Jiaozi with sweet sour soy sauce for the Chinese New Year

Jiaozi with sweet sour soy sauce from Leenakomarraju

It is time for the Chinese New Year and here is Jiaozi, which tops the list of New Year specials of the Chinese and many of the South East Asians. For those who are not aware, a Jiaozi is basically a dumpling, which is traditionally made with a filling of meat or vegetables and served with soy sauce. 

Classic Chinese cooking involves steaming or boiling the dumplings. Some people prefer the steamed or boiled dumplings to be pan-fried. I would also suggest that you could also try baked jiaozi and see which variety is liked by your family. 

The motto of a good chef should be “make the best use of what you have”. I had second thoughts about making a Chinese dish as I did not have all the ingredients traditionally used in making this dish. But I thought that non-availability of ingredients should not intimidate me and where there is a will there should be a way. So I had made use of ingredients that were commonly available to me at a small Indian town. 

Jiaozi Health Facts

You need all-purpose flour, vegetables or meat, salt, seasonings and water to make this dish.  The method of preparation makes this dish healthy. You steam or boil the dumplings and if it is vegetable filling, you are preparing them in the healthiest way possible as both boiling and steaming have been accepted and recommended as healthy ways of cooking. Traditionally you don’t have to use oil, but I have sauteed the vegetables lightly in some heart-healthy oil to suit our Indian palate better.  I have also tried a baked variation and it turned out to be simply fabulous !

The soy dip accompaniment also comes with the virtues of soy sauce and green chillies. 

Serving

Jiaozi are absolutely filling and traditionally they are served as starters or as an accompaniment dish, but I suggest that you could eat these tasty and nutritious bags  for breakfast too. 

Trivia

Do you know why a jiaozi is sometimes called a potsticker? - It is because it sticks to the bottom of the pan in which it is sauteed.
Jiaozi and wanton are not the same- you know about the former; the latter has a thinner skin, is conventionally rounder than jiaozi and served in a broth.