Chive pancake (chive pocket) is a Chinese-style pan-fried chive pancake with chive and scrambled egg as filling, known as Jiu Cai He Zi (Chinese chive pocket) in Chinese. However, it is “large vegetarian potstickers“.

chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com

Chinese Chives- Jiu Cai

Chinese chive (Chinese name: Jiu Cai ) is a garlic chive native to East Asia. It has an onion-like flavor and a distinctive aroma, making it a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking, especially in pancakes and dumplings. The plant has flat, grass-like leaves and small, edible white flowers. The stems are often used as a garnish or in stir-fries. And flowers are used to make hot pot sauce. And the tender leaves can be used in dumpling fillings, stir-fries, or soups.

chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com

It has multiple names

Chinese chive pocket, also called Chinese chive pancake or Jiu Cai He Zi is a type of dumpling that is filled with a mixture of Chinese chives and eggs. Sometimes there are other addons such as glass noodles or dried small shrimp. It is usually served as an appetizer or side dish in Chinese cuisine.

The name comes from the wrapping method since we need to seal the wrapper up just like a pocket or box. In Chinese we call poket and box as He Zi.

In fact, I would love to name it chive and egg large dumplings. Since Chinese New Year is coming, this might be another good substitution for traditional Chinese dumplings. It shares the same wrapper as a regular dumpling, but it is relatively larger in size.

chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com

How to get the crispy bottom of the chive pancake

In order to create the beautiful golden brown shell, use a large amount of oil and keep a slow fire during the pan-frying process and move the dumpling from time to time.

The spice mix -Chinese five-spice powder

Chinese five spice powder, though used only a small amount in this recipe, creates a faint aromatic flavor. You can also replace it with another spice mix. But a little amount enhances the flavors greatly.

How about a much softer version

For the dough: you can use hot boiling water to make a hot water dough (烫面) or cold water to make a hard dough (冷面). Hot water dough is much softer than hard dough. But dough made with cold water produces a more crisp shell. If you prefer the wrapper to be softer other than crispy, you can use half hot water and half cold water by the following method:

  • Simply add the hot water first, and stir the flour while pouring in the water.
  • Then add cold water. Stir well.
  • start kneading until the dough is cooled enough.

Keep the perfect green color of Jiu Cai

Jiucai has a lovely green color that can be quite fresh and appealing. coating chives with oil before mixing them with the scrambled egg helps to hold the green color and avoid losing water.

🔪Instructions

make the filling

Mix chopped chive scrambled egg and dried small shrimp (optional). Add salt, soy sauce, and Chinese five-spice powder to make the fresh filling. Since the chive contains water, we will get a juicy filling after pan-frying.

chive and egg dumplings|chinasichuanfood.com

Make the wrapper dough

To make the dough, add flour, salt water, sugar, and oil. Knead for 6-8 minutes over slow speed until smooth. Cover and set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. Sugar gives the wrapper a faintly sweet flavor and oil makes the wrapper more elastic and moist.

chive and egg dumplings|chinasichuanfood.com

Make the wrappers

Making the wrapper of those pancakes is similar to making dumpling wrappers. But pancake wrappers should be more significant than dumpling wrappers (around 2 times larger).

To fold the dumpling, roll out the wrapper and then place around 1.5 tablespoons of filling in the center. Fold the two edges together and then use your thumb and index finger to spread a thumb size round from the edge of the wrapper and then repeat the action to create beautiful edges. Make sure they are completely sealed.

how to assemble chive and egg dumplings
chive and egg dumplings|chinasichuanfood.com

Pan fry Jiu Cai He Zi

Then pour some oil into the pan, add place the pancakes in. Use slow fire to pan-fry.

chive and egg dumplings|chinasichuanfood.com
chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com
chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com

Chive Pancake (Chinese Chive Pocket)

Crispy chive pocket with chopped chive, scrambled egg and dried small shrimp as filling. Crispy surface and juicy filling. This is known as Jiu Cai He Zi.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Chinese chive, pancake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 3 Making 12 mini Chive pockets
Calories: 564kcal
Author: Elaine

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. cooking oil for frying

For the wrapper

  • 300 g all-purpose flour , around 2 cups
  • 160ml water
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
  • a small pinch salt
  • 2 tbsp. sugar , optional

For the filling

  • 250 g fresh chive , remove the hard ends and chopped into small pieces (any question, check note 2)
  • 4 middle size eggs
  • 2 tbsp. dried small shrimps
  • 1 tsp. salt or as needed
  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. five spicy powders
  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. cooking oil

Instructions

For the wrapper

  • Prepare the flour in a large bowl. Pour the water slowly to the bowl with flour and stir with a chop sticker. Stop adding water when there is no more extra dry flour. Set aside to cool down.
  • Then knead the flour into smooth and soft dough. 
  •  Shape the dough into a long circle and then shape into a 2 long logs around 2 inches in diameter.
  • Scatter some flour on your operating board and cut one of the flour log to 8 small equal portions.  Flat the portion and roll out to thin wrappers around 15cm in diameter. 

For the filling

  • Beat the egg in a small bowl. Heat up 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil in pan and stir-fry the egg. Cut the eggs into small pieces.
  • In a large bowl, mix chive with egg pieces and dried small shrimps. Add salt, sesame oil and light soy sauce to make the filling.

Assemble and frying

  • Assemble the dumplings one by one. 
  • Heat up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in pan. Fry one side to golden-brown over slowest fire and then turn them over and slow the fire to fry until both sides becomes golden brown. You need to turn over several times during the process.

