Chinese Dumplings

One good way to experience a culture is to partake in trying it's various cuisines.  The Chinese are very proud of their varying dishes, and many see food as an essential part of their culture.  Some of the most popular dishes found in China are peking duck, shark fin soup, rice porridge, dumplings, rice, hot and sour soup, and so much more.  

I have been eating "Chinese food" my entire life, but of course this is the American-styled cuisine, which in many ways is blasphemous to authentic Chinese food.  Cream cheesed wontons for examples is a food which has been overly Americanized.  The simple truth is, Chinese food very rarely, if ever, contains cheese, as cheese is not a popular food in China, so a wonton filled with cream cheese is nothing more than a Chinese inspired American dish.

I must admit, I do like some American Chinese food, but since my goal is to really learn all about China, I have begun a quest to not only try, but make authentic Chinese food as well!  

My first authentic Chinese dish that i have made is the very popular, Chinese dumplings/ potstickers.  I used an all meat recipe, but next time I will use cabbage as well.  

Here are my dumplings:

First I marinated the pork with soy sauce, green onion, garlic, rice vinegar, and sesame seed oil

Next I wet the out side of the pre-made dumpling skins, and then filled them with the meat mixture. 

Then I pinched the outside of the skin together, to create the dumpling form.                                              

This is what they look liked afterwards:

Next, I boiled them for a few minutes:

Finally they were done, and I served them with a dipping sauce I made up on my own!