Chinese dumplings - 8 recipes

For more than a millennium, the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom have been preparing different types of dumplings. In terms of cuisine, the Chinese are big dreamers here, so Chinese dumplings can be of different shapes and colors, they are boiled, fried and steamed, meat, vegetables, sea delicacies and even sweet mixes are added to the filling. Such a dish can be enjoyed in Chinese restaurants, or you can cook it yourself.

Chinese dumplings - what kind of dish is it and what is it called

Many historians claim that it was Marco Polo in the 14th century who brought from China to Europe a round ball of dough with a filling inside. In our country they are called dumplings, in Uzbekistan - manti, in Georgia - khinkali, in Italy - ravioli. There are several types of Chinese dumplings, they can be stuffed with meat, fish, vegetables and seafood. In each region of the Middle Kingdom they are prepared in different ways and are also called differently. What are the names of various Chinese dumplings, we will tell further.

1. The first variety of Chinese dumplings is wontons. They are triangular or round. They are boiled, fried or steamed. For the filling, use pork, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms or Chinese cabbage. In some provinces, you can taste sweet wontons with fruit filling.
2. Jiaozi is cooked with vegetables and pork. In shape, they are similar in wontons, but they are usually just boiled and occasionally fried. Zaozi tastes not salty or spicy, so these dumplings are served with pickles and soy sauce.
3. From yeast dough stuffed with vegetables, meat, chicken or mushrooms make Bao Tzu. They are only steamed and served in China for breakfast. There are also sweet Bao Tzu stuffed with red beans and sugar.
4. Dimsams are another Chinese dish.They are steamed from starch or plain dough. For the filling, use seafood, vegetables, chicken or meat.

Traditional recipe for Chinese wontons

Wonton is the most popular variety of dishes not only in China, but throughout the world.

Their main feature is a filling of juicy pork, bamboo and shrimp. This combination makes the dish deliciously delicious and literally melting in your mouth.

Ingredients for the dough:

• three glasses of flour;
• two glasses of water;
• salt, oil.

For filling:

• 300 g of minced pork;
• 300 g of shrimp;
• 100 g of bamboo shoots;
• two tablespoons of rice flour;
• egg white;
• two tablespoons of rice wine;
• two tablespoons of soy sauce;
• three tablespoons of sesame oil;
• sugar, pepper to taste.

Bamboo shoots can be replaced with pickled champignons, rice wine with dry white, sesame oil with sunflower, and rice flour with starch.

Cooking method:

1. We sift the flour into a bowl, make a depression in it and pour half of the hot water into it. Then we introduce the remaining water, oil and salt. Knead the dough and leave for 15 minutes.
2. Shrimps need to be mashed with a fork, chopped bamboo shoots. Add these ingredients to the minced pork, along with the remaining components for the filling and mix well.
3. Roll out the dough into a layer with a thickness of not more than 2 mm and cut circles with a diameter of 5 cm. For each dough piece, put a spoonful of the filling and wrap it so that you get a bag with an open “neck”.

Dumplings can be boiled, steamed or fried until crisp.

Fried goth dumplings

Traditional New Year's treats in the Middle Kingdom are fried goth dumplings. These are dumplings stuffed with meat (pork minced meat) and vegetables (Chinese cabbage). In China, gotti serves with dip sauce, in which dumplings are dipped.

Ingredients:

• a glass of flour;
• ½ cup of water;
• 400 g minced pork;
• 250 g of Beijing cabbage;
• clove of garlic;
• two tablespoons of rice (dry white) wine;
• three tablespoons of soy sauce;
• a circle of fresh ginger;
• two tablespoons of rice vinegar;
• salt, pepper, sesame (vegetable) oil.

