I went with Zhang Yao and Zhang Pei to Zhang Yao's parents home on Sunday to learn how to make Jiao Zi. This is the walk way inside the apartment community they live in. Once we got there, around 10:30 it was important that I eat something and drink some beer. After all it is almost 11 am and, hey, who isn't hungry.
As soon as we got there it was time to eat. Zhang Yao's mother had made two kinds of stir fry, some broad beans, summer sausage, strawberries, and a wonderful cucumber salad. Everything was Hao Chi, or as we say very good, but the cucumber salad was fantastic. It had some spice to it but not to much, and was full of flavor. I am going to get the recipe because Zhang Yao is going to write everything down for me in English. Because it is 11 am in Xian that means it is time to drink some beer. The beer did probably help me relax a little. I was probably as nervous as they were. Three warm beers will help calm a person down, especially when they are the big bottles. After some food and drink it is time to learn how to make Jiao Zi, or Chinese dumplings.
This is what the Jiao Zi look like after you make them. You can also see the little round wrappers and the little balls of dough that need to be rolled out flat. It takes some time to develop the technique you need to do this properly.
Zhang Yao's mama had the dough made and rolled out a section for the jiao zi wrappers. She was fast and could make them so perfect and round. I think she has done this for a while. You make a few of the wrappers and then you stuff them with the filling; we used pork and vegetables.
You just put some of the filling on the wrapper and then fold it over and seal it up so that it will stay together when you boil it.
You just pinch them up nice and tight and set it down and make another one, and another, and another.
When you have enough made you can place them in boiling water and after you have added some cool water to the pot four different times the dumplings are ready to eat.
That is the best part about making the Jiao Zi, is the eating. After a dip in some garlic and vinegar sauce it becomes very difficult to stop eating these things. I was able to eat a few because it had been at least an hour since I had any food.
Working in the kitchen with Zhang Yao was a lot of fun. Actually she took the pictures and I was trying to learn how to make dumplings. Getting to know the students here at Xian has been the best part of the job. I am so luck to be here and I have appreciated every minute of it. Even the week when Dr. Murphy was in the hospital was still good, stressful but interesting because we both have a better understanding about what international travel is really like. Zhang Yao told me her parents were nervous and worried about what to feed me for three days. After all it isn't every day an American welding instructor comes to your home. Something tells me not too many Lao Wai, or foreign people have been in that little part of Xian. After learning how to make Jiao Zi it was time for a walk. I have been in China long enough to know that I needed to bring something to Zhang Yao's parents house, for a gift. I was at the Metro on Saturday and decided to get some fruit. I found some blueberries, some dates, grapes, and some cherries. I just put them in the cart along with my bread and cheese and went to the check out. The cherries were just under two pounds and were 195 yuan or 30 US dollars. Tai gui, but it is a gift. I hope they are good, oh I hope they are good. After a walk it was time to eat again. This time I got to see how she makes the vegetable pancakes. They are good and very similar to the ones that we make. The main difference is using sliced cucumber in them. We don't cook much with cucumbers in the USA. I have eaten several hot dishes here that have cucumber in them and I like it.
After mixing the potatoes and cucumber with flour, water, and an egg she dropped the batter in the skillet and cooked it. I would probably use milk but everything was good. I don't think people realize just how much potatoes and corn they eat here in China. It is also strange that you can buy tomatoes here that have to be shipped in from some other part of China but they still taste like fresh garden tomatoes. The stove top is a two burner propane assembly, very much like at Su Ling's home in Malaysia. The cupboard had a very large open bag of flour in it. Large like in fifty pounds and since it was just in an open bag I would assume there is no problem with bugs. After the batter was made she added the spices and some green onion tops. I do like these big knives that everyone seems to use over here.
Cut the green onion tops and add them to the batter and you are ready to cook up a pancake.
One thing about visiting some one in China, you are not going to leave hungry. I was a very good day for me and I took the Jiao Zi that I made to Dr. Murphy and he also had some pancakes. Tim and I relaxed a bit and drank the sparkling wine that I had. It was pretty good to. Nice way to end a very interesting day. Some times you really don't have to speak the same language to be able to communicate.
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