Jiao Zi action

Look at the speed of that hand!

Yesterday was all in all such a perfect day! Extremely inspirational morning, including a morning run in the crisp spring weather, followed by a wonderful lunch-get-together making Chinese dumplings, Jiao Zi and laughing a lot while at it :). There was 3 of us - the master (her hands pictured above), and 2 - well, not so masters ;). What would life be without international friends, I wonder?

Jiao Zi is a traditional dish prepared for Chinese New Year, and it is SOOO DELICIOUS!  Our dear host had prepared the stuffing, and the dough a couple of hours before (only wheat flour and water, imagine that!). There's really no instructions, just mix it. Yep yep.

Then you cut the dough into even pieces, and roll it into flat, thin pancakes. Rolling the wooden roll with the other hand, while twisting the pancake with the other.

 (Writer's note: isn't the casual use of this Svenskttenn designer tray hilarious :)?)

As some of us don't enjoy red meat, the stuffing was made of ground chicken meat, self-picked mushrooms, garlic, sesame seeds, sesame oil, ginger and some other spices. Just the pure scent of the stuffing made my mouth water! AND my mind plan for China trip.

When done with all the rolling and stuffing and squeezing (tight, so they don't open in the pot), the dumplings are put into boiling water. When they resurface, they are more or less done.

And then - enjoy :)! Dip into some soy sauce with lots of garlic, or alternatively Chinese vinegar. Bon Appetit!