Chives and water chestnuts dumplings: Guo Tie, Zhēng jiǎo & Shuǐjiǎo

1. Preparing dumpling dough

Ingredients

3 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup hot water, ½ cup cold water.
Instructions
Pour the hot water into the flour and use the chopsticks to mix well. Then pour the cold water into the mixture. Knead the dough until it's elastic and smooth, it will take about 20 minutes, then cover the dough with a wet tea-towel. Leave for 20 minutes.

Roll the dough until it is 1.5cm (just under ½ inch) thick. Then cut it 1.5cm x 1cm pieces.

Roll each piece into a ball shape. Flatten the ball into a round shape which is 6-7cm (2½ inches) wide.

2. Preparing dumpling filling

Ingredients

Chives 600g, water chestnut 400g, fresh shiitake mushroom 600g, 2 bunches of dry glass noodles
2 teaspoons of white pepper, 8 tablespoons of white sesame oil, 3 teaspoons of salt or enough to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the chives, and allow them to dry in the air.
2. Peel off the water chestnuts' skin.
3. Soak the dry glass noodles in just boiled water for about 5 minutes, then drain away the water.
4. Chop these ingredients very small: chives, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, wet glass noodles
5. Flavor the chopped ingredients with the seasonings.
6. Set the mixture aside for about 30 minutes.

Notes

1. To make the pocket non-vegetarian: After the basic filling is prepared, you can add any the following ingredients and mix well: raw meat balls (mashed), minced pork, fresh chopped shrimp.
2. Dumpling Engineering: The Filling

3. How to make the dumplings

Fill the circles of dough with your choice of filling, and fold the edges of the dough together so that the filling is completely enclosed.

4. Cooking fried dumpling (Guo tie)

Turn the heat low, and oil the frying pan.

Put the dumplings side-by-side in the pan (without leaving space between each one). Mix 1 teaspoon of flour into a cup of water and pour it into the pan (the water should be about half the height of the dumplings). Turn the heat high.

Put a lid on the pan. The dumplings are cooked when there is no more water in the pan. Serve the dumplings upside down.

5. Cooking steamed dumplings (Zhēng jiǎo)

Place the oven paper in the bamboo steamer. Put the dumplings side-by-side in the bamboo steamer. Put the bamboo steamer in a wok which is big enough to hold it. Put some water into the wok. The water should be touching the bottom 1cm (half inch) of the steamer. (and always use at least enough water to ensure it won't boil dry). Steam at high heat for 10 minutes.

6. Cooking boiled dumplings (Shuǐjiǎo)

Put 2 liters of water in a pot or saucepan, bring to the boil. And put 10 dumplings into the boiling water. The dumplings should sink to the bottom. Cook until they are floating near the top of the water.





Read more about this subject here:
Dumpling Engineering: The Filling