Jiaozi

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Jiaozi
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	餃子
Simplified Chinese	饺子
Transliterations Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin jiǎozi - Wade–Giles chiao-tzu Cantonese - Jyutping gaau2 zi2 - IPA [kɑu35 tsi35]
Japanese name
Kanji	餃子
Kana	ぎょうざ
Transliterations - Romaji Gyouza

Jiǎozi (Chinese transliteration), gyōza (Japanese transliteration), or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling, widely popular in China and Japan as well as outside of East Asia, particularly in North America.

Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. Jiaozi should not be confused with wonton: jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape (similar in shape to ravioli), and are usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce (and/or hot chili sauce); while wontons have thinner skin, are sphere-shaped, and are usually served in broth. The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different ingredients.

In Korean cuisine, filled dumplings are called mandu. Although some variations are similar to Chinese jiaozi or Japanese gyoza in filling, shape and texture, Korean mandu are generally more like Mongolian buuz or Turkish mantı.

Chinese version

A plate of boiled dumplings (shuijiao).

Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:

• Boiled dumplings; (shuijiao) literally "water dumplings" (水餃; pinyin: shuǐjiǎo).

• Steamed dumplings; (zhengjiao) literally "steam-dumpling" (蒸餃; pinyin: zhēngjiǎo).

• Shallow fried dumplings (guotie) lit. "pan stick", known as "potstickers" in N. America, (鍋貼; pinyin: guōtiē), also referred to as "dry-fried dumplings" (煎餃; pinyin: jiānjiǎo).

Dumplings that use egg rather than dough to wrap the filling are called "egg dumplings" or (蛋餃; pinyin: dànjiǎo).

Common dumpling meat fillings include pork, mutton, beef, chicken, fish, and shrimp which are usually mixed with chopped vegetables. Popular vegetable fillings include cabbage, scallion (spring onions), leek, and Chinese chives. Dumplings are eaten with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce that may include vinegar, garlic, ginger, rice wine, hot sauce, and sesame oil.

Dumplings are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. Traditionally, families get together to make jiaozi for the Chinese New Year. In rural areas, the choicest livestock is slaughtered, the meat ground and wrapped into dumplings, and frozen outside with the help of the freezing weather. Then they are boiled and served for the Chinese New Year feast. Dumplings with sweet, rather than savoury fillings are also popular as a Chinese New Year treat.

A plate of fried dumplings (guotie), and dipping sauce.

Cantonese style Chinese dumplings (gaau) are standard fare in dim sum. Gaau is simply the Cantonese pronunciation for 餃 (pinyin: jiǎo). The immediate noted difference to jiǎozi is that they are smaller and wrapped in a thinner translucent skin, and usually steamed. In other words, these are steamed dumplings. The smaller size and the thinner pastry make the dumplings easier to cook through with steaming. Fillings include shrimp, scallop, chicken, tofu, mixed vegetables, and others. The most common type are shrimp dumplings (har gow). In contrast to jiǎozi, gaau are rarely home-made. Similar to jiaozi, many types of fillings exist, and dim sum restaurants often feature their own house specials or innovations. Dim sum chefs and artists often use ingredients in new or creative ways, or draw inspiration from other Chinese culinary traditions, such as Chiuchow, Hakka, or Shanghai. More daring chefs may even incorporate a fusion from other cultures, such as Japanese (teriyaki) or Southeast Asian (satay, curry), while upscale restaurants may use expensive or exotic ingredients such as lobster, shark fin and bird's nest. Another Cantonese dumpling is the jau gok.

Jiaozi were so named because they were horn shaped. The Chinese for "horn" is jiǎo (角), and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for "horn", but later it was replaced by a specific character 餃, which has the food radical on the left and the phonetic component jiāo (交) on the right. ^[1]

According to folk tales, jiaozi were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, one of the greatest practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in history. They were originally called "娇耳"(Pinyin: jiao'er) because they were used to treat frostbitten ears.

