Jiaozi

INGREDIENTS (Makes 96)

300g cabbage, finely chopped
1 tsp salt
500g minced pork
50g Chinese chives, finely chopped
50g spring onions or scallions, finely chopped
1 tbs minced young ginger
1 tbs minced garlic
2½ tsp light soy sauce
1 tbs Chinese cooking wine
2 tbs sesame oil
1 tbs chilli bean paste (dou ban jiang)
96 frozen round pot-sticker wrappers

DIP

Julienned young ginger
Rice vinegar
Light soy sauce
Chilli bean paste (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Toss the chopped cabbage and salt in a bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes, then squeeze the cabbage to extract water.
• Combine the cabbage, minced pork, chives, spring onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil and chilli bean paste in a large bowl. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• To wrap the jiaozi, have a small bowl of water handy. The frozen wrappers should be defrosted in the fridge and kept under a damp towel as you work. Place approximately one tablespoon of filling onto a wrapper. Place it slightly off-centre. Dip a clean finger into the bowl of water and use it to moisten the rim of the wrapper. Fold it over so that you end up with a semicircle, crimping only the layer facing you as you press it down to seal. Six pleats are usually just about right. Place the completed dumplings on a tray dusted with flour. Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers.
• At this point, the jiaozi can be dusted with more flour and frozen.
• The dumplings can be boiled, steamed, pan-fried or deep-fried. To prepare pot-stickers, preheat a shallow pan filled with just enough oil to thinly coat its base. Use a pan that has a lid. A non-stick surface also helps.
• Place the jiaozi in the pan (frozen ones go in frozen). Be careful not to overcrowd the pan or they will stick together. Fry them until they develop a crisp, golden brown base. Drizzle some water or stock into the pan and cover it immediately. Add just enough liquid to cover the base of the pan, and be sure to drizzle some onto the jiaozi so that the crimped edges don’t get crispy. Let the dumplings steam until the skin becomes somewhat translucent. Uncover the pan and continue to cook until the water has evaporated.
• Serve immediately with julienned ginger, rice vinegar, soy sauce and chilli bean paste (if using), combined to taste.

The flavour of these dumplings depends on the quality of your ingredients. The cabbage I use is circular, but flat rather than dome-shaped. While you can use any sort of minced pork (or mix it with chicken), I prefer a combination of pork shoulder and pork belly for flavour. The flavour and quality of store-bought dou ban jiang varies, so pick one that appeals to you. One day soon, I hope to find the time to make wrappers from scratch, which is nothing more than plain flour, a little salt and hot water. For the moment, I use gyoza wrappers made in Japan, as they seem to be a little more pliable than pot-sticker wrappers made elsewhere.