Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. The Chinese year 4710 begins on Jan. 23, 2012. Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality. Those born in dragon years are innovative, brave, and passionate.

Dumplings, called “jiaozi” in Mandarin Chinese are served during the Chinese New Year. Resembling the golden ingots used as currency during the Ming Dynasty, they symbolize wealth.  Serving them at Chinese New Year brings the promise of wealth, good luck and prosperity. Personally I looking for  some good luck this year.  I’ll have some of that lovely symbolism thank you very much; I want a trip to South Africa for a little Safari and wine tasting R & R (and Peace on Earth of course).  Heck, I’ll take all of the lucky symbolism that I can get.  How about you?

Puerh is the tea that is typically enjoyed with Dim Sum. If you have ever had dim sum in a tea house you will have had Puerh. It’s a rare and unique tea from China, enjoyed there for centuries. Produced from the large leaf cultivar of Yunnan province, puerh is the only tea category to be truly fermented, it is also the only tea category that gets better with age. Well aged puerh is like a well-aged wine, smooth and robust, well-balanced and complex.

Speaking of complex and smooth, think outside the tea cup for a second and consider what wine might go with your jiaozi.  The jiaozi are quite delicate, with no strong spicing, except some white pepper so a crisp white wine with body, creaminess and a little zing matches well. I tried the lovely 2008 Smoking Loon Chardonnay ($7) with it and hit nirvana.  Big tropical aromatics of papaya, honey and tangerine suit those little dumplings just fine.  For some reason this Chardonnay L-O-V-E-S spicier dishes.  You’ll love it, trust me.

You can get your Chinese New Year groove on at Tillerman Tea, Sunday, January 29^th,2012. 1 pm, at the Oxbow Public Market, located at 610 First Street in downtown Napa . Chinese New Year festivities begin with a traditional Lion Dance performed by the San Francisco Wushu team followed by a classical Chinese dance and formal tea brewing demonstration by Lily Zhu, a native of Yunnan Province in China.

Look for the red envelopes being passed out by Tillerman Tea.  A red envelope is simply a long, narrow, red envelope with money in it. Traditional red envelopes are often decorated with gold Chinese characters like happiness and wealth.  When giving someone a red envelope, use both hands to present the red envelope to the recipient. Giving and receiving red envelopes is a solemn act. Therefore, red envelopes are always presented with both hands and also received with both hands. The recipient of a red envelope at Chinese New Year should not open it in front of the giver.

Complimentary dumplings will also be served (while supplies last) from “Kingdom of Dumpling” in San Francisco. This small producer on Noriega St. is run by Mr. Li, a Beijing native.  The event is free to the Public.

Can’t make it to the event – try this crazy-good recipe for the cosy velvet pouches of steamy savory goodness.

Jiaozi Recipe

Dumpling Wrapper Ingredients

1 cup dumpling flour from your local Chinese shop OR plain flour

¼ cup water

A pinch of salt

Filling Ingredients:

450g minced pork

3 spring onions finely, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

A handful of finely chopped Chinese chives (or normal chives)

I tbsp rice wine vinegar

½ tsp sesame oil

Salt & white pepper to taste

Serve with: a dipping sauce of Chinese black vinegar with some chilli oil.

Method:

Filling: mix the ingredients and leave covered in the fridge while you make the dumpling wrappers. This will allow the flavors to integrate.

Wrappers: combine the flour, salt and water and mix. Knead until shiny and elastic for 10 minutes, or chuck in your mixer and let it do the work for 5 minutes.

You may want to add more water or flour; you want a mixture that is firm without being too wet.

Cover in cling film or put in a plastic bag for 30 minutes in the fridge. Roll your jiaozi wrappers by pulling off little balls, smaller than a 10p piece, and rolling until thin, about as thin as pasta, and about three inches in diameter. Roughly!

Brush the edges of the wrappers lightly with water (not too much as they’ll get soggy). Place a teaspoon of filling in the center and fold in a half moon shape and press closed ensuring they are sealed.

Add to boiling water for a few minutes, when they rise to the top they are cooked in theory but do check by cutting into one, as you don’t want to eat raw pork. I didn’t have any problems with this, they were always cooked through, so don’t worry too much. Be careful not to boil for too long, as the wrapper may burst if it’s quite thin.

While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. Add the soy sauce, salt, rice wine and white pepper to the meat, stirring in only one direction. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring in the same direction, and mix well.

To make the dumpling dough: knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Divide the dough into 60 pieces. Roll each piece out into a circle about 3-inches in diameter.

Place a small portion (about 1 level tablespoon) of the filling into the middle of each wrapper. Wet the edges of the dumpling with water. Fold the dough over the filling into a half moon shape and pinch the edges to seal. Continue with the remainder of the dumplings.

To cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add half the dumplings, giving them a gentle stir so they don’t stick together. Bring the water to a boil, and add 1/2 cup of cold water. Cover and repeat. When the dumplings come to a boil for a third time, they are ready. Drain and remove. If desired, they can be pan-fried at this point.

Story by Linda Kissam, Recipe compliments of Pang Wu Yui Yi