Table of Contents
Pork Dumplings Jiao Zi with napa cabbage is among the most well-liked classic food in China’s Northern Area. They feature homemade dumpling wrappers filled with juicy and tasty pork fillings mixed with nap cabbage. The wrappers are soft but have a firm bite texture. So naturally delicious and satisfying.
Dumplings Jiao Zi Fun Facts
What is Dumplings Jiao Zi?
Jiao Zi {饺子} refer to freshly boiled dumplings. They feature soft but firm bite textured dumpling wrappers, made of all-purpose flour, filled with varieties of fillings.
As traditional celebratory food in Northern China, Pork Jiao Zi with Cabbage was reserved for Chinese New Year or other special associations. This is especially true during the old time when food and resources were scarce.
What are Chinese dumplings usually filled with?
Pork, usually combined with chopped vegetables, by far is the most popular filling choice traditionally in northern China. Nappa cabbage, celery, cilantro, chives, and dill are most common vegetables seen in Dumplings Jiao Zi.
Seafood is another regular filling choice. For instance, coastal areas in Northeastern China use shark meat for dumplings. The iconic “Three Deliciousness”, or “San Xian {三鲜} Dumplings Jiao Zi features pork and shrimp mixed with chopped chives.
During modern time after chicken industry took off, chicken has become a popular choice of dumpling filling too.
Beef and lamb are primary dumpling filings in Northwestern China. However, people rarely boil beef or lamb dumplings. Instead, they make pan fried dumplings or Guo Tie {锅贴 potstickers}. Beef Dumplings Guo Tie is a popular pan fried dumplings.
How to serve Chinese Dumplings Jiao Zi?
Serve the dumplings Jiao Zi hot with Zhenjiang Vinegar as a dipping sauce. It is also a tradition to have a bowl of Dumpling Jiao Zi Soup from the water used to boil the dumplings. As the old saying states, “The Original Soup Digest {Hua 化 } Original Food” {原汤化原食}.
How to Make Perfectly tasty and healthy Pork Dumplings Jiao Zi with Napa Cabbage?
First thing first is to use Homemade Dumpling Wrappers if you can
Freshly homemade wrappers are excellent for Jiao Zi dumplings. Let the dough rest for 1 hour if possible for softer, tastier dumpling wrappers. See here for a detailed step-by-step recipe.
See for the store-bought substitute.
Traditional Dumplings Jiao Zi has a substantial thickness. Not overly thick, but substantial for a satisfying firm-bite. I use setting 3 (medium) for my Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller.
Tip No. 2 is to use homemade ground pork if you can
Undoubtedly, quality ground pork is the key to a tasty pork dumpling. I usually grind my ground pork at home using a combination of pork belly and pork shoulder or butt. Check it out here for more details.
It worth mentioning that if your meat grinder has two settings, coarse vs. fine, use coarse for grinding meat. This is because meat preferably needs to maintain the “meaty” form for the maximum level of deliciousness. Exact the same reason old-fashioned way people use a cleaver to chop meat on a thick cutting board
Tip No.3 is to marinate the pork filling properly
Simple wholesome ingredients in this recipe do an astonishing job tenderizing and flavor the pork. Chinese traditional cooking condiments Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and a pinch of Zhenjiang vinegar work perfectly together to season the ground pork. A pinch of Himalayan pink salt, coriander seeds powder and star anise powder elevate the flavor to a new level. Egg and arrowroot flour help bind the pork filling together.
I usually get organic whole coriander seeds and then use a spice grinder to turn them into powder.
Tip No.4 is to stir-fry thin cabbage slices first before mixing with the pork
Use the top half cabbage, which is the leafy part if you can. Chop cabbage leaves into small pieces. Stir-fry with a bit of oil and a pinch of salt until they wilt, about 2 minutes. Wait about 10 minutes for them to cool down and then add to the pork filling. Mix and fold into the pork filling.
I always include the additional juice coming out of the cabbage during the stir-fry to the filling. This is the secret behind juicy dumpling filling. This might make the filling seem watery, keep churning the pork in the same direction using a wooden spatula to let the pork absorb the juice.
Tip No.5 is to Wrap Dumplings Jiao Zi using easy traditional way
There are many ways of wrapping dumplings. See here for a Northern China classic style done in a simplified easy-to-follow way.
Last but not least is to Cook the Pork Dumplings Jiao Zi Properly
In a nutshell, we need to cook dumplings relatively fast so that the wrappers remain refreshing, firm bite texture. This means we use a large amount of boiling water to cook dumplings in small batches.
Fill a large stockpot (at least 8 Qt.) with 75% water and bring it to a boil. Once the water reaches the boiling point, carefully add dumplings into the pot. Do not over-crowd the pot, a maximum of 20 dumplings at one time. This way, the dumplings can cook faster to avoid wrappers become soggy.
Immediately stir gently and touching the bottom of the pot using a bamboo spatula with a long handle to make sure Jiao Zi Dumplings are not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot with the lid and wait for it to reach the boil again, about 1-2 minutes.
When it does, pour a cup of tap water into the pot and cover the lid and wait for it to reach boil again. Repeat this for another 3 times.
By now, all Jiao Zi dumplings are floating to the surface and look plump. Turn off the heat and remove the Jiao Zi from the pot using a spider skimmer and place them onto a plate.
Immediately stir and turn the dumplings to let the steam off so that they do not stick to each other or get soggy.
A spider skimmer is a very handy tool to fetch boiled food from the pot. We re-use the same pot of boiling water to cook all the dumplings.
