Dumplings has been part of the Chinese cuisine for more than 1800 years. The legend says that Chinese filled dumplings were invented by a man called Zhang Zhongjian, during the Han Dynasty. One winter upon his returned to his village, he noticed that the villagers had been frostbitten. It was mostly their ears that had been affected. In order to help them, he cooked a batch of mutton, chili and healing herbs and wrapped them in dough. He shaped them like ears and boiling them. He provides these dumplings to the villagers in order to heal them and did not stop until they all were cured.
May or may not be true, it is a beautiful story and gives the dumpling a special place in the Chinese cuisine history.
When I lived in China a couple of friends of mine, they taught me how to make dumplings. We had so much fun and I would say it is perfect as a social event. It is a bit tricky at first, and I have a lot to learn before my dumpling becomes as beautiful as theirs. Regardless of their looks they are delicious, and I love it!
I promise, it won’t be the last time you make them!
Please see below the recipe that I used when making them this weekend!
What you need:
Dough
7 dl Flour
3 dl Hot water
Oil (to fry the dumplings)
Water (to boil the dumplings)
Filling
500 gram Minced beef
3 leaf of Chinese cabbage
1 dl chopped spring onion
2 tbsp Ginger
2 pinches of Salt and pepper
2 tbsp Japanese soya (light)
1 tbsp Chinese Soya (dark)
1 teaspoon Sesame oil
1 tbsp Potato flour
1 tbsp Oil
1 teaspoon Sugar
Sauce
4 tbsp Japanese soya (light)
3 tbsp Sugar
4 tbsp Rice vinegar
2 teaspoon Ginger
2 cloves of Garlic
2 teaspoon Sesame oil
½ Chili
3 drops of Fish sauce
How to make:
Dough
Filling
2. Boil the Chinese cabbage for 2-3 minutes, rinse with cold water and dry them with a cloth.
3. Chop the Chinese cabbage, ginger and spring onion into smaller pieces.
4. Mix all the ingredients well and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Making the dumplings
5. Roll out the dough and punch out the round wrappers.
6. Put a teaspoon of filling (or as much as you see fit) and seal. Be aware that the wrappers dry out quite quickly. If you are making them with a friend, it can be both fun and beneficial to work in team. One tip is to cook one in order to taste the filling and see if you want to adjust the seasoning.
7. As soon as you wrapped everything you heat up a pan (with lit). Put some oil in and fry a bunch at the time, for 1-2 minutes. Add some water (½ cm in the pan) and boil for 5-6 minutes.
8. Serve them with the sauce.
Delicious!!
祝您就餐愉快!
I you want tips on how to wrap the dumplings please see the links below
Une Vraie Bonne Vivante 