Jiaozi-making Party

This weekend we invited friends over to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with us by making Chinese dumplings (jiaozi). This was our first jiaozi-making party since our college days, when we co-hosted a party for 20+ international students in our friends’ tiny apartment.

This year, since half of our guests were children under the age of seven, we wanted our party to be simple and kid-friendly. We used frozen dumpling wrappers from our local Chinese food store.  They defrosted on the counter in about two hours with the wrapper off. 

We made two different fillings, pork and shrimp and pork only, based on our friend Rob's recipe from years ago. 

Rob’s Dumpling Recipe

2 lbs of ground pork, turkey, or shrimp (We ground shrimp in our food processor.)

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons of brandy, sherry, or other aromatic alcohol (We used Shaoxing cooking wine.)

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix all of the above together and let sit.

1 inch fresh ginger

3-4 stalks spring onion

Either 8-10 celery stalks or one small head of Chinese cabbage (Cabbage should be approximately 1/3 of meat mixture; we used about ½ of a large head for one recipe.)

Mince ginger, green onion, and cabbage, each separately. 

(A food processor works great for mincing Chinese cabbage, but we found that it needed to be cut into big pieces before being tossed into the processor to ensure uniform mincing.)

Squeeze excess water out of cabbage.

Mix minced veggies into meat and store in fridge until party.

Makes filling for around 90 dumplings. (We divided the recipe in half and used pork only for one half and pork and shrimp for the other.) 

Everyone helped with the wrapping, though the two-year-old’s dumplings were subjected to a second inspection to make sure the edges were totally sealed. Since our expert jiaozi maker from Beijing wasn’t able to come and instruct us, we experimented to find the best way to crimp and seal the dumpling wrappers.  This experimentation resulted in beautiful creations subsequently named “the stegosaurus” and “the full moon.” 

                                

(Above, the "stegosaurus," "the wave," and "the purse")

When the dumplings were ready to eat, we set them out with other simple dishes: cool cucumber salad, a tofu dish, stir-fried bok choy (qing cai), and white rice.  We also provided kid-friendly food such as “fishie” crackers, juice boxes, and berries.  After dinner, the kids scampered off to play while the adults enjoyed cherry pie, fresh whipping cream, and spiral jade tea.

All in all, it was tremendous fun, and my daughter is already talking about next years’ party.  I think we will add a vegetarian filling to the line-up as well as a contest (and award, of course) for the most creative wrapping style.  For those of you who want to get a head start on the competition, the filling must stay within the wrappers.

If you are planning to host a dumpling-making party this weekend, check out Carolyn Phillip’s wonderful recipes and instructional video. Also check out Kelly the Overthinker’s dragon cake.  So cute! I wish I had discovered this one last week.

Year of the Dragon Predictions

We are only four days into the Year of the Dragon, and many predictions about what this year will hold have already been made. 

(In China, dragons are a symbol of power, strength, and good luck. In imperial times, they were also a symbol of the emperor's power. Dragons were embroidered on the robe worn by the emperor and were a common theme throughout the imperial palace.)


Since dragons are considered to be the most auspicious of the zodiac signs, many view 2012 as a good year to have a baby, get married, and start a business. According to a BBC report, China is bracing for a baby boom as parents rush to give birth to a “dragon baby” before Feb 9, 2013, when the Year of the Dragon ends. Others are predicting natural disasters and economic instability, because the dragon is also associated with rapid changes and unpredictable events.

What will the Year of the Dragon hold for the Cheng family? A new successful business venture? A dragon baby? A flood? (Though I hope we can avoid this one!) Part of me (the impatient part) would love to find out right this minute, but I also know that waiting for the year to unfold is part of the excitement. And this year promises to be just that, exciting!

What are your predictions for the new year? 

Preparing for the Year of the Dragon

The Year of the Dragon is less than one week away! In years past, my preparations have included decorating the house, shopping for new outfits for my kids, and planning a feast for family and friends.

(The Chinese character for “fortune” is hung upside-down as a play on words. Fu daole, "fortune upside-down," is a homonym for fu daole, "fortune arrives.")