Notes

  1. You can use to make them as larger ones and then cut into small wedges before serving. 
  2. Remove the hard ends of chive and then cut the tender parts into small pieces. So please do not double about the amount as we do not add meat in the filling and we will end up with 16 chive pockets. And each pocket consume large amount of filling. If you feel this is really too much, you can reduce it to 150g or around. The dish is named as chive pocket as chive is the main ingredient, not flavoring ingredient.

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 80g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 235mg | Sodium: 1240mg | Potassium: 426mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 3615IU | Vitamin C: 43.9mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 7.1mg
chive and egg dumplings |chinasichuanfood.com

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22 Comments

    1. Usually we do not buy the pancakes because the thickness and size of store pancakes are not so perfect. But if you really want to buy some directly, try larger dumpling wrappers. Using this filling to make dumpling or pot stickers would be great if you do not want to make the pancakes.

  1. Hi, I’m thinking of making a big batch then freezing some of it to be cooked at a later time. Do these freeze well? They look delicious by the way. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

    1. Hi Angela,
      Frozen ones are usually not so good as freshly made ones. But yes, you can freeze them just like dumplings. However, you will need to lengthen the frying time and add a little bit water during the process to make sure they are cooked completely.

  2. Recently found your beautiful site and what a discovery! So many scrumptious recipes to try. Moreover, your photos are always positively gorgeous! I would love to be able to make these (with a few alterations, as I am vegan) but was wondering if you could possibly tell me how many cups of all-purpose flour would equal the 300 grams called for in this recipe (unfortunately, I do not yet have a kitchen scale to weigh the flour). I would be ever so grateful if you could let me know the correct amount to use. Thank you for generously sharing your skills in both photography and cooking. And my most heartfelt thanks for featuring vegan friendly recipes too!

    1. Hi Lyn,
      Thanks so much for your kind words. For all-purpose flour, 1 cup is around 145 gram. So if you do not have a kitchen scale, you can use around 2 cups flour and slightly reduce the water amount. The adjustment should be within the range of 10ml. Happy cooking ahead!

  3. Hello Elain

    I was thinking about what to cook for lunch today, saw this recipe, made it and just got done eating them.
    Thank you very much for sharing this delicious recipe and your great website.
    But I have one question about the amount of chive. I live in Germany and use “gramms”. 8oz are about 224 grams. Since I did not have fresh chive I used about 150 grams frozen chives. It seemed right. Is the amount (approx. 224 grams) fresh chives correct?

    Keep up the great work

  4. I made these chive pockets last week and they tasted delicious. I will definately make them again. But I have one question concerning the amount of chives. You said 8oz. That is about 225 gramms (I am from Germany and use grams). Is that the approx. correct amount in gramms?

    Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes with us. Keep up the great work.

    1. Hi Sonjia,
      Sorry for the late reply. The amount of chive can be adjusted based on your personal preference. For example, if I am making this for my daughter, I usually use more vegetables like chive however if the make dumplings or pocket for my husband, I usually reduce the amount of vegetables and use more meat.
      So if possible, you can use more chives next time.
      Happy cooking ahead!

      1. I think your measurements or conversions are off on this recipe. There is no way you use 8 ounces of chives. Maybe you meant 0.8oz? But that seems a bit too little.

        Even if it is 0.8oz of chives, this still has an obscene amount of salt. You don’t list whether the dried shrimp should be soaked and chopped or left dry and ground or chopped. Your photos, while very attractive, do not show the sesame oil and soy sauce added. So what I end up with looks like a wet pile of glop, while your photos look far different.

        I would love to be able to follow your directions and make this recipe, but I think you perhaps make this by memory and don’t know the measurements. I wish I could make this like you do though.

        1. Hi Billy,

          Thanks for the questions.
          As for the amount of Chive, 8 Oz is a usual amount I use for this recipe. In China, we measure ingredients as Jin, which is 500g. So usually we will have half Jin vegetables or one Jin. 250g chive is nearly around 8 oz. There is no need to be so exact about lots of Chinese recipes because we are not baking.
          For the salt part, it really is just personal taste. So I really cannot give an exact amount about it.
          If there is no special treatment about the shrimp, then it should be added to the filling directly.
          I really hope that you can read through the recipe before making it. Because not everything is shown in pictures. I am trying my best to make the steps visual but cannot guarantee even detail is presented with photos.

  5. Hi Elaine,

    You dont know how HAPPY im to came across your website. Thank you thank you for sharing these awesome recipes. I am so excited to try so many different delicious food here. I eat out often (which i know is not good health-wise) and I have never thought to make these food on my own and now I CAN. because of you!! thank you so much again. Keep up the good work and IF only i have found you sooner !!? ^__^

    1. Thanks Lis for the warm comment. Most Chinese food are easy to make at home. I hope you enjoy your time in the kitchen and happy cooking!

  6. Hi – If we are making the dough with hot water, what should the temperature of the water be approximately? When kneading, are you kneading 6-8 min low speed in a stand mixer or is it by hand? Just wondering if we need to knead for a certain amount of time or just however long to get a smooth dough. (i always find making dough to be the hard part!) Thanks!

    1. Ariel,
      For hot water, I recommend using water hotter than 80 degree C because in order to kill the gluten.
      There is no need to calculate the exact kneading time. We just need to make the dough smooth and not sticky. We have low dough requirement for most Chinese recipes. Happy cooking.

  7. 5 stars
    I made this exactly to your recipe but I did not have 5 spice powder, so I used a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of msg….they tasted great! Better than the Chinese restaurants near my home.