Jiǎozi (simplified Chinese: 饺子; traditional Chinese: 餃子; Japanese: 餃子(gyōza); Vietnamese: bánh chẻo; Nepali: म:म: or ममचा) or pot sticker is a Chinese dumpling widely spread to Japan, Eastern and Western Asia.

Jiaozi typically consists of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. Jiaozi should not be confused with wonton; jiaozi has a thicker skin and a relatively flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape (similar in shape to ravioli), and is usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce (and/or hot chili sauce); while wontons have thinner skin, are rounder, and are usually served in broth. The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different ingredients.

Types

Chinese dumplings (jiaozi) may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:

Boiled dumplings: (shuijiao) literally "water dumpling" (水餃; pinyin: shuǐjiǎo).

Steamed dumplings: (zhengjiao) literally "steam dumpling" (蒸餃; pinyin: zhēngjiǎo).

Pan fried dumplings: (guotie) literally "pan stick", known as "potstickers" in N. America, (鍋貼; pinyin: guōtiē), also referred to as "dry-fried dumplings" (煎餃; pinyin: jiānjiǎo).

Dumplings that use egg rather than dough to wrap the filling are called "egg dumplings" or (蛋餃; pinyin: dànjiǎo). Cantonese style Chinese dumplings (gaau) are standard fare in dim sum. Gaau is simply the Cantonese pronunciation for 餃 (pinyin: jiǎo). The immediate noted difference to jiǎozi is that they are smaller and wrapped in a thinner translucent skin, and usually steamed. In other words, these are steamed dumplings. The smaller size and the thinner pastry make the dumplings easier to cook through with steaming. Fillings include shrimp, scallop, chicken, tofu, mixed vegetables, and others. The most common type are shrimp dumplings (har gow). In contrast to jiǎozi, gaau are rarely home-made. Similar to jiaozi, many types of fillings exist, and dim sum restaurants often feature their own house specials or innovations. Dim sum chefs and artists often use ingredients in new or creative ways, or draw inspiration from other Chinese culinary traditions, such as Chiuchow, Hakka, or Shanghai. More creative chefs may even incorporate a fusion from other cultures, such as Japanese (teriyaki) or Southeast Asian (satay, curry), while upscale restaurants may use expensive or exotic ingredients such as lobster, shark fin and bird's nest. Another Cantonese dumpling is the jau gok.