Pork Dumplings Jiao Zi with Napa Cabbage {猪肉白菜饺子}
Pork Dumplings Jiao Zi with napa cabbage is among the most well-liked classic food in China’s Northern Area. It features juicy and tasty pork fillings mixed with nap cabbage and homemade dumpling wrappers that are soft but have a firm bite texture. So naturally delicious and satisfying.
Ingredients
For Homemade Jiao Zi Dumpling Wrappers:
- 495 g all-purpose flour, organic, about 3 cups {additional 1/2 cup for dusting and coating the dough}
- 25 g avocado oil, about 1.5 tbsp
- 220 g room temperature water, a little under 1 cup
- 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
For Marinating the Pork:
- 1 lb ground pork, preferably home ground
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 tbsp Zhenjiang vinegar
- 1 large cage-free egg
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour or other types of starch
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1/2 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder, or finely minced fresh ginger
- 1/4 tsp whilte pepper, freshly ground
- 2 stalks of green onion, finely chopped
For Stir-Fried Cabbage
- 1 lb Napa cabbage leaves, the top leafy part of a regular-sized cabbage, chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp avocado oil
For Cooking Jiao Zi Dumplings:
- One large stockpot (8 Qt.) filled with 75% water
- Additional 3 quarts for re-fill
Instructions
- Gather All Ingredients:
For Homemade Jiao Zi Wrappers:
- See here for a detailed step-by-step recipe for homemade dumpling wrappers.
- For the patches left behind after cutting the round shape dumpling wrappers, press them together and re-knead into a dough and re-use.
For Marinating the Pork:
- Add everything under "For Marinating the Pork" into a big mixing bowl, break down the pork using a wooden spatula first, and then mix everything together using a wooden spatula.
- Once the filling is loosely combined, turn the wooden spatula swiftly in the same direction until everything is binding together into a paste. Use a mini silicone spatula to scrape off the wall of the mixing bowl.
Prep Napa cabbage:
- Separate napa cabbage leaves, wash, rinse and air dry them.
- Chop them into small pieces.
- Turn the heat to medium-high, and heat a wok for 1 minute. Spray about 1/2 tsp canola oil using a homemade oil sprayer, add chopped napa cabbage, and stir-fry till the leaves are wilt, about 2 minutes
- Add cabbage along with the juice coming out of napa cabbage during the stir-fry to the pork filling.
- Fold the Napa cabbage into the pork. If the filling appears to be too watery, turn the wooden spatula in the same direction for the pork to absorb the juice.
For Wrapping Jiao Zi {Dumplings}:
- Read here on how to wrap Jiao Zi Dumplings in northern China classic style via a simplified way easy-to-follow tutorial.
For Cooking Jiao Zi {Dumplings}:
- Turn the heat to medium-high. Fill a large stockpot (at least 8 Qt. capacity) with 75% of water, and bring it to a boil.
- Add 20 Jiao Zi dumplings into the pot, and immediately stir gently to separate them. Use a bamboo spatula with a long handle to scrape across the bottom of the pot too to ensure Jiao Zi is not sticking to the bottom either.
- Cover the lid and wait for the pot to reach a boil again. When it does and large foams are rising up, remove the lid and pour in a cup of tap water, gently stir and cover the lid and wait for it to reach a boil again.
- Repeat this another 3 times. By now, Jiao Zi is all floating to the surface and looks plump.
- Remove Jiao Zi from the pot using a spider skimmer and place them onto a large plate.
- Immediately stir and turn Jiao Zi to let steam out so that they do not stick to each other or get soggy.
- Reuse the water in the pot to cook the rest of the dumplings.
For Serving Jiao Zi {Dumplings}:
- Serve Jiao Zi hot with Zhenjiang vinegar as a dipping sauce. It is also a custom to have a bowl of Jiao Zi soup from the water boiling the dumplings. Enjoy a naturally delicious pork Jiao Zi Dumpling with Napa Cabbage.
Notes
- This recipe can approximately make 60 dumplings.
- You can cook 20 dumplings max at a time. Do not overcrowd the pot.
- Use the below guidelines to make dough for dumplings {Jiao Zi, Guo Tie}, or noodles. The dough for making these foods needs to be a little bit on the stiff side. This is especially important if you use a cutter. Overly soft dough does not cut well. Do not add water too much too fast. The dough might appear to be a little bit dry, but as long as you can press them together to form a dough, that's perfect. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes to soften/relax the dough.
-- 3 cups or 495 g all-purpose flour {organic unbleached} uses 25 g avocado oil, 220 g water, and 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt
-- 4 cups or 660 g all-purpose flour {organic unbleached} uses 35 g avocado oil, 295 g water, and a little over 1/8 tsp Himalayan pink salt.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount of commission from the qualifying purchases.
-
8-Q Stockpot, Tramontina Stainless Steel Induction-Ready Tri-Ply Clad -
OXO Good Grips 3- Piece Mixing Bowl Set -
Bamboo Spoons & Spatula -
Arrowroot Flour -
Shaoxing Wine -
Zhenjiang Vinegar -
Light Soy Sauce -
Large Round Cookie Cutter Set – 4.5”,3.5”,2.5” - 3 Piece - Stainless Steel -
Pasta Maker Attachments Set for all KitchenAid Stand Mixer, including Pasta Sheet Roller, Spaghetti Cutter, Fettuccine Cutter by Nevku -
KitchenAid Stand Mixer -
Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour -
Coffee/Spice Grinder
Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 257Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 77mgSodium 773mgCarbohydrates 10gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 18g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.
