Making Dumplings

Introduction

Dumplings are one of the traditional Chinese foods from in the time of three kingdoms. Now days, many types of dumplings are the food in many Chinese families.  My favorite dumpling is called Bao bao. Older people said that Bao bao was invented by Zhuge Liang, Chinese strategist and statesman.  Bao bao has flour skin surface, vegetables, meat, and salt or sugar inside.

This instruction shows how to make four different types of traditional Chinese Bao bao. I assume that you may have some basic understanding of Chinese food cooking skills. If you are new, you can email me, and I will answer your questions.

Picture 1: vegetable Bao bao.
Picture 2: sweet bean Bao bao
Picture 3: flower Bao bao
Picture 4:  white Bao bao

This instruction has six parts: making dough, vegetable Bao bao, sweet bean Bao bao, flower Bao bao, white Bao bao, and boil. After you make flour dough, you can make different kind of Bao bao by using the flour dough.The whole process may take you 2 to 3 hours and cost 10 to 20 dollars, but you will have the delicious Bao bao. You will have fun during the making process!

Bao bao is a very traditional Chinese food, and it is so delicious. You will like it after you have it. In a winter morning, Bao bao and a cup of milk will make me warm and energized.

Step 1: Equipment

In this instruction, you can see some Chinese style equipment. When you make your own Bao bao, you can use any equipment which has same functions.

1. big bowl A
2. big bowl B
3. a bowl with handle
4. a middle flat bowl
5. three cutting boards or flat plates
6. chopsticks
7. a spoon
8. a knife
9. a flat plate( can be replaced by other things which are flat , such as flat dish or table)
10. arolling pin
11. a steamer

Step 2: Ingradients

All the ingredients used were bought in Asian food store. You also can buy those things in supermarket. 

1. Dipi (a type of Chinese vegetable can be replaced by other vegetables, such as rabbet or cucumber)
2. all-purpose flour
3. yeast
4. water (35 Celsius)
5. sugar
6. cabbage
7. salt
8. Zhu oil( can be other type of oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil)
9. soy sauce
10. sweet bean past
11. green onion
12. garlic
13. ginger

Step 3: Making Dough: Flour Ingredients for 5 People

1. Put 6 cups all-purpose flour into a big bowl (I will call it big bowl A).
2. Add 5g salt into the big bowl A.
3. Add 250ml warm water (35 Celsius) into a bowl with handle.
4. Add 2g yeast into the warm water.
5. Use your hands to move and circulating in the flour, and add the warm water slowly.

Note: When you add warm water, do not make the flour too wet. Usually, the mass ratio of water and flour is 3:5.

Tip: Add warm water by several times (7-10 times).

Warning:Place the big bowl A on a stable table to avoid having it fall off.

Step 4: Making Dough: Dough

1. After combine all the ingredients as shown in last step, use your hands move circularly in the wet flour.
2. Knead for about 7 minutes.

Notes: The wet flour is very soft, so knead gently.

Tip: If you are a clean person, make sure you have cover to avoid flour stuck on your clothes and faces.

Warning: To avoid the big bowl A drop from the table, stable the big bowl by one of your hand.

Step 5: Making Dough: Rest

1. Spend your energy to knead.
2. Put the flour dough in the big bowl A for 45 minutes.

Note: The fermentation is a very important step, so place the flour dough under the temperature of 25-28 Celsius.

Tip: You can have a cover over the flour dough, but it is not necessary.

Warning: Do not place the flour dough under sun light.

Step 6: Making Dough: Fermentation

Note:After 45 to 50 minutes, the fermentation is completed. The pictures shows the comparsion between the flour dough before and after fermentation. The upper picture is the flour dough before fermentation, and the lower picture shows the flour dough after fermentation. Usually, the flour dough can expand to 2 times bigger after fermentation.

Step 7: Vegetable Bao Bao: Cutting Vegetables

1. Cutting all the vegetables into tiny pieces. (500g Dipi, 500g cabbage, 10g green onion, 3g ginger)

Note: The upper picture shows Dipi; lower lift picture shows cabbage; lower right picture shows green onion and ginger, and the black stuff is the left Dipi.

