Jiaozi in (mostly) Pictures, and some Housekeeping.....

I thought long and hard about posting, or attempting to post, my Mother-In-Laws recipe for Jiaozi....but have failed each time. Being from the city of Qingdao in Shandong Province, Jiaozi is a way of life. Having made these dumplings by hand for Her entire life, there are no measurements, and the dough is done by "feel". She knows when it is "right", making adjustments for temperature and humidity. The filling is done by "nose" something covered in a post by FOY(friend of Yoso), CAB, in a post you can find here. My "nose" has improved over the years, so nowadays I will often make the filling(plus there's one more hint I'll reveal at the end), but leave the dough making to my Mother In Law. So I guess you could say, my MIL's recipe, is no recipe, but a process so deeply rooted, and ingrained, that it is beyond second nature. I often kid the Missus, telling Her that "dough is your destiny", as you can see here She does a pretty good Jiaozi Herself(and there's even a recipe for the Shrimp and Chive filling someone requested....I forgot that I posted that). The one thing the Missus lacks is the "staying power"....once tired and distracted, Her Jiaozi gets bigger, and bigger, until it is literally bursting at the seams. After making one batch, She announces Her "retirement" from making Jiaozi...this latest retirement has lasted over 2 years!

I attempted to at least capture a few photos three times. The first attempt was a bunch of blurred photos. What you see are combined photos from the second and third attempt. It is hard to keep up......

Note on the dough; my MIL really likes working with High Gluten Flour, but will use All-Purpose Flour. Unlike most Jiaozi recipes, She prefers room temperature water.

One key point on rolling out the wrappers. The edges of the wrappers are thinner than the center. This is done to ensure that the thickness of the wrapper is more even when the dumpling is made.

One quick tip; get a small pot of water going at a low simmer when beginning to roll out the wrappers. You can check the flavor of your Jiaozi by creating a "test dumpling".

 

So there you have it......how a dumpling "army" is created.

The best part is, I get to choose what kind of Jiaozi I want....3 Treasures perhaps(pork, shrimp, and sea cucumber)?

And maybe a batch of Pork & Dill as well?

Sometimes, life is good! I know some of the readers kid me about being really picky when it comes to Jiaozi....you can see where it comes from, right?

The "Rotation" page:

By request, I've redone our "rotation". This time, I made a "Typepad Page" with our rotation. You can find it in the sidebar, under "Pages"...or here. Thanks to Ed and Mizducky for posting and freeing up some time so I could build the page. I'm still thinking about the best way to divide up the restaurants based on location (hang in there Anna!), I hope to get that done soon.

Comments

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Oh wow! Your mother in law has mad dumpling skills. I'm more like your missus, my dumplings get huge b/c I get tired too. :)

[Carol]

Thanks for the mention, Kirk! Wow, those pictures bring back so many wonderful memories of my grandmother. Your MIL's dumplings are beautiful. I never thought of putting sea cucumbers in them. I love sea cucumbers.

I chuckled about your comment about you Missus. I have a tendency to do the same thing when I'm making a HUGE batch. Maybe when I finally retire, I'll make my own dumpling wrappers again. I'm sweating just thinking about the last time I did it, 12 yrs ago!

[sarah]

love the pictorial step-by-step!

[kat]

wow, step-by-step, I hope you can pick-up on the "recipe" so that the legacy can live on!

[Sharon]

My Mom is the same way when she cooks...no recipes, which shows great talent but is frustrating for people like me who need some guidance on making authentic asian treats. Those dumplings look amazing!

[johnsmith]

Haha it is the truth all northerners (even the men) master the art of jiaozi! The hardest part to master is dough-rolling, followed by dumpling shaping.

the southerners eat wontons, but i like dumpling more, because of the wrapper's texture. Sorta how i like the northerner's knife-cut noodles.

yea i'm a sucker for chinese islamic and northern cuisine. too bad i'm a southerner.

[foodhoe]

Kirk you are so lucky. My MIL makes a midwestern hotdish with tatertots.

[clayfu]

Interesting.. Dill.. never seen that before. BUt sea cucumber sounds good in dumplings!

[liz]

Thanks for the step by step pictures :)

[Candice]

Oh man, that gives me the warm and fuzzies! Thanks for the great photos.

[Sandy]

I never thought about about rolling the edges thinner (not that I've ever made my own dumpling dough).

I used to help my mother make dumplings by using a tortilla press, only I didn't know it was a tortilla press until years later.

Dumplings sound soooo good right now!

[jeffrey C]

Kirk,
there is nothing like fresh made dumpling skins to get the best texture and taste of Jiaozi. My grandfather from my mother's side was from Shandong. He used to have these done on special occasions when my mom was little. Nowadays, we do a little wrapping party with friends and we just gorge on these. Try corn with pork or chicken. You may not think it works but it does.

[RONW]

ahh, you should start an online mail order business. (dry ice)

[Qingdao]

Jiaozi is good eats!

Homemade jiaozi is even better. Being from QD, one of my favorites is shrimp. My grandmother in law has mad skills too.

Have you guys seen the small jiaozi hand press that some street vendors sell here in China? I'm tempted to give it a try.

[howie]

Wow, thanks for posting this fantastic tutorial! The skill it takes to make those wrappers is amazing. I've never been able to make one that was even close to edible.

[The Guilty Carnivore]

As Rachel Ray would say..."Yummers!"

[White On Rice Couple]

This is soooo crazy cool! We love the fact that she makes her own fresh wrappers and she does it the old fashioned way...touch, taste, test and nose! We teach a dumpling cooking class and are currently working on a video right now for it. Your mother in law is definitely going to be mentioned on this one!

[Kirk]

Hi WC - LOL! I can totally understand.....

Hi Carol - As of our last visit to the area, the "hot" dumplings in the SGV are Pumpkin, 3 treasures, and pork and dill.

Hi Sarah - Thanks!

Hi Kat - I keep on telling the Missus, "dough is your destiny".....

Hi Sharon - I know what you mean....there's stuff my mom used to make that I still can't figure out.

Hi JS - I love Islamic Chinese....well, I kinda love it all.... ;o)

Hi FH - LOL! I find Tater Tots somewhat irresistable.

Hi Clayfu - You'll see them on the menu of places like J&J as "fennel" dumplings....but they're dill. And 10053 has good 3 treasures dumplings...don't like the fish dumplings, there though.

Hi Liz - Thanks....i just wish I had an exact recipe.

Hi Candice - Why thank you. I'm glad I could do that.

Hi Sandy - You gotta love innovation. That's really cute....

Hi Jeffrey - Yum.....I think I know what i'm requested the next time!

Hi RONW - The thing is....it's never quite as good as when it's made right before eating.

Hi QD - Welcome, and thanks for commenting. One of my favorites is shrimp and chive.....Jiaozi press? Sounds interesting.

Hi Howie - I'm afraid to try.....

Hi GC - Egad, Rachel Ray has finally made it into our blog....I think I need to declare this a Rachel Ray and Sandra Lee - free zone!

Hi WORC - I can't wait to see the video......I find dumpling making to be a bit mesmerizing.

[Passionate Eater]

You did quite an excellent job with catching the rapid fire movements of your mother-in-law! But next time Kirk, I want to see your hands making the dumplings! I want your mother-in-law's mad skills to carry forward to you and the Missus! Otherwise, I'll send Sammie and Frankie to dog training school, and we'll see if the trainer can work some extraordinary magic! Also, I had NO idea that the outer part of the dumpling wrapper was thinner to compensate, that is really quite a revealing and interesting fact!

[elmomonster]

Cool man! Take more pics of your MIL making more food! I like this!