New Years Dumplings

The Lunar New Year is upon us. Outside the rain that’s been falling all day is starting to turn into ice (prediction is for some snow by the morning). To celebrate the year of the rooster Bostonist is preparing some Jiaozi at home due to the weather. Jiaozi is a traditional food eaten on the Chinese New Year. Jiaozi are boiled dumplings, a boiled version of potstickers and symbolize family reunion, so make them with others.

Here’s what you’ll need:
4 1/2 cups sifted flour
about a pound of Beef, Chicken or Pork, ground
1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
6 1/2 tbsp scallions
2 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp five-spice powder

Method:
To make the dough mix the flour with 1/3 cup (or a little more) water. Knead until smooth and let stand for a half hour.

To prepare the filling, chop the ginger and scallions into tiny pieces. Use a food processor for this if you have one. Then mix the meat with 1/2 Cup of water and the salt. Stir in one direction (this is important) until it becomes a paste. Add the scallions, ginger, and five-spice powder, blend well.

To make this more manageable and something that will fit on our counter, divide the dough into 4 portions, roll each into a long roll. Cut each roll into 25 pieces. Flatten each piece and roll into 2 inch circles. Place a dollop of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough over. Pinch the edges together to seal the dumpling.
Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil over high heat. Add dumplings to the water, not all of them, probably around half. Stir them around gently, and let the water return to a boil. Add enough cold water to stop the boiling, and then bring back to a boil. When the water boils again, add more cold water and bring to a boil a third time. The dumplings will be done when they float to the surface. Remove, drain well, and serve.