Cooking method:

1. Mix the sifted flour with water until the dough is uniform. Wrap in a bag and leave for 20 minutes.
2. In minced pork, add chopped garlic and ginger, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, Art. a spoonful of soy sauce, wine, salt and pepper. Mix everything and put the minced meat in the refrigerator.
3. Peking cabbage leaves are cut into thin strips and lowered for a couple of minutes in boiling water. Then dry, grind and add to the stuffing.
4. We divide the dough into convenient parts, each roll out into "sausages" and cut into equal pieces. From each workpiece we form a thin circle, in the center of which we lay out the filling and pinch the edges so that the seam is at the top.
5. Transfer the dumplings into a preheated frying pan with oil and fry over medium heat. As soon as they brown, pour a little water, cover and continue cooking. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and wait until the water evaporates, then add sesame oil and fry under the lid for a couple more minutes.

Steamed shrimp in a slow cooker

Chinese dumplings with shrimp Xiajiao - an unusual dish for the Russians, but very tasty and original. In China, such dumplings are also called “crystal dumplings” due to an interesting way to prepare dough.

Wheat and corn starch are brewed with boiling water, as a result the wrapper for ravioli is translucent, or “crystal”.

For the filling, use pork mince with the addition of shrimp. Steamed dumplings are prepared and served with a special sauce.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 180 g of wheat starch;
• two tablespoons of corn starch;
• glass of water;
• teaspoon melted pork lard
• a pinch of salt.

For filling:

• 150 g minced meat (pork);
• 350 g of shrimp;
• 2 slices of fresh ginger;
• three tablespoons of sesame oil;
• two tablespoons of rice (white dry) wine;
• green onions, peppers, salt.

Cooking method:

1. Pour wheat and corn starch, salt into the container, mix, and carefully add boiling water.Knead the dough until smooth, adding melted lard, and once again mix everything well. The dough should be elastic, soft, unnaturally white. We put the foundation in the package and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
2. Take the shrimp and clean it from the shell. Grind one part to the state of mincemeat, and cut the other into 1 cm slices.
3. Add shrimp, wine, chopped green onions, pepper, salt, sugar and sesame oil to minced pork. Knead the minced meat. If it turns out to be too dry, then you can add ginger infusion to it. To do this, cut fresh ginger into thin strips and pour boiling water. Cover the minced meat with cling film and put in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll it into rolls. We cut them into pieces and each roll into a cake with a diameter of 8 cm and a thickness of 1 - 2 mm. We spread the filling, form dumplings and spread the steamers on the substrate. Cook on a strong steam for 5 minutes.

Since the dough is very thin, the dumplings can stick to the bottom of the double boiler. In order not to spoil the dish, you can put a clean cloth or salad leaves on the bottom of the device.

Chinese dumplings jiaozi

The Chinese celebrate the New Year holidays for two whole weeks. They go to visit each other and treat them to a traditional dish - jiaozi. These are Chinese dumplings, which differ from our dough, shape and filling. The dough here is the simplest, and the filling must be meat, cabbage and a variety of spices.

Ingredients:

• ½ kg of flour;
• 300 ml of water;
• 450 g minced meat (pork);
• 60 g of fresh ginger;
• 250 g of Chinese cabbage;
• three tablespoons of soy sauce;
• salt, pepper, chives.

Cooking method:

1. Pour water into the sifted flour, add a pinch of salt and knead the dough, as for ordinary dumplings. Cover with a napkin and give him time to relax.
2. Add ground minced ginger, green onion and cabbage to minced pork. Here we also send spices, soy sauce and a little vegetable oil. Mix and start making dumplings.
3. We divide the dough into several parts, each roll into a “sausage” and cut into pieces. We make balls and from them we already make cakes with a rolling pin. In the center of each we lay out the stuffing, raise the edges of the dough and fold them like a flower. We cook jiaozi for a couple or just boil in salted water.

Read also:how to cook dumplings

Chinese style cabbage

Chinese dumplings are cooked with different fillings, but their main component is vegetables. Most often, they add Chinese cabbage, garlic, celery, green onions and ordinary onions. True, the onions that are grown in China are different from ours, it is not so sharp.

Ingredients for the dough:

• 450 g of wheat flour;
• 70 g of rice (corn) starch;
• egg;
• two tablespoons of sesame oil;
• water.

For filling:

• 300 g minced meat;
• 300 g of cabbage (Beijing or white);
• onions and chives;
• soy sauce, spices.

