Delicious Chinese Dumplings Making Method

China have a broad and profound diet culture. It has a long history. Especially in some traditional holidays, what to eat have some study,  implied meaning and legend story.

Dumplings from China has 2600 years of history. Dumplings are traditional diet in China. It becomes the must have diet in the new year's eve. Chinese dumplings may be round or crescent-shaped, boiled or pan-fried. The filling may be sweet or savory; vegetarian or filled with meat and vegetables. Of course, all this variety can be confusing. Dumplings making is a kind of art. So many people in the world perfer to eat Chinese Dumplings. Now let me introduce to you how to make Chinese dumplings.

Ingredients

    * Some dumpling wraps
    * Minced or ground pork or lamb
    * Napa cabbage
    * Salt
    * Black pepper
    * Sesame oil
    * Balm, a green vegetable also know as  scallion in Chinese.
    * Tai bai fen, cooking starch made from potatoes or cassava (or substitute with arrowroot powder or corn starch).

Making Steps:

(1)Shred the cabbage and put into a stainless pot.

(2)Mix the cabbage and minced meat together by hand. Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder. Pork and lamb are generally preferred for Chinese dumplings, but beef, chicken, and turkey may be used as well. In South Asia, both lamb (mutton) and goat meat are popular. The process of mincing is usually done manually.

(3)Add the balm, salt and a little tai bai fen (cornstarch/cornflour) and mix again.

(4)Massage the cabbage mixture with your hand for 10 minutes. to make it dry. While you massage the mixture, if you feel that there is not enough tai bai fen, you should add more.

(5)Put the mixture on the wrapping. Two types of wrappers are readily available in supermarkets and Asian food stores. Wonton wrappers (also called skins) are delicate and paper-thin, usually about a thirty-second of an inch thick. They typically come in three-inch squares and are made from flour, eggs, and salt. These wrappers, which are Chinese in origin, are suitable for boiling, steaming, deep-frying, and pan-frying. You can also make your own.

(6)Wet the edge with a damp finger and fold the sides together, crimping (pressing together) with your fingers to seal the contents inside. To do this, first fold it in half and press together the top of the edge. Then press each side together, while crimping it so that it looks like the picture below. Simple mechanical "dumpling presses" are also available to simplify this process.

(7)Wrap the crusts up as in the picture below.

(8)Put the dumplings in boiling water. To make sure that they are thoroughly cooked, one method in China is the "3 boil" method: Add the dumplings to boiling water, and return the water to a boil. Then add 1 or 2 cups of water (cold or room temp). Wait for it to boil the second time, then add water again. After the water boils the third time, it's
done!

(9)Transfer the dumplings carefully from the pot to a plate and enjoy.