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Dumplings
Feb 15th, 2007
Posted by handicraft
Several Chinese snacks have been known in English as"dumplings".Of these,jiaozi is taken by the northern Chinese as a symbol of festivity and served as the main dish for the Spring Festival or traditional New year's Day.
The annals of a northern country have this record from the early Qing Dynasty:"On New Year's Day the family share a sumptuous dinner at which warious types of dumplings are served.They are called jiaozi because they are eaten at a time when the New Year is ushered in and the old sent off."In the vast areas of North China,especially in the countryside,Jiaozi is not only eaten at the New Year but served on ordinary days when there are guests for dinner.In provincial towns and market villages,many eating-places specialize dish.
Jiaozi dumplngs are made of a paste wrapper with seasoned mincemeat as the filling.They are usually in the shape of a crescent moon.Cooked in boiling water for a few minutes,they become"boiled dumpling"and are ready to serve.If steamed under cover,they are called"steamed dumplings".
A great range of food may be used as the principal material for jiaozi fill:minced pork,mutton or beef,minced prawn or shrimp,vegetables and dried mushrooms.The usual seasonings are soya sauce,salt,sugar,minced scallion and ginger root,peanut and sesame oils.Dumplings are particularly tasty because in the process of boiling or steaming the steam generated inside the wrapper does not escape,keeping the flavour inside and the fillings tender.
From a Tand Dynasty(618-907 A.D.)tomb excavated in 1968 in Xinjiang,a wooden bowl was unearthed,containing a number of dumplings which look exactly the same as today's jiaozi.This testifies that dumplings had been introduced to the northwestern region of ethnic minorities by the Tang Dynasty at the latest.
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