The Word of the Week is: Jiaozi!!!

My love affair with jiaozi (j-ow!-ts-uh) began many moons ago in a basement restaurant at 11 Mott Street in Chinatown.  I can remember going there as a child with my family to meet my Uncle Paul and Aunt Jan for impromptu dinners on the weekend.  My uncle has a Chinese friend, John Ho, who would introduce him to all sorts of Chinese food treasures, and then UP would share them with us.  My dad was not an adventurous eater, but he loved Chinese food.  So, we learned that fried rice and wonton soup were best if they were of the Young Chow variety.  And Lobster Cantonese, while sticky and gooey, has one of the most delicious flavors your mouth could want.

And it was there, at 11 Mott, that I was introduced to jiaozi for the first time.  They were like pan fried meat ravioli.  The taste and texture were divine.  I was hooked.

Several years later, when I was a teenager, John, through my uncle, introduced us to Dim Sum.  We moved from 11 Mott to a restaurant nearby, and instead of dinner, we were clamoring for seats before noon.  Dim Sum involved jiaozi of all shapes and sizes, from savory to sweet, seafood to vegetable.  Chinese women would push carts ladened with steam boxes and tins to the tableside, and we would pick from the assortment.

My uncle gradually began to learn the Cantonese words for our favorites - Shuimai (pork dumplings), Har Gao (shrimp dumplings), and my personal favorite - Gao Choi Bao (a dumpling of Chinese greens and chopped shrimp).  Dim Sum restaurants opened on Long Island and New Jersey, and soon we were visiting Sunny's Palace or the Fortune Wheel instead of Chinatown.  After a few tries, my dad was confident to go it alone, so we would head out for Dim Sum after Mass on Sunday.  When I moved to college, I would go to Chinatown in Boston for a fix,  and when I moved to MI, it was a necessity for every trip home.  I never knew such havens of yumminess existed in MI until I learned I was moving to China.  Only then was I introduced to Shangri-La and Great Lakes Seafood (eternally grateful to Eva Cole for the information!)

So, how thrilling, I was moving to the land of jiaozi!  Except... they speak Mandarin here, not Cantonese.  Quickly Eva converted my favorites into Mandarin so I could survive on more than just a point and a nod.  But until this week, I've only been able to see the jiaozi from afar.  Mainly bought at street vendors or frozen at the grocer, they were never on the menu when we went out.  Not having any pots yet made making frozen ones difficult, and I was warned to stay away from the street food for a few weeks.

Then on Saturday, I noticed that there was a Cantonese restaurant in town.  Surely, if any place would sell Dim Sum, it would be there!  The expat family graciously humored my desire to get Cantonese food, and Angie somehow knew what I was craving, because the first thing she ordered were jiaozi... more specifically, jiu cai bao.  My beloved gao choi bao!  And the har gao that I missed so!  Ah.... THIS is why I moved to China!

Yesterday, I missed lunch and it rained all day.  I had no plans and just wanted to come home, put on sweats, and watch TV.  To any warm blooded American, that combination screams one thing: COMFORT FOOD!  After years of having Dim Sum only on those trips home, jiaozi IS my comfort food.  It is the emobodiement of family time, and when I close my eyes, I can still see my dad's face peering into the carts and waving hello to the manager at the restaurant we frequented. 

So I asked Mr Zheng to take me to find jiu cai bao.  I played my game of describing a jiaozi made of vegetables, and green, and pan fried.  I was throwing all sorts of words at the poor man just trying to spark some sort of recognition in his head.  We went from vendor to vendor trying to find something I would eat.  He was frantically calling people to find a place that sells this thing the crazy American boss lady wants. 

He didn't understand what I was saying (my tones are a mess; I probably insulted his child), and he was so frustrated at the game of charades.  He finally pulled into a cafeteria style restaurant, and we went inside.  The layout was phenomenal, and the abicus at the register let me know I was NOT in a tourist trap!  They did not have jiu cai bao, but they did have the most intriguing giant dumplings.  I ordered 2 of one kind and 3 of another.  We moved to the next station and ordered stir fried noodles with beef and vegetables.  Mr Zheng put some la jiao you (hot pepper oil) in a plastic bag, I paid the 19.5 RMB that I owed and I was on my way home.

The first thing I did was skype my mom so she could see the feast! 


seriously, food for 3 meals cost $3

 After I shook my chopsticks at Harley with a "don't mess with my meal" warning, I cut into them.... See the yumminess for yourself:





this was a fried rice and meat dumpling





My belly was full, Harley's belly was full, and we had dinner ready for the next day.  All was good!

Today, Ayi started, so I was working from home.  After working on the constant internet debacle for a few hours, my doorbell rang.  Odd, because for what seemed like the first time in a month, I was not having any workers over.  I looked at the monitor, and there was Mr Zheng, downstairs holding a bag of.... jiaozi!

He was so upset that he couldn't find my jiu cai bao, he had his wife make them for me this morning.  She sent over nearly 3 dozen home made jiaozi of a few different varieties.  Ayi found my wok among the boxes, and next thing I knew, I was presented with this plate of goodness.  Seriously, I'm so spoiled! 

So, I raise my jiaozi in a toast to you Mr Zheng and to Ayi... and to Arnold, the trainer who will kick my butt into gear starting Monday!