Jiaozi
Type | Dumpling |
---|---|
Course | Entrée |
Place of origin | China |
Region or state | East Asia |
Main ingredients | Dough, ground meat, or vegetables |
Jiaozi | |
---|---|
Chinese name | |
Suzhounese | ciàu-tzỳ |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | gáau-jí |
Jyutping | gaau2 zi2 |
IPA | [kaːu˧˥ tsiː˧˥] |
Jiaozi (Chinese: 餃子; [tɕjàʊ.tsɹ̩] ⓘ) are a type of Chinese dumpling. Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. Finished jiaozi can be boiled (shuǐ jiǎo), steamed (zhēng jiǎo), pan-fried (jiān jiǎo), or deep-fried (zhá jiǎo), and are traditionally served with a black vinegar and sesame oil dip. They can also be served in a soup (tāng jiǎo).
Jiaozi have great cultural significance within China. Jiaozi are one of the major dishes eaten during the Chinese New Year throughout northern China and eaten all year round in the northern provinces. Their resemblance to the gold and silver ingots (sycee) used in Imperial China has meant that they symbolize wealth and good fortune.[1] Though considered part of Chinese cuisine, jiaozi are also popular in other parts of East Asia, where a Japanese variety is referred to as gyoza, and in the Western world, where a fried variety is referred to as potstickers. The term "potsticker" was introduced in Buwei Yang Chao's book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese (1949 revised enlarged edition).
Origin and custom
In China, several folk stories explain the origin of jiaozi and its name.
Traditionally, jiaozi were thought to be invented during the era of the Eastern Han (AD 25–220)[2][3] by Zhang Zhongjing[4] who was a great practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine. Jiaozi were originally referred to as "tender ears" (Chinese: 嬌耳; pinyin: jiao'er) because they were used to treat frostbitten ears. Zhang Zhongjing was on his way home during wintertime when he saw that many common people had frostbitten ears, because they did not have warm clothes and sufficient food. He treated these poor people by stewing lamb, black pepper, and some warming medicines in a pot, chopped them, and used them to fill small dough wrappers. He boiled these dumplings and gave them with the broth to his patients, until the coming of the Chinese New Year. In order to celebrate the New Year as well as recovering from frostbitten ears, people imitated Zhang's recipe to make tender ears.[5]
Other theories suggest that jiaozi may have derived from dumplings in Western Asia. In the
Jiaozi may also be named because they are horn-shaped. The Chinese word for "horn" is jiao (Chinese: 角; pinyin: jiǎo), and jiaozi was originally written with the
At the same time, jiaozi look like yuan bao silver or gold ingots used as currency during the Ming dynasty, and as the name sounds like the word for the earliest paper money, serving them is believed to bring prosperity.[10] Many families eat these at midnight on Chinese New Year's Eve. Some cooks will even hide a clean coin inside a jiaozi for the lucky to find.[11]
Nowadays, jiaozi are eaten year-round, and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They can be served as an appetizer, a side dish, or as the main course. In China, sometimes jiaozi is served as a last course during restaurant meals. As a breakfast dish, jiaozi are prepared alongside xiaolongbao at inexpensive roadside restaurants. Typically, they are served in small steamers containing ten pieces each. Although mainly serving jiaozi to breakfast customers, these small restaurants keep them hot on steamers and ready to eat all day. Jiaozi are always served with a dipping sauce that may include vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, rice wine, hot sauce, and sesame oil. They can also be served with soup.
Types
Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:
- Boiled dumplings (simplified Chinese: 水饺; traditional Chinese: 水餃; pinyin: shuǐjiǎo; lit. 'water dumpling')
- Steamed dumplings (simplified Chinese: 蒸饺; traditional Chinese: 蒸餃; pinyin: zhēngjiǎo; lit. 'steam dumpling')
- Pan-fried dumplings (simplified Chinese: 煎饺; traditional Chinese: 煎餃; pinyin: jiānjiǎo; lit. 'dry-fried dumplings'), and (simplified Chinese: 锅贴; traditional Chinese: 鍋貼; pinyin: guōtiē; lit. 'pan stick') also referred to as "pot-stickers"
- Deep-fried dumplings (simplified Chinese: 炸饺; traditional Chinese: 炸餃; pinyin: zhà jiǎo; lit. 'deep-fried dumplings')
- Soup dumplings (simplified Chinese: 汤饺; traditional Chinese: 湯餃; pinyin: tāngjiǎo; lit. 'soup dumpling')
Dumplings that use
Pan-fried dumplings can be joined together by a brown, crispy lattice base created by pouring a flour and water mix into the pan at the end of cooking. In Chinese, this is known as "frost" or "ice crystal" (冰花). The dumplings can also be joined together with an egg base which is topped with green onion and sesame seeds.
Fillings
Common dumpling meat fillings include
Folding technique
There are many ways to fold jiaozi. Basically, steps for folding the skin include putting a single pleat in the middle, putting multiple pleats along the edge, making a wavy edge like a pie crust, turning a pleated edge in toward the body resulting in a rounded edge, and putting both ends together resulting in a round shape.[citation needed] Different shapes of Jiaozi require different folding techniques, but the most famous and common technique is the pinched-edge fold.[12] Take a wrapper and put one tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Fold a half of edge to the other half. Use left thumb and forefinger to pinch one side of the half-moon wrapper, and then use right thumb to push the inside skin outward, right forefinger to make outside skin into small pleats. Use right thumb to clench those pleats. Repeat these steps to the other side of the wrapper, and make sure to clench the seal of Jiaozi.[13] This is crescent-shaped jiaozi, the most popular shape in China.
Variations
Cantonese
Jiaozi is called gaau ji in
Another Cantonese dumpling is yau gok (Chinese: 油角; pinyin: yóu jiǎo; Cantonese Yale: yàuh gok), which are made with glutinous rice dough and deep fried.
Gau gee (crispy gau gee or kau gee) is a
Potstickers
Potstickers (
Gyōza
Gyoza are a Japanese version of jiaozi that were developed from recipes brought back by Japanese soldiers returning from the Japanese-backed puppet state of Manchukuo in northeastern China during World War II. The Japanese word gyōza derives from giǎoze, the Jilu Mandarin pronunciation of the standard Mandarin jiǎozi, and is often written using the same Chinese characters.
The prevalent differences between Japanese-style gyōza and Chinese-style jiaozi are the rich
Gyōza and gyōza wrappers can be found in supermarkets and restaurants throughout Japan, either
The most popular preparation method is the pan-fried style called yaki-gyōza (焼き餃子), in which the dumpling is first
Store-bought frozen dumplings are often prepared at home by first placing them in a pot of water, bringing it to a boil, and then transferring them to a pan with oil to fry the skin.
Momo
The
The Nepalese momo is usually served with dipping sauces that include tomato based chutneys or sesame based sauces. Sauces can be thick or thin consistency depending on the eatery (locally called chutney/achhar