Jiaozi Chinese Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 cup cold water and cornstarch in a bowl until combined. Combine the filling: pork, shrimp, cabbage, chives, onions, ginger, garlic, cornstarch paste, wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and mix well.
• Mix flour and remaining water and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Use extra water/flour to get a slightly smooth and sticky ball. Let sit for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into little balls that roll out into 4-inch diameter circles. You will have about 30 dough circles.
• Place 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the middle of each of the dough circles.
• Wrap by folding the dough circles with filling in the middle in half and pinching the edges to seal.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Gently add about 10 dumplings into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil and add 1/2 cup more cold water. Repeat this twice before taking the dumplings out to serve; the pork filling should no longer be pink and shrimp should be firm. Repeat the boiling and adding of cold water with each batch of dumplings. Adding the cold water between boils reduces the starch buildup in the water.

Steps:

• To make the filling, toss the cabbage and salt together in a large bowl and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage in a colander over a sink and use your hands to squeeze out excess moisture.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the cabbage, pork, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, green onions, and pepper. Stir in one direction with a chopstick until just mixed.
• To form the dumplings, rest a wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it around the edge to help make a good seal. Lightly fold the wrapper over on itself but don't touch the edges together. Starting at one end, use your fingers to make a small pleat on the side of the wrapper closed to you, then press the pleat into the other side and pinch together firmly. Keep making pleats down the dumpling opening in this way until completely sealed. Repeat this process with the remaining filling and wrappers.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop half of the dumplings into the water and stir once so they don't stick together. When the water boils again, add 1 cup of cold water to the pot. Then when it boils again, add 3 cups of cold water. The third time the water boils, the dumplings are cooked. Remove them with a slotted spoon and repeat with the remaining dumplings. Serve immediately with small bowls of Chinese black rice vinegar for dipping.