Jiaozi

Jiaozi are Chinese dumplings made from ground meat or vegetable filling wrapped in a thin, rolled piece of dough that is pressed shut at the edges, and they can be boiled, steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried or baked, typically served with a dipping sauce of black vinegar and soy sauce, sometimes with garlic, ginger, rice wine, hot sauce or sesame oil added. Tradition credits Zhang Zhongjing, a Han dynasty physician who lived from around AD 150 to 219, with inventing the dumplings as a medicinal food, originally called tender ears, made from lamb, black pepper and warming medicines to treat frostbitten ears in the winter cold. Their resemblance to the gold and silver ingots used as currency in imperial China gave jiaozi a strong symbolic association with wealth and good fortune, and they are eaten across China today, especially in the north, as a centerpiece of Chinese New Year celebrations. Beyond that festival, jiaozi are now eaten year round for breakfast, lunch or dinner, as an appetizer, side dish or main course.