Chinese PotStickers

If you want to cook Chinese then you have to know how to make Chinese Dumplings or PotStickers. In Chinese they are called JiaoZi and they are fantastic.

Items you will need.

2 Packages of JiaoZi Skin - (We find them at cub near the veggies section where TOFU is.) (They are round and come in a package that is about 2 inches tall.)
1 lb of Ground Pork
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Bunch of Green Onions
1/2 Medium Sized Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Bag of Celery or 1 head of cabbage.
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Sesame Oil
Salt
Ginger Powder


Every vegetable you have needs to be minced. Just start chopping and don't stop for about an hour. It's the worst part of making JiaoZi. Finely mince everything.

Once everything is finely minced put it in a bowl with the Ground Pork.

Add some seasoning.

Add about(Please Note:  I never measure so I'm simply guessing at these numbers.  I would add half of what I recommend below and then taste the mix and add more as desired.  To taste simply touch the mix with your finger and taste it with your tongue.  Don't eat it!)

1 tbsp of Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp of White Pepper
1/4 tsp of Black Pepper
1/4 tsp of Cayenne
1/4 tsp of Salt
A dash of Ginger Powder.


Once you have everything in the bowl start stirring in a clockwise direction with a pair of chopsticks. Don't stir in any other direction than clockwise. You will confuse the fibers of the meat and it won't stick together. (No Joke.)

After you have stirred until your arm feels like it's gonna fall off you are done. At this point you should really taste the mix before you start rolling the jiaozi. Touch the meat mixture with your finger very lightly and then touch your tongue. You should feel a burst of flavors on your tongue. It should be just a little salty. If you taste nothing add more seasoning to taste.

Once you are satisfied with the taste of the insides set it aside for a minute.

If you are making these for friends make sure your friends are present to help make them. If they don't work they don't eat. (No Exceptions.)

It's best to line up in a three person assembly line down the countertop.

Person 1 - mans the meat and places small amounts in the center of the JiaoZi Skin.
Person 2 - Dips their finger in water and traces the outside edge of the jiaozi skin.
Person 3 - Folds the JiaoZi skin over and "Closes" it. See Pictures.

Once you are done "wrapping" all the JiaoZi you can start cooking them.

There are two ways to cook jiaozi. One way is to fry them in a pan in oil or salted butter. (My Favorite) Another way is to boil them in a pot of water on the stove. (My Favorite)

To Fry the jiaozi. . .

Heat a pan with some butter at a nice medium heat.
Lay the jiaozi in the pan so they are close together. Fill the pan up but don't stack any or let any overlap more than just a tiny bit. Let the Jiaozi cook until they are crispy on teh bottom. At this point I usually poor about 1/4 cup of water in the pan. Less is ok, more is not. Cover the Jiaozi and let them steam for a couple minutes. Lift off the lid and let the water evaporate so it's just butter in the pan again. Flip the jiaozi over and let them crisp up. When crisped to your liking remove and devour.

To Boil the Jiaozi. . .
Heat a rather large pot of water to boiling. When it comes to a rolling boil drop about 20 JiaoZi in. The pot will stop boiling. Your job is to keep it from boiling without turning down the heat. In order to do that Have a big cup of water handy. As you see the water start to boil add about 1 cup of water. It should stop boiling and settle down. Wait a couple minutes until it tries to rear it's ugly boiling head again and SMACK it down with another Cup of water. As it starts to boil the third time tell it, "That's enough" and take the jiaozi out. They are ready. (Tip: if you let it boil the jiaozi will puff up from the inside and they won't be as yummy. If you keep it from boiling, cause that's your only job, then they will look like they are vacuum packed to the meat inside and they will taste extra yummy.)

The only thing left to do is make a little sauce to dip them in.

The best thing is Rice Wine vinegar but we often use White Vinegar or Apple Cider. Any are ok.

Poor about 4 TBSP of Vinegar to each 1 of Dark Soy sauce.
Add sesame oil and a dash of salt to taste.

Dip your fried or boiled jiaozi in the sauce and try not to eat more than 30.
Seriously they go down easy but they'll get you later if you eat too many.

Enjoy!!!