Recipe - Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

On the eve of Chinese New Year, our family will gather together to make the Chinese dumplings aka jiaozi. When I was a little girl, I enjoyed the process of making the dumplings. I still remember vividly that my grandmother would put a coin inside one of the dumplings. As the old wives' tale goes, the person who eats the dumpling with the coin will have all the luck for the whole year. I guess this is one way to make us eat more. The more dumplings we eat, the higher chance that we may be the lucky person. @-@

Now that my grandmother has passed on, we still continue to make dumplings during Chinese New Year Eve. It is through this event that brings back the fond memories and tends to bring the family members closer together. Please read on for the full recipe.

Makes about 60 dumplings
Preparation time: approximately 2 hours (excluding marinating fillings and dough resting time)


Ingredients

Dumpling skin:
300g plain flour
150g water

Fillings:
300g shoulder butt pork
6 grey prawns (remove shells and veins)
100g ku chye / chives (cut into small pieces)
200g wong bok / bok choy / Chinese cabbage (chop into small pieces / blender)
2 pieces shiitake mushrooms (cut into small cubes)
2 bunches of dried vermicelli (soak for about 10 minutes and cut into short strips)
1 egg

Seasoning:
0.5 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon light soy sauce
3 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoon hua tiao wine
Dash of pepper

Dippings:
Black vinegar
Ginger (slice into thin strips)


Instructions for fillings
1. Mince pork and prawns together.
2. Mix in ku chye, bok chye, shiitake mushrooms and vermicelli into the minced pork and prawns.
3. Beat the egg into the fillings.
4. Add in the seasoning into the fillings, stir well and leave it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour (for marinating).


Instructions for dumpling skin
1. Make a hole in the heap of flour.
2. Slowly add water into the flour and mix evenly.
3. Knead the mixture till it does not have the sticky texture.
4. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and put it aside for about 0.5 hour.
5. After 'resting' the dough, knead again and roll into a long round strand.
6. Cut the long dough into small balls (3L x 3B cm).
7. Flatten each ball before using the rolling pin to roll it into a flat round disc.


Instructions for making dumpling
1. Place the flatten dough onto your palm, scoop a teaspoon of fillings and place in the centre.
2. Fold the flatten dough over and pinch at the top end first.
3. Fold in the bottom edges to secure the fillings.
4. Fold one crease over and pinch it, continue creasing and pinching from one edge of the dumpling to the other edge.


Instructions for cooking dumplings
1. Place dumplings neatly on a greased strainer.
2. Place the strainer with the dumplings into a wok of boiling water.
3. Steam it for about 10 minutes.
4. Serve with ginger and vinegar.

Recipe - Chawanmushi

Serves 3 people
Preparation time: approximately 40 minutes


Ingredients

For the egg custard:
4 eggs (about 55g each)
400ml of chicken stock
1.5 tablespoon Japanese soy sauce / Few drops of Chinese light soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin

Fillings:
2 pieces of chicken thighs (cut into small pieces to fit into the cups; put into boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes)
3 grey prawns (remove shell, veins and slice into half; put into boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes)
Few strips of chives (about 2cm long)
2 pieces of shiitake mushrooms (cut into strips)

Garnish:
Chives (about 3cm long; cut into very thin strips, it will curl up by itself)


Instructions:
1. Using a pair of chopsticks, stir the eggs gently in a large bowl, in a zig-zag motion. This will prevent bubbles from forming and ensure that the egg custard has a smooth texture.
2. Gradually stir the chicken stock into the eggs. Pour in by the side of the bowl to avoid bubbles being formed.
3. Gently add the Japanese soy sauce / light soy sauce and mirin.
4. Sieve the egg mixture into a measuring cup / teapot (you will need the spout to pour out the egg mixture).
5. Arrange the fillings at the bottom of the chawanmushi cups.
6. Gently pour the egg mixture into the chawanmushi cups by the side to avoid bubbles being formed. Fill the cups to about three quarters full and cover.
7. Place in a steamer with boiling water. Steam on high heat for 2 minutes to set the egg mixture.
8. Continue steaming for another 10 minutes on low heat.
9. Remove the chawanmushi cup from the heat and let them cool for about 1-2 minutes.
10. Serve with garnish.

Before steaming.