Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings)
Hand-folded wheat dumplings filled with pork, napa cabbage and ginger, boiled until plump, and eaten at Lunar New Year because their ingot shape promises good fortune.
Chinese · medium · serves 6
prep 60 min · cook 15 min
~409 cal · 26g protein · 43g carbs · 13g fat · 2g fiber · 1g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Jiaozi are the boiled dumplings of northern China and a must-have at the Lunar New Year table. Their crescent shape recalls the gold and silver ingots once used as currency, so a plate of them is a wish for prosperity in the year to come. Families gather to fold them together on New Year's Eve, sometimes wrapping late so the meal spans the turn of the year.
The classic filling is minced pork with finely chopped napa cabbage, salted and squeezed dry so the dumplings stay juicy rather than wet, seasoned simply with scallion, ginger, soy and sesame oil. The wrappers are nothing more than flour and water, rolled thin with a thicker centre so the pleated seam holds in the boil.
They are cooked by the northern dian shui method, returning the pot to a boil three times with a splash of cold water between, and served hot with a soy-and-vinegar dip sharpened with chilli oil.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
about 3/4 cup water
1 lb ground pork (fatty)
1/2 head napa cabbage, finely chopped
3 , finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
to taste white pepper and salt
Instructions
1
Make the dough: stir the water into the flour, knead to a firm smooth dough, cover and rest 30 to 60 minutes until soft.
2
Salt the chopped cabbage, rest 10 minutes, then squeeze out the water hard. Mix the pork (or mushroom and tofu) with scallion, ginger, soy, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, white pepper and salt, stirring in one direction until cohesive, then fold in the drained cabbage.
✎ Chef’s note
Squeezing the cabbage dry is what keeps the dumplings juicy instead of watery.
3
Roll the dough into ropes, cut into small pieces, and roll each into a thin round wrapper, slightly thicker in the centre.
4
Place a spoon of filling on each wrapper, fold into a half-moon and pleat the seam firmly to seal.
5
Boil a large pot of water, slide in the dumplings, and use the dian shui method: each time it returns to a boil add a splash of cold water, three times in all. The dumplings are done when plump and floating.
6
Drain and serve hot with a soy-and-vinegar dipping sauce.
Northern Chinese Lunar New Year tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Beijing. Beijing cooks imperial and northern food, lacquered Peking duck, hand-cut zhajiangmian noodles under fried soybean sauce, and jianbing street crepes. Wheat, scallions, and a capital's grand banquet tradition define its table.
🗺️
China. The eight traditions have names worth knowing: Shandong, Sichuan, Cantonese, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui. Sichuan pairs chilli with the numbing tingle of its own pepper; Cantonese cooking is arranged so ingredients still taste of themselves; and Beijing's own noodle is zhajiangmian under fermented bean sauce, while the hand-pulled kind belongs to Lanzhou.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from China
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Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
Make it a China meal
SuanmeitangDrink
Nian Gao (New Year Rice Cake)Dessert
XiaolongbaoLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings)?
Hand-folded wheat dumplings filled with pork, napa cabbage and ginger, boiled until plump, and eaten at Lunar New Year because their ingot shape promises good fortune.
Where does Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) come from?
Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) is a Chinese dish from Beijing, China.
Can Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Jiaozi (Pork and Cabbage Dumplings) take to make?
About 75 minutes total (60 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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