Jiaozi

Remedy and imperial history

According to Chinese folklore, the physician Zhang Zhongjing created the earliest dumplings during the Eastern Han period. While returning home in bitter winter weather, he noticed local people suffering from frostbitten ears. He prepared parcels filled with stewed mutton, warming herbs, and black pepper, boiling them into medicinal parcels called tender ears. Over the following dynasties, the dish spread across China under several names. Archaeological digs in Turpan uncovered preserved dumplings inside ancient tombs from the Six Dynasties and Tang eras. In early historical records, the food was linked to the word for animal horns before developing its own distinct culinary character.

Wrappers and savory fillings

Making jiaozi centers on wrapping chopped fillings inside thin discs of rolled dough. Popular stuffing combinations blend pork, beef, chicken, or shrimp with finely minced napa cabbage, scallions, leeks, celery, or fragrant chives. Cooks seal the edges with tight pleats, pressing one rim outward to create a classic curved crescent. Depending on preference, the dumplings are boiled in water, steamed in bamboo baskets, pan-fried until crisp, deep-fried, or simmered in clear soup. When pan-frying, cooks sometimes add flour water to form a lacy, delicate crust across the bottom.

New Year traditions

During Chinese New Year celebrations, jiaozi take center stage at family reunions, especially across the northern provinces. Relatives gather to fold dumplings together on New Year's Eve, sharing the food as the clock strikes midnight. Their shape mirrors traditional silver and gold currency ingots, connecting every bite to wishes for financial success in the coming months. In some homes, the cook secretly hides a thoroughly cleaned coin inside one dumpling, and the person who discovers it at the table is thought to receive special luck.

Regional styles and global reach

Across China and beyond, jiaozi have developed distinct regional forms. Cantonese dim sum chefs prepare delicate steamed versions like translucent shrimp dumplings, whereas northern cooks make elongated pan-fried potstickers. Following the Second World War, returning Japanese settlers introduced the dumplings to Japan as gyoza, adapting the filling with generous amounts of garlic and serving them alongside ramen. In Hawaii, Cantonese migrants developed crispy deep-fried variations made with thicker pastry squares, which remain a popular island snack served with mustard dipping sauce.

How Jiaozi is kept

Families and cooks prepare dough rounds and mix savory fillings of minced meat and vegetables. Household members assemble around the table to spoon filling into each wrapper and pinch the edges into neat pleats. The dumplings are then cooked in boiling water, steamed in stacked baskets, or fried in a pan until golden. They are served hot at the table alongside bowls of dipping sauce made from dark vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil, ready to be eaten immediately.

When and where

Jiaozi are cooked and eaten throughout the entire year for daily meals. They hold a dedicated place during the Chinese New Year festival, especially at midnight on New Year's Eve, when families share them to mark the transition between years.

Originating in China, jiaozi remain a cornerstone of northern Chinese cooking. Regional adaptations are also found across southern China, in Japanese restaurants where they are served as gyoza, and in Chinese communities worldwide.

What Jiaozi means

Because their pinched crescent shape resembles ancient Chinese gold and silver ingots, jiaozi represent wealth, good fortune, and material abundance. Eating them at midnight on New Year's Eve symbolizes turning over a new leaf and inviting prosperity into the home. Hiding a coin within a dumpling extends a blessing of exceptional luck to whoever finds it.

On the table

• Boiled dumplings (shuijiao)
• Steamed dumplings (zhengjiao)
• Potstickers (guotie)
• Shrimp dumplings (har gow)
• Egg dumplings (danjiao)
• Black vinegar and soy dip
• Soup dumplings (tangjiao)
• Gyoza

Flavours: Black pepper Ginger Garlic Sesame Chilli Mustard

Days Jiaozi is marked

Questions people ask about Jiaozi

See also

NaengmyeonLong buckwheat noodles in icy broth, born in North Korea and eaten most in summerHalloweenAn annual observance on 31 October marking the eve of All Saints' Day, rooted in Christian tradition and Celtic heritageNowruzThe Iranian new year at the March equinox, kept with fire, greenery and picnicsMid-Autumn FestivalAn annual harvest festival celebrating family reunions, full moons and mooncakes

Good reading and sources

• Extraordinary dumplingsBBC, Article
• Extraordinary dumplingsBBC, Article

• Jiaozi on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.