Dim Sum anyone?

It’s April and you know what that means? Taiwanese dumplings, OF COURSE!! Well, at least that’s what it means at my house. Oh, and every October…and New Years… and Chinese New Year…and any other time, my kids make sure it ends up on the menu… but especially April and October.  I’m glad they’re on my family’s menu at home because do you ever order them as an appetizer at your favorite Chinese restaurant? The yummy little suckers are a buck a piece! What’s that all about?

This food is traditional in my family. My dad lived in Taiwan for 3 years and has visited since. This was his favorite food when he lived there so he learned how to make it. I’ve been eating them since I was tiny. The true name for them is Jiaozi (pronounced jao-tsuh). But don’t worry, making them is easier than saying their name. They also happen to be the ONE AND ONLY food that every one of my kids will eat with smiles on their faces and beg for more. I’m not kidding. There will be at least one dissenter in the crowd with anything else I make. NOT THIS! They’re totally on board.

Jiaozi – This recipe makes A WHOLE BUNCH

Here’s your list of ingredients:

1 head of Napa (or Chinese) cabbage

a thumbs length (any thumb will do) of fresh ginger- frozen

1 lb(ish) fresh ground pork (NOT SAUSAGE!!!)

1 bunch of green onions (maybe 6 or so)

soy sauce

apple cider vinegar

sesame oil

2 packages of won ton wraps (get them in the produce aisle)

  In your food processor put your blade on the bottom and your slicing disk on the top. Wash you and trim your napa and green onions. Roll the green onions up in cabbage leaves before chopping in the food processor. It just gives them a little more strength so they get through the slicing disk easier. The picture below is as course as you would ever want the veggies to be. You can definitely go more fine, but be careful not to puree them. You will probably need to empty the processor a couple of times before you get all of your cabbage chopped. Just empty it into a very large mixing bowl that we’ll use later on.

  When your veggies are chopped, dump them into the center of a pretty large dish towel or piece of cloth. Gather up all of the corners and begin to twist the cloth over the sink. You are trying to remove some of the water from the cabbage. If you don’t, the filling of your dumpling will be loose, not tight like a meatball. So use your muscles and SQUEEZE! Lots of water will drip out. You don’t need to squeeze it dry, but pretty close.

  If there is any liquid left in the bowl, dump it out and put you veggies back in the bowl. Take a look at how much you have there and see if it’s about the same volume as the meat. You want about an even amount. With a fine grater or microplane, grate your ginger into the veggies. Yep, the whole thing. It won’t be nearly as strong as you think it might be. You don’t have to freeze the ginger, but it’s so much easier to grate. Don’t worry about the skin. Just make sure your ginger as been washed, and grate away!

It’s time to get a large pot of water boiling. I like using my pasta insert. It makes it really easy to get the dumplings out when they’re done.

Next add the fresh pork, 2 T. soy sauce and a drizzle of sesame oil quickly once around the bowl. Mix everything together. You can use a spoon, but I think the best way to get everything mixed in evenly is by using my hands. Just be very sure to wash your hands extremely well before and after.

Once everything is incorporated cut open your package of wraps and lay out about 20. You don’t want to lay out more than you can boil at one time. The wraps are really just fresh pasta and they will dry easily which will make them crack when you’re trying to fold them. Then if they’re cracked they will rip open when they boil which is not the end of the world, but it’s not what you’re shooting for. So just lay out what you can get to within about 5 minutes and close up the rest of the package for later.

Place a meatball-sized portion of the meat/veggie mixture in the middle of each wrap. It needs to be small enough that you can seal your wrap around it.

Get a small bowl of water handy before you begin wrapping. It’s also great to have a friend, husband, or seriously useful child around to speed the process. We make it a family affair. To wrap, pick one dumpling up, wet all four sides with your finger. Bring opposite corners together and seal by pressing them together. Now you can either go simple and just press the edges together creating a triangle or…

You can crimp your wrap and then seal it. Fancy or simple, it all tastes the same, so don’t freak. Once you have a batch ready, put them in the boiling water. At first they will sink to the bottom. Take a long handled spoon and nudge them off the bottom so they don’t stick. Once the water has come back to a boil, let the dumplings boil for about 3 minutes. As they boil, work on your next batch. Remove the dumplings and spread them out on a cookie sheet so they don’t all stick together.  With this cooking method the wraps end up very much like pasta. I love them this way. It’s traditional, healthy, and easier for me.

If you would rather have them fried like they often are at the restaurant, here is what you need to do:  Heat about 1-1/2 teaspoons peanut (or vegetable) oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Arrange some of the dumplings in the skillet  (not too close together) and cook, without disturbing them, until their sides are golden brown which takes about 2 minutes.  Add 1/4 cup water and immediately cover the pan. Turn the heat down a bit, to medium. Cook them this way for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and turn the heat back up to medium-high. If there is remaining water, cook it off.  Shake the pan a few times, turning the dumplings, as you continue frying the dumplings until their sides become crispy, about 2 minutes more. Beware, they’re called pot stickers for a reason. They can stick. Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

On to the best part, EATING! You can eat them plain if you want but the dipping sauce is yummy and easy. Here you go: 1 part soy sauce, 1 part vinegar (you can use any, but I like apple cider best for this), and 2-3 drops of sesame oil. Stir, dip and eat!

If you make a whole recipe it will feed your family and you will have leftovers. They reheat great in the microwave or you can pan fry them (messy, but yummy).

 Yum! They are so goodlicious. They’ve been my favorite food my whole entire life.

Give them a try! I hope they hit the top 10 at your house too!