Cooking method:

1. Knead the dough from flour, starch, butter and eggs. Gently introduce water - the dough should not be too steep, but watery.
2. Add minced cabbage, herbs, spices, onions and soy sauce to the minced meat. From seasonings, you can use ginger, pepper and coriander.
3. We roll the dough into a layer, make a glass of the workpiece and lay out the center of each filling. We gently pinch the edges of the dough - you should get dumplings in the form of an open flower.
4. Boil dumplings with cabbage for 5 minutes or cook on a strong steam.

Pork dim sum

Dimsam is a popular Caton dish. Such dumplings are prepared from thin rice dough with a wide variety of fillings. Treating dim sums in China is a ritual. In restaurants they are served from morning to lunch, and then replaced by a lunch menu. Dimsam is fried in oil, boiled, but most often steamed in bamboo boxes. They can be different in shape and color. Ready dim sums are decorated with vegetables, caviar or crab slices.

Ingredients for the dough:

• two glasses of rice (wheat) flour;
• glass of water;
• a pinch of salt.

For filling:

• ½ kg of minced pork;
• two cloves of garlic;
• a spoon of fresh ginger;
• two tablespoons of sesame oil;
• bulb;
• two tablespoons of rice vinegar.

Cooking method:

1. In a bowl, mix the flour, water and salt. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth. Cover with a damp cloth and give it a rest.
2. Now mix all the ingredients for the filling.
3. We roll out the dough, make square blanks from it. Put the filling in the center and collect the edges so that the filling on top remains open.
4. We will cook the dumplings for a couple, but first you need to put parchment with holes or a simple clean cloth on the bottom of the double boiler so that the products do not stick. Cook on a strong steam for 8 - 10 minutes.
5. Serve dim sum with sauce. To prepare it, you need to mix four tablespoons of soy sauce and two tablespoons of rice vinegar, add a little chopped ginger and two tablespoons of brown sugar.

Chinese mutton dumplings

In China, mutton dumplings are prepared at all times of the year. You can enjoy a delicious dish at home.

The main thing is to know some of the subtleties of cooking, namely, make sure that the dough is not digested, and that the meat should not be twisted through a meat grinder.

Chopped pieces of lamb retain their taste better, which means that the dish will turn out to be appetizing and aromatic.

Ingredients:

• ½ kg of flour;
• a glass of cool water;
• 200 g of mutton;
• 200 g daikon;
• three tablespoons of sesame oil;
• a spoon of fresh ginger;
• three tablespoons of soy sauce;
• salt.

Cooking method:

1. Knead the dough from water, flour and salt, as for ordinary dumplings.
2. We chop the lamb into small pieces, add ginger, soy sauce, butter and a daikon chopped on a grater.
3. From the dough we make cakes 3 mm thick, put the filling in the center and fasten their edges. Cook the dumplings on medium heat for 7 - 8 minutes.

With cucumbers, prawns and sea cucumbers

If you have the opportunity to purchase trepangs, then be sure to cook Chinese dumplings with them. A dish of seafood always has a delicate and original taste.

Ingredients for the dough:

• two glasses of flour;
• glass of water.

For filling:

• 50 g of trepangs;
• 350 g of shrimp;
• two cucumbers;
• two tablespoons of sesame oil;
• a spoon of fresh ginger;
• salt, black pepper.

Cooking method:

1. Pour water into the sifted flour and knead the dough. We roll it into a long bundle, which we divide into small pieces and each roll out with a rolling pin, forming circles.
2. For the filling of sea cucumbers and shrimp, grind to a puree state. Cucumbers need to be crushed and squeezed from excess fluid. Add cucumbers, ginger, oil, salt and pepper to the minced seafood.
3. We spread the minced meat in small portions on dough pieces and sculpt the dumplings in the form of knots. Boil them for 5 - 7 minutes in boiling salted water.

Traditionally, Chinese dumplings are served with a dressing of soy sauce and rice dark vinegar. But in Russia it is difficult to find such vinegar, so we recommend just adding a little chopped garlic to soy sauce. Bite the dumpling and pour the cooked sauce into it. Believe me, this is very tasty!