Glazed-bottom barbecue pork and black fungus dumplings

Serves 4-6 (24-30 dumplings) Starters and mains

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Method

Soak the mushrooms for 15 minutes in boiling water. Strain, reserving the soaking liquor, then roughly chop the mushrooms.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the pork, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, shaoxing rice wine and 2tbsp of the mushroom soaking liquor until it resembles a sticky paste. Add the shacha sauce, spring onions and chopped mushrooms, and fold into the mixture. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the dumplings.

For the glaze, combine the shacha sauce with 5tbsp water and set aside.

To assemble, line a tray with baking paper. Take a dumpling wrapper (recipe here) in the palm of your hand and place 1tsp of the pork filling in the centre. Bring the edges of the wrapper together and gently press the dough to seal the dumpling, adding some pleats if you want to. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and place the completed dumplings on the prepared tray, at least 1cm apart.

In two batches, heat the neutral oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add half the dumplings to the pan, 1cm apart. Standing well back, add boiling water until it fills the pan to 5mm - this will create a burst of steam, so make sure your face is not too close. Put a lid on the pan and leave the dumplings to steam for 8–10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated.

Remove the lid and drizzle in half the shacha sauce mixture, until it coats the bottom of the pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes or until it begins to caramelise, then remove the pan from the heat and turn the dumplings out on to a serving plate to reveal their caramelised base.

Sprinkle with the crispy fried shallots and serve immediately.

This recipe was taken from the January/February 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.