Jiaozi

Jiaozi is very popular during the Chinese New Year season.
· Jiaozi dough:
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· up to 1 1/4 cups cold water
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· Filling:
· 1 cup ground pork or beef
· 1 TB soy sauce
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 TB Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
· 3 TB sesame oil
· 1/2 green onion, finely minced
· 1 1/2 cups finely shredded Napa cabbage
· 4 tablespoons shredded bamboo shoots
· 2 slices fresh ginger, finely minced
· 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced

Preparation:
Stir the salt into the flour. Slowly stir in the cold water, adding as much as is necessary to form a smooth dough. Don't add more water than is necessary. Knead the dough into a smooth ball. Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. Add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper to the meat, stirring in only one direction. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the same direction, and mix well.To make the dumpling dough: knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches in diameter.Place a small portion (about 1 level tablespoon) of the filling into the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edges of the dumpling with water. Fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the remainder of the dumplings.To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, giving them a gentle stir so they don't stick together. Bring the water to a boil, and add 1/2 cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to a boil for a third time, they are ready. Drain and remove. If desired, they can be pan-fried at this point.

Recipe: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dimsumdumplings/r/jiaozi.htm

Buckinghamshire Dumplings

Buckinghamshire Dumplings (Buck Dumplings)

Dough
2 ½ c flour
½ tsp salt
4 ¼ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter or margarine
Water to moisten
Mix together dry ingredients, add butter/margarine and blend thoroughly. Add and blend in water to make a soft dough.
Filling
With food processor or grinder, grind 2 large potatoes, 6 slices bacon, ½ can Prem, and 1 medium onion.
Divide dough into 3. Roll each into rectangle. Place filling in center of each rectangle, moisten edges with water and pull up to center and pinch together. Pinch ends. Place each roll diagonally on a piece of cotton or muslin cloth approximately 12” by 12” and wrap securely. With string, start at one end and wind the string around the roll until you reach the other end, then wind back to starting end and tie two ends together. Place rolls in large pot, cover with water and gently boil for 2 hours.
Remove the string, cloth and slice the roll and enjoy.
Story: My mother came from England as a child when her parents came to homestead at Eastleigh (close to Mortlach) around 1910. Times were tough, but there was always bacon, potatoes and onions on the farm so these dumplings became a regular meal. Traditionally the dumplings were made with bacon as the only, but when my mother made them for her family she added the Prem and reduced the amount of bacon. (I think she liked the novelty of buying meat in a can.) It also gave the dumplings a different flavor. These dumplings are heavy and tend to “stay with you” as she would say, so it was a popular meal when times were tough. I’m sure during the war when meat was rationed, the dumplings had more potatoes and onions than they did bacon. I have three siblings and all of us loved these dumplings; and because we didn’t have them often, they were a real treat when mom did make them. Both my brother’s wives had to learn how to make them and my sister’s husband and my husband both learned to love them. However, my Scottish father never did develop a taste for them so mom had to make him something else for supper when we had dumplings. We didn’t care, there was that much more for us.
Submitted by Linda Robinson

Tamagoyaki

Tamagoyaki is Japanese rolled omelet. It's often served in Japanese-style breakfast and bento (lunch boxes).
Ingredients:
4 eggs
3 tbsps dashi soup stock
2 tbsps sugar

Preparation:
Beat eggs in a bowl. Add dashi soup and sugar in the egg and mix well. Heat a frying pan on medium heat. *Preferably, use a square tamagoyaki pan. Oil the pan. Pour a scoop of egg mixture in the pan and spread over the surface. Cook it until half done and roll the egg toward the bottom side. Move the rolled egg to the top side. Oil the empty part of the pan and pour another scoop of egg mixture in the space and under the rolled egg. Cook it until half done and roll the egg again so that the omelet becomes thicker. Cook the omelet until done. If you are using a regular frying pan, shape tamagoyaki on bamboo mat. Cut tamagoyaki into 1-inch thick pieces.
Makes 4 servings (2 tamagoyaki)

Recipe: http://japanesefood.about.com/od/egg/r/tamagoyaki.htm

Yuanxiao Dumplings

Chinese dumplings are a popular treat during the Chinese New Year season. Sticky rice (glutinous rice) flour and black sesame powder are available at Asian markets. If you can't find the black sesame powder, just grind black sesame seeds in a food processor.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
· 4 1/2 cups (500 g) sticky rice flour
· 7oz. (200 g) butter
· 7 oz (200 g) black sesame powder
· 8 oz (250 g) sugar
· 1 tsp wine
Water, as needed

Preparation:
Mix the butter with sesame powder, sugar, and wine. (You need to heat the mixture a little bit). Make small balls about 0.3 - 0.4 oz (10 g) each.Take 1/2 cup of sticky rice flour. Add water into the flour and make a flattened dough. Cook it in boiled water and take out when done. Let it cool down. Then put it in the rest of the sticky rice flour. Add water and knead until the dough is smooth.Make the dough into small pieces about 0.3 - 0.4 oz (10 g) each. Make it like a ball using hands first and then make a hole in the ball like a snail. Put the sesame ball into it and close it up. Cook them in boiled water. Make sure to keep stirring in one direction while cooking. When they float on the water, continue to boil for about one minute using less heat.

Recipe: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/chinesenewyear/yuanxiao.htm

Dumpling Bazaar - Introduction

On September 9, at 2pm, at the Swift Current Library, there will be a Dumpling Bazaar. There will be stories about dumplings around the world, and there will be dumplings available for you to try. Tickets will be $2, please purchase in advance. This blog is in place to provide information about the dumpling bazaar, and provide recipes and pictures.