Submitted by ciau on
A dumpling-making activity was held at the Confucius House on Park Street on November 13th. Nine students from the Chinese class and five members of the CIAU Tai Chi Group joined the activity.
The activity started with a short introduction to how to make dumplings. Lucy Liu, a CIAU Mandarin teacher, then gave a brief demonstration. After that, everyone began to make dumplings.
Here is the recipe for dumplings:
Prepare a soft dough with flour and water.
Knead for 10 minutes and then cover the dough with a lid.
Let the dough rest for half an hour. When the dough is smooth and springy, roll it into a long string and then cut it into smaller pieces.
Dust both sides of a piece of dough with flour and press into a round disc and then roll thin.
Now that the wrapper is ready, wrap it around a spoonful of filling, and then seal it tight. Traditionally the edges are crimped on one side as they are sealed.
Although there were various sizes and shapes of dumplings, the cooks had fun making them. To enrich the experience, three variants of the dumplings were produced. There was a vegetarian option, which contained egg and cucumbers, as well as two meat options containing beef and pork.
The dumplings were boiled and then served. People huddled around the table, waiting eagerly to taste the delicious dumplings.
“It was cool and fun to make something I’ve never made before and then to try it out. It was also a good opportunity to practice my Chinese with fluent speakers,” said Ian Philbrick-Miller, a student from Chinese 101 class.
“This activity is really interesting. The dumplings are delicious. Now I know how to make dumplings myself and I will do it in my home,” said Isabella Comai.
When asked whether they could now make dumplings on their own, most of the cooks said yes.
