Pork and Cabbage Dumplings (Jiaozi)
Northern Chinese dumplings with a juicy pork, napa cabbage and ginger filling, boiled until tender or pan-fried into crispy-bottomed potstickers. Serve with a black vinegar and chili oil dip.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Salt the cabbage
Toss the cabbage with the salt and leave for 15 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands or a cloth — this keeps the dumplings from going soggy.
Make the filling
Mix the pork with the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, ginger, white pepper and 3 tbsp water, stirring hard in one direction until sticky. Fold in the cabbage, scallions and sesame oil.
Fill and pleat
Place 1 tbsp of filling in the centre of a wrapper and wet the edge. Fold in half and pinch at the top, then make 3–4 pleats along one side, pressing each against the flat side to seal. Keep on a floured tray under a cloth.
Boil
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 15 dumplings and stir gently. When the water returns to the boil, add 250ml cold water. Repeat twice more — once they float and puff after the third boil (about 6–7 minutes), they're done.
Serve
Mix the black vinegar with the chili oil for dipping. Lift out the dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve hot. For potstickers, fry in a little oil until browned, add 100ml water, cover and steam 6 minutes, then uncover until crisp.
Salt the cabbage
Toss the cabbage with the salt and leave for 15 minutes. Squeeze out as much water as you can with your hands or a cloth — this keeps the dumplings from going soggy.
Make the filling
Mix the pork with the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, ginger, white pepper and 3 tbsp water, stirring hard in one direction until sticky. Fold in the cabbage, scallions and sesame oil.
Fill and pleat
Place 1 tbsp of filling in the centre of a wrapper and wet the edge. Fold in half and pinch at the top, then make 3–4 pleats along one side, pressing each against the flat side to seal. Keep on a floured tray under a cloth.
Boil
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add 15 dumplings and stir gently. When the water returns to the boil, add 250ml cold water. Repeat twice more — once they float and puff after the third boil (about 6–7 minutes), they're done.
Serve
Mix the black vinegar with the chili oil for dipping. Lift out the dumplings with a slotted spoon and serve hot. For potstickers, fry in a little oil until browned, add 100ml water, cover and steam 6 minutes, then uncover until crisp.
The Story Behind the Dish
Legend credits the physician Zhang Zhongjing with inventing jiaozi: he wrapped mutton and warming herbs in dough shaped like ears to treat villagers suffering from frostbite.
Today jiaozi are the centrepiece of Lunar New Year in the north, when families gather to fold hundreds together on New Year's Eve.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Making dumplings is a family event, and eating them is pure comfort — juicy, savoury and endlessly varied.
💡 Fun Fact
Jiaozi are shaped like ancient silver ingots, so eating them at New Year is believed to bring wealth. Some families hide a coin inside one for luck.
Northern China
39.90°N, 116.41°E
Related recipes
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!