Crab Soup Dumplings

Makes 24 Sauces and accompaniments

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Method

Place the pork in a mixing bowl with the rice wine, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, pepper, salt and sugar, add a pinch of freshly ground white pepper and 3tbsp water and beat into a paste with a wooden spoon. Fold through the crab meat, dried shrimp, spring onions and sesame oil. Allow to rest, chilled, for 20 minutes while you prepare your wrappers.

Following the instructions, divide the jiaozi dough into 3, then roll a third of the dough into a sausage shape around 25cm long and cut it into 8 equal-sized segments. Roll the segments into balls and then roll each out into a wrapper, around 12cm in diameter.

Keeping the pork and crab filling and jellied stock on hand, add 1tbsp of the filling to the centre of a wrapper and place 1⁄2tsp of jellied stock on top. Bring the edges of the wrapper together and add ‘money bag’ pleats if you wish. Place the dumplings, spaced at least 1cm apart, on a baking paper-lined tray and leave to sit while you fill more wrappers.

When ready to cook, transfer the dumplings to a baking paper-lined steamer basket. Steam over a pan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Be very careful when removing the dumplings to avoid the skin ripping in the process.

Mix together all the dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl and serve with the dumplings. Note: After you have made 4 or 5 dumplings, you can transfer them to the freezer to firm up. As the filling is wet, the wrappers can absorb the moisture and may begin to sag. Putting them in the freezer while you make the rest of the dumplings halts this process and leaves the dumplings standing to attention. They shouldn’t be left so long that they freeze through, although you can leave some in the freezer if you don’t want to eat them all straight away.

Jiaozi dumpling dough

MAKES AROUND 560G

To make the dough, add the flour and a pinch of salt to a mixing bowl and stir through with chopsticks or a fork to separate any large lumps.

Measure out 160ml of just- boiled water and 80ml cold water and keep them close to hand. First, add the boiling water to the flour and quickly combine into a crumbly mixture. Once the boiling water has been completely absorbed, add the cold water and mix in.

Continue to mix until a ball of dough is formed. Knead this for 1-2 minutes in the bowl, then turn it out onto your work surface. Continue to knead the dough for 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.

Once the dough is smooth and supple, form it into a ball and place inside a resealable plastic bag or in a bowl covered with a clean, damp tea towel. Leave this to rest at room temperature while you prepare the dumpling filling according to your chosen recipe. If you are preparing the dough more than 1 hour ahead of time, you can leave it to rest, chilled.

To make and fill the dumpling wrappers, take the ball of dough and knead it for 3-5 minutes. The dough should be very supple and elastic. Cut the ball into thirds – you will be working with one-third at a time – and put the other two-thirds back into the plastic bag or covered bowl to prevent the dough from drying out.

Roll the dough into a sausage shape. You may need to coat your work surface with a sprinkling of flour. Cut the dough into 8-10 equal-sized segments, depending on the recipe, then roll each into a ball.

To make a dumpling wrapper, take 1 of the small dough balls and using 3 fingers, flatten it into a small disc. Take your rolling pin and roll out the topmost edge of the disc. Rotate by 30 degrees and roll out the topmost edge once again. Continue to do this, rotating and rolling, until you have what looks like a little fried egg. The dough should be flat around the outer edges, with a thicker, raised centre. Make sure there is a light dusting of flour on each wrapper as they are prone to sticking together.

Now take a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand and place a spoonful of your filling in the centre. Bring the edges of the wrapper together and gently press the dough to seal the dumpling. You can add some pleats if you want to, but this isn’t totally necessary – the dumplings will still taste delicious.

Place the completed dumplings on a baking paper- lined tray, spaced at least 1cm apart. They will rest while they are sitting and may expand a little. Repeat this process with the remaining two-thirds of the dough and the rest of the filling before cooking the dumplings.

Jellied stock

MAKES 1.2 LITRES

Chop the chicken into 2.5-5cm pieces with a cleaver to reveal the bone marrow. Add to a large saucepan, along with all the other stock ingredients except the gelatine. Pour in 1.2 litres water.

Bring to a steady simmer and leave for 2 hours to gently cook over a low heat. (Alternatively, once boiling, transfer to a slow cooker and leave on the low setting overnight.) Skim off any scum that rises to the surface in the first 30 minutes.

When the stock is ready, strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a piece of muslin.

Dissolve the gelatine in 2tbsp water. Add this to the stock, then pour the stock into a baking tray and freeze until set.