Chinese Pork Dumplings or Jaiozi

Not exactly like my mothers, but last weekend we made jaiozi dumplings with wonton wrappers I found locally. My mom made her own dough and fillings, but I was inspired when I saw some wonton wrappers on sale. I made a simple filing using ground pork and filled the center of each wrapper.

It was extremely easy. The directions on the package said to use water to seal the wontons, but I found brushing on lightly beaten egg held it together better. As a child, my parents would boil their dumplings. I pan-fried ours to the delight of my family. Hudson and Paradise devoured them up with a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil and rice vinegar.

There is very little prep time for the pork filling and making each dumpling is fun for the whole family. If you pan-fry them, it's not so critical that the are properly sealed. We experimented with different way of sealing the jaiozi, and we found that closing the squares half into triangles was the simplest.

Pork Filling   

1 lb. ground pork
3 chopped green onions
2 minced garlic cloves
1-inch piece of minced ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup of rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup of sesame oil                          
Dash of salt and fresh pepper

Mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Refrigerate for at least two hours before filling your wrappers. This allows the flavors to marinate.

Place 1 teaspoon of filling into the center of your wonton wrapper. Do not overfill. Brush all the sides with a lightly beaten egg. Fold and press with your fingers to seal.

We experimented by forming triangles and folded squares. Let your kids come up with their own variation.              

Heat up 1/3 cup of canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each side for about 3 minutes or until very golden.