This year, I decided to research traditional preparations for the Lunar New Year. I was curious to know what other people did to prepare, and how they celebrated this all-important Chinese holiday.

  

FamilyCulture.com lists the following things to do before New Year’s Eve: 

Clean the whole house.

Put away brooms and brushes.

Pay all your debts.

Resolve differences with family members, friends, neighbors, and business associates.

Cleaning the entire house, though an ambitious goal, is a good idea—especially after the long month of December, and I can certainly put away my broom (or vacuum) afterward.  But paying all of my debts? I love this idea, in principle, but it's really not a possibility for us in the near future (school loans, mortgage...you know what I'm talking about).  Now I find this last preparation interesting: Resolve differences...It's certainly seems like a good thing to do at least once a year, if not throughout the year.  I wonder how many people actually follow this tradition and how “resolving differences” takes place in China--an apology? a gift? a meal shared together? 

FamilyCulture.com also suggests buying red envelopes (hong bao), oranges, candy, flowers, (red or orange) new clothing for children, and getting crisp new dollar bills from the bank to put in the hongbao.  These material preparations are no doubt the easiest to incorporate into our family holiday “routine,” but I think that Cheng family will also have a "pre-New Years" house-cleaning party this year. And personally, I'm going to try to resolve any differences that may arise before the New Year.

How are you preparing for Chinese New Year? 

Guilty Pleasures: Books about China

When faced with an unexpected fifteen minutes of free time, many of my friends turn to a book:  the newest young adult vampire novel, a historical fiction that has received rave reviews, or the latest best seller.  I gladly walk past all of these sections in the public library to the sparsely populated shelves of the newly-acquired non-fiction books.

I am in search of a new read in the travel genre, and if possible, a book about travel and life in China.  I confess that I relish in living vicariously through other’s adventures: hiking to ancient Buddhist temples nestled in mountains that touch the clouds, or eating food drowned in mounds of chili peppers. These are things that I’m either unable or unwilling to experience, at least at this moment. 

But lately, I have been searching for myself and my own experiences within these texts.  What did they discover teaching English in rural China?  What unexpected adventures did they encounter driving on the country’s highways?  What difficulties did they face raising their children in another country?

All this to say that in February, I will begin a new thread, Reading China, in which I’ll review books about living and traveling in contemporary China that fall in the travel or other non-fiction genres.  I’ll review newly-published books as well as some favorites from years past. 

If you are itching to get a head start, here are a few names from the reading list: Peter Hessler, Alan Paul, J. Maarten Troost, Jan Wong, and Leslie Chang.  Curious?  Check back in February for my review of Peter Hessler’s Country Driving (Harper Perennial: 2011).  

From One New Years to the Next

Four days ago, we prepared to celebrate the start of a new year--the first day of 2012, according to the Gregorian calendar.  My six-year-old was beyond thrilled, "Last week was Christmas, and tomorrow is Chinese New Year!"

Well, not quite. I explained to her that the next holiday was New Years according to the Gregorian calendar.  Chinese New Year would not be celebrated until the first day of the Chinese calendar.  

Huh? 

I told her that the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, based on the phases of the moon and time of the solar year (or at least Wikipedia tells me this). 

"So what do you do on regular New Years?" she asked.  

"Well, you stay up late and watch a ball drop from a tall tower," I began.

"That's it?"  She did not seem impressed, and I couldn't blame her.  Usually, by New Years Eve, our family is so exhausted from numerous family get-togethers and holiday events that we let the transition to the new year slip by unnoticed.  

Chinese New Year, on the other hand, is celebrated in our house like another Christmas.  We drag out beautiful red decorations to hang on our doors and windows, the kids are given gifts of money and clothing from their Chinese relatives, and we feast on rich and savory foods.  

Feeling bad that we had not adopted any particular traditions for "regular" New Years, I decided that we'd start an annual tradition of throwing ourselves a tropical party.  We grilled shrimp and chicken on our tabletop griller, ate fruit from South America, and wore kooky party hats designed by my daughter.

All in all, it was a great New Years, and in nineteen days (or fewer, according to the countdown clock), we'll celebrate it again--but this time, with the food, decorations, and activities from China!

Happy 2012!