Japanese version

The Japanese word gyōza (ギョーザ, ギョウザ) was derived from the reading of 餃子 (Jiǎozi in Mandarin Chinese) in the Shandong Chinese dialect (giaozi) and is written using the same Chinese characters.

The most prominent differences of Japanese-style gyōza from Chinese style jiaozi are the rich garlic flavor, which is less noticeable in the Chinese version, and the fact that Japanese-style gyōza are very lightly flavored with salt, soy, and that the Gyoza wrappers are much thinner than the Chinese counterpart. They are usually served with soy-based tare sauce seasoned with rice vinegar and/or rāyu (ラー油, known as làyóu (辣油) in China, red chili pepper-flavored sesame oil). The most common recipe found in Japan is a mixture of minced pork, garlic, cabbage, and nira (Chinese chives), and sesame oil, which is then wrapped into thinly-rolled dough skins. In essence, gyoza are a cross between a pierogi and an egg roll.

Gyōza can be found in supermarkets and restaurants throughout Japan. Pan-fried gyōza are sold as a side dish in almost all ramen and Chinese restaurants in Japan.

The most popular preparation method is the pan-fried style called yaki-gyōza (焼き餃子) in Japan, in which the dumpling is first fried on one flat side, creating a crispy skin. Then, water is added and the pan sealed with a lid, until the upper part of the gyōza is steamed. Other popular methods include boiled sui-gyōza (水餃子) and deep fried age-gyōza (揚げ餃子).

Guotie

Making Guotie.

Guotie (simplified Chinese: 锅贴; traditional Chinese: 鍋貼; pinyin: guōtiē; literally "pot stick") is pan-fried jiaozi, also known as potstickers in North America. They are a Northern Chinese style dumpling popular as a street food, appetizer, or side order in Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean cuisines. This dish is sometimes served on a dim sum menu, but may be offered independently. The filling for this dish usually contains pork (sometimes chicken, or beef in Muslim areas), cabbage (or Chinese cabbage and sometimes spinach), scallions (spring or green onions), ginger, Chinese rice wine or cooking wine, and sesame seed oil.

An alternative method is to steam in a wok and then fry to crispness on one side in a shallow frying pan.

Guotie are shallow-fried in a wok (Mandarin 'guo'). A small quantity of water is added and the wok is covered. While the base of the dumplings is fried, the upper part is steamed and this gives a texture contrast typical of Chinese cuisine.

Exactly the same dumpling is boiled in plenty of water to make jiaozi and both are eaten with a dipping sauce.

Three or five folds are made on one side of the round wrapper that is rolled so that the edges are thinnner than the middle. This gives the base a large surface area that helps to give the dumpling stability to stand up in the pan.

The Chinese method of preparing the dough is to pour boiling water onto the flour and letting stand for five minutes and then adding a small quantity of cold water. This helps to activate the gluten in the dough.

The Japanese yaki-gyōza (焼き餃子^?) is similar to the guotie.

Other names for guotie:

• Peking Ravioli — In Boston, guotie are known as "Peking ravioli", a name first coined at the Joyce Chen Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, in 1958.^[2]
• Wor tip (Cantonese Jyutping: wo1 tip3) is the Cantonese name for guotie'

History

Jaozi and Baozi on a steam barrel. A common sight throughout China

The guotie is said to date back over four millenia. However, the first mention in literature dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1280 A.D.) in ancient China reporting the guotie as being exceptionally good for the human soul.

References

See also

• Har gow -- Chinese shrimp dumpling
• Jau gok
• Fish ball
• Beef ball
• Wonton
• Pierogi
• Pelmeni
• Ravioli
• Varenyky
• Mantı
• Mandu (dumpling)
• Kreplach
• Baozi (steamed)
• Khinkali
• Momo (food)
• Buuz, Khuushuur, Bansh, the Mongolian variants (steamed, fried, boiled, respectively)

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Gyoza

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Potsticker

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jiaozi