Chinese Chive Pocket Pies (Jiu Cai He Zi)

These Chinese pocket pies filled with garlic chives and glass noodles are incredibly fragrant and delicious!

Chinese chive pocket pies or jiu cai he zi (韭菜盒子) are a savory pocket pie, originating from Shandong, China. It’s basically a traditonal Chinese Hot Pocket. It is typically made with an unleavened dough and stuffed with garlic chives, scrambled eggs, mini shrimp and cellophane noodles. There are many variations now, such as adding fried doughnut pieces, shallots, or ground pork, but almost all recipes will include garlic chives, noodles, and scrambled eggs.

These chive pocket pies are quite filling and can be eaten as a main entree or as a snack or appetizer. Whenever I visited Asia, many food stalls sold these and the fragrant smell always drew me in. Once the chives, eggs, and shrimp are sauteed, the aroma is difficult to resist! The stalls would often offer Chinese garlic chili sauce, which I would put on my chive pocket. It’s so good!

What are garlic chives?

Garlic chives are not the same as chives. Garlic chives have a garlicky taste and wider leaves, whereas chives have an onion taste. Make sure to use garlic chives for this recipe. These are fast and easy-growing plants that require minimal care. For this reason, I have them growing freely in my backyard and actually used them for this recipe! You may find garlic chives in an Asian grocery store.

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Chinese Chive Pocket Pies

*To make the recipe vegetarian, omit mini shrimp and sub oyster sauce for sticky soy sauce

@thegastronomygal

Chinese chive pockets! Full recipe linked in bio #easyrecipe #chinesefood #cookingathome #homecooking #homecook #pescatarian #lunchideas

♬ Soul – Engelwood

yield: 10 – 12 pocket pies

total cook time: 2 hrs.

Ingredients:

For dough:

• 400 g. or 3 1/4 c. minus 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 240 g. or 1 c. boiling water

For filling:

• 28 g. or 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 30 g. or 3 tbsp. dried mini-shrimp
• 30 g. or 8 large dried shiitake mushrooms
• 80 g. or 2 bunches cellophane noodles
• 215 g. or 4 1/2 c. garlic chives, chopped
• 14 g. or 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 4 g. or 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 g. or 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 2 g. or 1 tsp. five spice powder
• 16 g. or 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
• 3 g. or 1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. To make the dough, combine the flour and boiling water. Mix and knead for 5 minutes or until a smooth dough forms. Form the dough into a ball and cover the bowl with a lid. Rest for at least 30 min.
2. Soak the cellophane noodles in filtered water for at least 30 min. Drain and chop the cellophane noodles into 1 cm. pieces.
3. Soak the shiitake mushrooms for 10 min, then dice.
4. Soak the dried shrimp for 10 min, then drain.
5. Wash the Chinese chives and place in a collander. Allow to dry as much as possible, then chop into 1 cm. pieces.
6. In a wok, add 1 tbsp. oil over high heat. Add the beaten egg and immediately stir while breaking the egg into smaller pieces. Add in the shrimp and saute for 3-5 min. Set the egg and shrimp aside.
7. Add the diced mushrooms into a wok and saute over high heat for 3-5 min. Set aside.
8. In a large bowl, add the chopped cellophane noodles, chopped chives, egg and shrimp, diced mushrooms, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, five spice powder, oyster sauce, and salt. Use your hands to gently combine the mixture until fully combined. Don’t overmix!
9. On a clean work surface, separate the dough into 10-12 pieces. To make a chive pocket, flatten a piece of dough and roll into a large circle (about 6 in. diameter) using a rolling pin. Add 3-4 tbsp. filling and fold the dough over to form a half moon shape. Use your fingers to seal the dough and press air out of the filling. Optional: use a pizza cutter to cut off excess dough. Repeat for the remaining chive pockets.
10. Add 1 tbsp. oil into a pan and pan fry the chive pockets over low heat. Use your spatula to press down the dough so the whole surface touches the pan. Once the first side is golden brown, flip the pocket and fry until golden brown. Once both sides are golden brown, stand the chive pocket up on the pan so that the edge can also become fried. (Note: the pan frying process takes a while since it’s cooking over low heat).
11. Remove the chive pockets from the pan and enjoy! I like to eat mine with Sriracha or garlic chili sauce.

*Nutrition facts are estimates.

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