EASIER JAOTZE, LOWER FAT & SALT, Vegan opt, healthier

These little beauties are one of 67's favourite dumplings, the perfect balance between fried and steamed.  

Crispy-bottomed steamed Jaotze.
Make them at home with friends or family; it doesn't matter what they end up looking like; they taste so good!

67 recalibrates a traditional recipe to take account of end-of-January budgets, reducing fat and salt, and making preparation easier. The filling is mainly minced meat, cutting chopping time, and the flavourings come from ordinary supermarket ingredients. Ready-made wonton pastry was bought in Chinatown. (The frugal can make their own - there are plenty of recipes on the net.) 

The filling can be made in advance.  Traditionally, minced pork is used (fillet is lower in fat than shoulder) but minced turkey has the least fat and is cheaper.

Making jaotze at home can be a fun-filled family affair.  Getting the hang of the stuffing and folding could be boisterous: just form an assembly line: one to stuff the pastry, one to fold and enclose, one to pleat, one to shape. 

The recipe includes a few photos to help novices. Persevere with the pleating; misshapen dumplings taste just as good as impeccable ones. 

  
Cost: £4.50
Makes: 36 dumplings (filling can be frozen)

Ingred:
   500gm/gm/16oz minced lean pork, turkey or chicken
   1 lightly beaten egg
   1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch or rice flour
   1 1/2 tbsp dry sherry or shao sing rice wine
   1/2 -1 tbsp reduced salt Soy Sauce (Amoy or Pearl River Bridge)
   1/2 cup finely chopped green onions, green & white
   
   1/2 cup + 2 tbsp rich broth

   2 pkg 3in/7cm circular won ton circular wrappers  

   3/4 cup water

   Jaotze Dipping Sauce (see below)

Method:

Equipment: 10-11in/25cm frying pan () with tight fitting lid 
                & 2 unused j-cloths or pieces of muslin
               one chopstick

1. Mix pork with all ingred except broth; use your hands to squeeze ingredients together 
2. Once everything is blended, stir in a circular motion & gradually add broth
3. Freeze 15 mins or until very cold but not frozen OR refrigerate in coldest part of the fridge overnight
4. Cover won ton wrappers with damp j-cloth to prevent drying 
5. Fill centre of won ton wrappers with 2 level teaspoons meat; the bottom is flat with a sharpish peak; (note the oval shape of the wrappers)  
   
6. Bring up the long edges of the dough; pinch the middle but leave the ends open, forming a crescent; use a little water to seal if necessary (use the end of a chopstick to push in the filling on the ends)
7. On the side facing you, at the outer edge, place thumb on top and forefinger below;  push the dough upwards into a fold/pleat facing the centre
8. Make 3-4 folds/pleats toward the centre
   
9. Do the same on the right hand side
10. With luck, the dumpling will look like a flat-bottomed purse, only a little more elegant than 67's (but see how nice they look when cooked -- at top of post)
11. 
12. Place on a floured board & cover with damp cloth
13. When ready to cook, heat pan till hot; generously spray with oil; add dumplings bottom side down
14. Cook 2 mins or until golden brown underneath
15. Pour water into the pan & cover with lid 
16. Turn heat up high, cook until water is almost gone - about 5 mins; towards end of cooking time, shake pan sharply to ensure bottoms are not sticking
17. Reduce heat to low, cook 3-5 mins 
18. Turn heat back up to high to brown the bottom of the dumplings, being careful not to burn them
19. Serve with Jao-tze Sauce (below)

Jao-tze Dipping Sauce 

   2 tbsp minced garlic
   3-4 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce (Amoy/Pearl River Bridge)
   8 tbsp red wine vinegar or white vinegar
   1 tsp sugar (opt)
   1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
Mix well and serve in a bowl

Vegan Filling:
   8oz/225gm firm tofu, crumbled or finely diced, marinaded 20 mins in 1 tbsp sherry, 2 tbsp reduced-salt soy sauce, 1 tsp finely minced garlic, 1 generous tsp grated raw ginger or 1/3 tsp powdered 
     1/4 cup spring onions, white & green, finely chopped
   1/4 bell pepper, in fine slivers
    4 tbsp drained tinned water chestnut, without blemishes, med-small dice 
    4 tbsp coarsely chopped drained tinned bamboo shoots 
   zest half a lemon 
   1/2-1 red chilli, deseeded & de-membraned; finely diced  or 1/8 tsp chilli flakes(opt)
   1 tsp chopped parsley

Tips:

• 67's electric elements retain the heat; the pan was taken off the element briefly before cooking resumed
• If making your own dumplings seems too much, it is possible to buy uncooked dim sum from some restaurants as a takeaway. Steam or deep fry at home.  Phone ahead. 
• Those with problems with blood pressure should replace some soy sauce with water or stock.

For more Chinese dishes go to Nav Bar: Recipes

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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission