This past weekend, I was invited to a tea and dumpling event to learn about traditional chinese customs. I observed a traditional chinese tea set and tasted three different kinds of tea: green, pu'erh and black. A traditional Chinese tea set is much smaller than you might think and much more than just pouring tea from a pot. You first put the tea leaves into the pot, then pour hot water into the pot. The tea leaves expand and the first step is to pour the tea into the cups to get them warm, you don't actually drink the tea on the first pour. You dump out the tea water and pour again. This pour is the tea actually served to guests to drink.
Tasting tea is very similar to wine tasting. You look at the color, take time to smell the aroma and savor the taste on your tongue and down your throat. You keep separate tea pots for different teas and never wash the pot with soap, only rinse with water. A tea pot gets better with age the more you use it. Tea is commonly known to be good for digestion and should be enjoyed calmly and slowly.
The second event of the evening was learning how to make jiaozi, chinese dumplings. Jiaozi is one of my favorite dishes to eat here, so I was very anxious to learn how to make it. We mixed beef, fennel, oil, salt and pepper to make one mixture and tofu, carrots, oil, salt and pepper to make a vegetarian mixture. There are many different kinds of jiaozi, you can put inside whatever you like.
We bought the dough, pre-made, at the market, already cut into circles ready to be stuffed and folded. We put the mixture in the middle of the circle, then carefully folded and crimped the dough together, creating a dumpling. My first couple dumplings looked awful, but after a bit of practice, I was a pro! Between the 8 of us at the event, we must have made easily over a hundred dumplings. You can either fry, boil or steam jiaozi. My favorite is fried, but we boiled them this evening and had a wonderful feast.
Tea and treats!
The three bowls are filled with the three different kinds of tea we tried: green, black and pu'erh. The three animal-looking figures behind the bowls are for good luck. When pouring out the first pot of tea (to get the cups and pot warm) you pour the tea over these figurines and it is believed to bring the tea owner good luck and fortune.
A traditional Chinese tea set
After several attempts, a more beautiful looking chinese dumpling.
The dough ready to be stuffed with beef and vegetables
Me, practicing making jiaozi, before it becomes a dumpling
Our delicious feast after the dumplings were boiled.
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