The Sinosphere · Volume 27, The Iron Pot, the Frozen Pear and the Railway’s Own Sausage
Suan Cai Jiaozi
Liaoning and Jilin
An illustration of the dish, not a photograph of it cooked.
- Time
- 1 hour
- Reviewed
- Not yet reviewed from inside the tradition
- Cooked
- Not yet cooked and reported
Suan cai jiaozi are sauerkraut dumplings, the interior's own way of using the crock through the winter.
As tradition built it
Makes about 40 dumplings. About 1 hour, plus dough resting.
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour
- 250 ml cold water
- 400 g fatty pork mince (roughly 7 parts lean to 3 parts fat)
- 300 g suan cai, washed, soaked briefly, squeezed dry and finely chopped
- 2 star anise, a few whole Sichuan peppercorns whole Sichuan pepper and star anise, for the oil
- 60 ml neutral oil
- to taste ginger, scallion, Shaoxing wine, light and dark soy sauce, salt
Method
- Mix the flour and water into a firm dough, knead well, and rest, covered, at least 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil with the whole Sichuan pepper and star anise until they scorch lightly and the oil just smokes, then fish them out and discard.
- Fry the minced ginger and scallion briefly in the same oil, then add the pork mince and cook until it changes colour.
- Stir in the wine and soy sauces, then fold in the washed, chopped suan cai and mix well; taste and adjust salt.
- Roll the dough into thin wrappers and fill each with a spoonful of the mixture, pleating and sealing the edges.
- Boil in well-salted water, adding a splash of cold water each time the pot returns to the boil, three times in total, until the dumplings float and are cooked through.
What a modern chef changes
A dehydrator to concentrate the suan cai, and a measured infusion for the aromatic oil.
Not a numbered rung; a direct application to filling technique.
Method
- Lightly dry the washed suan cai in a low dehydrator pass, ten to fifteen minutes, after squeezing it, to reduce residual moisture further and concentrate its flavour, so the filling stays firm rather than weeping into the wrapper as the dumplings boil.
- Hold the aromatic oil at a measured 160°C rather than judging "just smoking" by eye, for a more consistent infusion.
- Rest the filled dumplings on a floured tray in the fridge for 20 minutes before boiling, letting the wrapper firm up slightly, a genuine improvement against splitting for a home cook working with a home-rolled wrapper rather than a machine-made one.