Celery Pork Dumplings (Qin Cai Zhu Rou Jiao)

Instructions

1. 1Bring a pot of water to the boil, blanch the diced celery 45 seconds, then drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze out as much water as you can in a tea towel.

   汆水挤干

   🔍 Look for 45 秒 · 45 seconds

   Visual: 芹菜由浅色转为鲜亮近荧光的绿，菜丁略微收缩Celery has gone from pale to a bright, almost fluorescent green and the dice look slightly shrunken

   You know it's right when: Wrung in a towel, the celery yields no more than a trickle

2. 2Combine pork, soy sauce, wine, ginger, white pepper and salt. Stir hard in one direction 3 minutes until the meat turns sticky.

   打肉上劲

   🔍 Look for 3 分钟 · 3 minutes

   Visual: 肉馅由松散变为整体油亮抱团，能从碗壁整片拉起Meat has gone from crumbly to one glossy, cohesive mass that pulls away from the bowl in a sheet

   You know it's right when: A spoon dragged through leaves a channel that slowly fills back in

3. 3Beat in the egg, then fold in the celery, scallions and sesame oil. Do not overmix once the celery is in.

   拌馅

   🔍 Look for 3 分钟 · 3 minutes

   Visual: 馅料在粉色中散布着鲜绿颗粒，捏紧能成团，碗底不积汁Filling is speckled bright green on pink and holds together when squeezed, with no liquid pooling

   You know it's right when: 攥成团松手后能保持形状A squeezed ball keeps its shape after you open your hand

4. 4Place 1 tbsp filling in each wrapper, wet the edge, fold into a half-moon and pleat the top edge. Sit them on a floured tray.

   包饺子

   🔍 Look for 20 分钟 · 20 minutes

   Visual: 饺子能平底坐稳，背部褶皱成弧形，皮与馅之间没有鼓起的气泡Dumplings sit flat on their base with a curved pleated back and no air pockets under the wrapper

   You know it's right when: Pinch the seam and it holds without the wrapper tearing

   Squeeze the air out as you close. Trapped air expands in the pot and splits the dumpling.

5. 5Boil in batches in a wide pot of boiling water. When they float, add a cup of cold water; repeat once more, then cook 1 minute after the second boil and lift out.

   煮饺子

   🔍 Look for High heat 每批6-8分钟 · 6-8 minutes per batch

   Visual: 饺子饱满微透，面皮油亮不再生白，隐约透出绿色Dumplings are plump and faintly translucent, the wrapper glossy and no longer doughy-white, with green showing faintly through

   You know it's right when: They float, and the pleats stay puffy rather than deflating