Jiaozi (Dumplings)

Ni Hao!

Lo's been playing her Kai-Lan game nonstop so I really wasn't surprised when she asked to make dumplings. I love that her idea of a fun activity is cooking! I searched the web for a kid-friendly recipe and thanks to Buckeroo Mama we found a great evening activity. I made the filling the night before and then the girls and I assembled them the next day.

Ingredients (for 18 servings)
For the Dumplings:

• 30-70 Dumpling Wrappers-I went to 3 different stores and could not find them anywhere. I think an Asian market would be your best bet. I eventually just used Egg Roll Wrappers and they were fine, but next time I will try harder to find the dumpling wrappers.

• 1 pound minced pork-I used ground turkey 
• Coriander, chopped up finely (as much as you want)
• 1 stalk Chinese celery (I couldn't find it so I omitted it)
• Flax seed (optional)
• 1/2 whole carrot grated
• 1/2cup mushrooms, diced (optional)
• 1 whole egg
• 1T fresh ginger, grated
• 1-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2t corn starch
• salt and pepper

For the Dipping Sauce:

• 2T and 2t Soy Sauce
• 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 lemon, juiced
• sugar
• 1/2t sesame oil
• chili pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

Directions

Dipping Sauce


Mix ingredients in a small bowl. You can also make the sauce the night before and keep in the fridge.

To make the filling

1. In a food processor, combine coriander, celery, and flax seeds. Blend
2. In a big mixing bowl, combine blended ingredients with the rest of the ingredients (except for the dumpling wrappers and the dipping sauce ingredients).
3. You can make the night before and keep in the fridge overnight. This allows the flavors to develop more.

To assemble the dumplings

1. Have a shallow bowl of water on hand.
2. Dust baking sheet with flour.
3. Start scooping a teaspoon of the filling onto the dumpling wrapper (you'll need more filling if you are using egg roll wrappers).

Fold the wrapper over, so that the filling is covered. Before "sealing" the dumpling, dip your finger into the bowl of water and slightly wet the edges of the wrapper so that it will seal better. 

4. Place on floured baking sheet. Continue assembling until you have used all the filling.

Since we used Egg Roll Wrappers our's looked like this:

If you are using Dumpling Wrappers your's should look like this:

Cooking the Dumplings

1. Boil some water in a big pot. Add a couple of drops of oil so that the dumplings will not stick together. You could also use chicken or vegetable broth too.

2. Once the water is boiling drop in the dumplings. How many dumplings you drop in will depend on the size of your pot. You wouldn't want to drop in too many at one time, they may stick together. 

3. When the dumplings float up, you can scoop them out. Drain. They're now ready to serve. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.
4. ENJOY!!!