time, you can conveniently buy Jiaozi pi at any Chinese grocery store)

In a bowl place the flour and make a little hole in the center an another all around. Pour enough water to fill in both holes.

Mix the ingredients together and kneat the dough till it gets smooth.

Step 3: Step 2: Roll It Out!

Roll it out in a long shape
Fold it in 3 parts
Roll it out again. Repeat this for 5 times.

Step 4: Step 3: Sqeeze It!

At the last time roll the dough in a rectangular shape and starting from the top roll it in itself so to have a long tube.

Grab it and gently squeeze it in your hand so to take all the air out.

Divide the dough into small pieces and with roll each piece into a thin circle.

Step 5: Steo 4: Let's Make the Filling

Chop the ginger and green onion
In a bowl dress the meat with all the ingredients and mix it up!

Step 6: Step 5: Let's Shape It!

Now it's the hard part! We need to shape our dumplings
Take one disk of dough and add in the center a tsp of meat.

First fold it so that the 2 side combine.
Now starting from the right edge slowly fold it like a fan


Step 7: Step 6: Boil It!

Repeat until you don’ t have any filling left
Bring some water to a boil and boil your dumplings for about 8-10 min.
Drain them and serve with vinegar or soy sauce

For more recipes. check my cooking blog www.expatcucina.com