Pork and Napa Cabbage Jiaozi (Boiled Dumplings)
Northern China's everyday boiled dumplings: juicy whipped pork and salted, squeezed napa cabbage in thin wrappers, with a black vinegar dip.
Method
Cut the cabbage into 5 mm strips, then chop across into small pieces. Put it in a bowl, toss with the salt for the cabbage and leave for . Squeeze it in a clean cloth or by the handful until almost no water drips out; it should shrink to about half.
Add in this stepNapa cabbage 240 gSalt for the cabbage 1 tsp
Put the pork in a large bowl with the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, ginger, salt and white pepper. Stir hard in one direction with chopsticks for , adding the cold water 1 tbsp at a time and waiting until each spoonful is absorbed. It is ready when the meat looks paler, sticky and stretches in strands.
Add in this stepGround pork (not too lean) 200 gLight soy sauce 2 tspShaoxing wine (or dry sherry) 1 tspGrated ginger 1 tspSalt for the filling ½ tspWhite pepper 1 pinchCold water 40 ml
Toss the squeezed cabbage with the vegetable oil first (the oil coats it so it does not weep). Add it to the meat with the green onion and sesame oil and fold gently, just until even. Do not add more salt.
Add in this stepVegetable oil 2 tspGreen onion, finely chopped 30 gToasted sesame oil 2 tsp
Keep the wrappers under a damp towel. Put a heaped teaspoon (about 15 g) of filling in the center, fold into a half-moon and pinch the top, then press the edges shut from both ends toward the middle, pushing out the air. If the edges will not stick, dab them with a little water. Set the dumplings on a floured tray without touching. Wrapping takes about .
Add in this stepRound dumpling wrappers (store-bought) 24
Bring the water to a rolling boil in a 24 cm pot over high heat. It takes about , so turn it on while you wrap the last few dumplings.
Add in this stepWater for boiling 3 L
high heatNumber of batches: 1. Slide in the dumplings and gently push the water with the back of a ladle so none stick to the bottom. Keep the heat on high heat. Each time the water comes back to a boil, add 100 ml cold water; do this three times, about per batch. They are done when they float and look puffy, and a test dumpling cut open shows no pink.
high heatMix the black vinegar, garlic and chili oil in small dishes. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon, let the water drain off and serve hot with the dip.
Add in this stepChinese black vinegar (Chinkiang) 2 tbspMinced garlic 1 tspChili oil (optional) 1 tsp
Cook's tip
Store-bought wrappers dry out fast, so keep them covered. Freeze extra dumplings spaced out on a tray, then bag them; cook straight from frozen, adding 2 to 3 minutes. The most common cause of a soggy filling is cabbage that was not squeezed hard enough.
Cooking it at camp
Wrap at home, freeze them on a tray and carry them in the cooler, so at camp you only need to boil. In a small camping pot cook 8 to 10 at a time, and use a windscreen: wind makes the water slow to return to the boil.