LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Monday, December 20, 2010

Jiaozi Again

I made jiaozi again. I thought I had made them small. Even The Daughter confirmed that they were a nice size. Petite little things sitting prettily in the bowl dusted with flour. The Daughter even confirmed that I had rolled out the jiaozi skins as thin as 2-ply tissue paper.

I had visions of owning a thriving chain of jiaozi shops. I was gonna call my enterprise "Petunia's Jiaozi".

But quite inexplicably, the jiaozi grew in the water. They doubled in size and ended up looking rather large again. The skins too didn't stay thin. Oh good grief! How does one make jiaozi with delicate skins? They're supposed to look sweet and demure, smiling their dimples at our chomping teeth. Instead, they looked like fat nannies with over-sized breasts sprawled with vulgar invitation all over the plate. Even our teeth stopped in mid-chomp, and tried to jump out of our mouths in sheer terror.

I made so many of these vulgar nannies that we had enough for three meals. By the 3rd meal, the vulgar nannies had coalesced into a sodden mass of dough and meat. I had to pick up that many headed Hydra of a dumpling with both hands and it made a heavy splash as it fell screaming into the boiling water.

When it came out (double its size) we had to use a sharp knife to carve up its remains so that each of us would have our fair share. For some reason, everyone felt generous that day, offering each other the larger portions.

Little Boy with a little voice said, "Can we don't have dumplings anymore?" The Husband said looking sideways at me "Wah lau... good thing we don't have guests today!" The Daughter said "The filling is nice" but she was sure she couldn't finish her own portion.

But then... the filling WAS good.

16 comments:

Open Kitchen Concept said...

Oh Petunia, you have such a way with words.. LOL. I'd get my hands on a recipe for you.. after I'm back..

My Sinfonia said...

You are v brave to try making the skin! I would not even dream of it but Petunia's Jiaozi sounds like a good name. Lucky you have 3 guinea pigs at home. They can all take turns till you get it right!

Blur Ting said...

LOL! Next time, forget about the skin and just make meatballs!!

Petunia Lee said...

OKC - Thanks in advance!!

Petunia Lee said...

Sinfonia - I have three very unhappy guinea pigs. I'll have to practise OKC's recipe in secret.

Petunia Lee said...

Ting - Yes... I have another 500g of minced pork left. I think I'll make meatballs as you suggest.

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

i laughed so much, but when reminded of mom's flopped culinary adventures with the Fry Household, i stopped. oops. so easy to read + laugh than experience the journey. kekekeke......

Blur Ting said...

Oh, you could make the Lion Head meatball! I bet your family will love this. My kids are not really meat eaters but they love this dish.

The recipes's really easy. Make giant meatballs, pan fry them and put them in a casserole, add broth and vegetables.

Wen-ai said...

I have no idea that Jiaozis' skin is that difficult to make. Nonetheless, jia-you! I'm sure you'll perfect the art one day. ;) Hmmm.... and I thought you'll pass some of the leftovers to Milo? Dogs are so grateful just to eat ANYTHING. haha...

Petunia Lee said...

Ting - Lionhead Meatball? I've never heard of that. Time to do some googling.

Petunia Lee said...

Fry - Aaaaah! So you were the guinea pig eh?

Petunia Lee said...

Wen-ai: Milo is very sensitive to salt and someone once told me that garlic is poisonous to dogs. The dumplings had some salt and a LOT of garlic and so I thought it best to have humans eat it instead.

Petunia Lee said...

Wen-ai: But I think Milo would have LOOOOOOOVED those dumplings, and if he died, it would have been a happy death.

Fresh Fry aka 福星 said...

the entire Fry Household would be under siege.....the good thing about you is you improve the failed dishes, the bad thing abt me mom is, she gives up after once = no more adventures in future = no possibility of new dishes. =(

Malar said...

Merry Christmas to you!

Petunia Lee said...

Malar - Merry X'mas!!