Tip:In the pictures, the black vegetable is called Dipi. It is a Chinese vegetable, and it can be found from valleys. Dipi is very good for heart health, and many Chinese people love to eat it. If you can't find Dipi, you can use cucumber.

Step 8: Vegetable Bao Bao: Mix

1. Putt all the vegetables into another big bow( I call it big bowl B).
2. Add 5g Zhu oil, 5g salt, 3g sugar, and 7g soy sauce in to the big bow B.
3. Mix all the ingredients by chopsticks.

Note: If you do not know how to use chopsticks, you can use spoons or forks.

Step 9: Vegetable Bao Bao: the Wrappers

1. Put a flat plate on a table.
2. Put some all-purpose flour on the surface of the flat plate ( Do not put too much, just a thin layer)
3. Put the finished flour dough on the layer of flour.
4. Use knif to cut one four of the flour dough. ( Put the rest of flour dough back into the big bowl A. They will be used to make other kind of Bao bo)
5. Cut the Flour dough into several pieces (The size is similar as the size of egg).
6. Use rolling pin to make every small flour dough into wrappers.(Size is 1/3 inches thick and 3.5 inches diameter)
7. Put wrappers on another flat plate.

Warning: Be carefull to use knif to aovid cutting yourself.

Tip: Place a thin layer of all-purpose flour under the small flour dough when you make wrappers.

Step 10: Vegetable Bao Bao: Pleating

1. Place the mixed vegetables on  a wrapper.
2. Close the wrappers (you can use your method to wrap).
3. Put Bao bao on another flat plate.

Note: When you wrap, make sure no gaps (It may broken in steamer is gaps present). A beautiful Bao bao is seating on the flat plate.In China, Bao bao means united familiy and lucky.

Step 11: Sweet Bean Bao Bao: Wrappers

1. Make wrappers ( you can follow the steps in the section of vegetable Bao bao).
2. Fold the wrappers just like shown in the pictures.
3.Turn the folded wrappers 180 degree.

Note: this procress is similar as in last section, so you can follow the detailed steps in last section.

Step 12: Sweet Bean Bao Bao: Pleating

1. Put 10g sweet bean past on a folded wrapper.
2. Close the folded wrapper (you can use your method to wrap)
3. Place the sweet bean Bao bao on the same flat plat with vegetable Bao bao.

Note: when close folded wrapper, make sure no gaps.

Step 13: Flower Bao Bao: Wrapper

1. Put a thin layer of all-purpose flour on a flat plat.
2. Cut another 1/4 flour dough, and put it on the layer of flour.
3. Use rolling pin to make a large wrapper. (size: 1/2 inch thick and 10 inch diameter).
4. Put a thin layer of Zhu oil (can be vegetable oil) on the upper single face of this wrapper.

Note: Put some all-purpose flour under the wrapper when you make wrapper.

Step 14: Flower Bao Bao: Pleating

1. Put a thin layer of cutted Dipi on the wrapper above the Zhu oil.
2. Wrap it as shown in pictures.

Note: Because I do not have enough Dipi, so I use chocolate. In the pictures, the black, red, and yellow stuffs are chocolate. You can use chocolate too!!!!

Step 15: Flower Bao Bao: Cut

1. Cut the wraped wrapper into 2.5 inches as shown in picture.
2. Take on of them, and fold it from the middle as shown in pictures.
3. Place the flower Bao bao on the same flat plate with other Bao bao.

Note: if you can't make the same flower  Bao bao as shown in the pictures, you can make different shapes if you like.

Step 16: White Bao Bao: Wrappers

1. Make wrappers (you can follow the instruction in section of vegetable Bao bao).
2. Place four wrappers with one on other one as shown in picture.
3. Force a chopstick at the middle of the wrappers as shown in picture.
4. Take off the chopstick.
5. Wrap it as shown in picture.

Step 17: White Bao Bao: Cut

Step 18: Boil

1. Place all kinds of Bao bao into steamer.
2. Use middle fire.
3. After the water boil, wait 25 minutes.
4. Enjoy your lovely Bao bao.

Tip: If you have non-stuck wrap, use it under Bao bao to prevent stuck.

Warning: Do not touch steamer, Hot!!!!!

Step 19: Conclusion

During winter time, the weather is really cold. In the morning, you can enjoy your Bao bao and a cup of milk. What a lovely life!!!!!!