Pork and Chive Dumplings

The dumpling is a traditional dish in Northern

China. Known as jiaozi in
Chinese, dumplings can be served anytime of the
day: breakfast, lunch, dinner,
or as a light snack. In fact, in Northern China, wheatbased foods such as
dumplings, noodles, and bread often replace
steamed rice as the main part of
the meal.
In Beijing, there are many dumpling restaurants that
offer jiaozi. My favorite
restaurant is Tianjin Bai Jiao Yuan, a humble but
buzzing neighborhood
dumpling house that serves up to hundreds of
delectable northern-style
dumplings with pork, beef, shrimp, crab, sea
cucumber, mantis prawn, and
salted egg yolk as fillings. Made with the most basic
ingredients of ground pork
and chive, this Pork and Chive Dumplings recipe
reminds me of my many
eating trips at Tianjin Bai Jiao Yuan.
Makes 20 dumplings or serves 4 as an appetizer or
snack
20 store-bought jiaozi or pot sticker wrappers or
homemade dumpling
Wrappers (page 31)
4 cups (1 liter) water, for boiling
1/2 cup (125 ml) dumpling dipping Sauce (page 71), for
dipping
Filling

8 oz (250 g) ground pork

2 oz (50 g) fresh garlic chives, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
3 dashes white pepper
1 Make the Filling by combining all the ingredients together.
Chill the Filling in the
refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2 To assemble the Pork and Chive Dumpling, place a piece of
dumpling wrapper on your
palm and spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon of the Filling onto
the wrapper. Do not overfill.
Dip your index finger into a small bowl of water and circle
around the outer edges of the
dumpling wrapper. Fold the dumpling over to form a halfmoon shape. Finish by pressing
the edges with your thumb and index finger to ensure that
the dumpling is sealed tightly
and there is no leakage. Repeat the same for the remaining
wrappers and Filling.
3 Place the dumplings on a floured surface or baking sheet.
Cover them with a damp
kitchen towel to prevent drying.
4 Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Gently transfer the
wrapped dumplings into the
boiling water and boil until the dumplings float to the top,
about 3 minutes.
5 Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon, draining the
excess water, then serve