Makes 25–30
25–30 ready-made round dumpling pastries, or thinly rolled circles of shui gao dough
Ingredients
The filling
2 medium or 1 large pak choi
5–6 large kale leaves
1 clove of garlic
½ a thumb-size piece of ginger
1 spring onion
5 sprigs of fresh coriander
100g minced pork (swap, extra firm, fresh tofu for vegetarians)
The marinade
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ tablespoon pure sesame oil
Method
Finely chop the pak choi, kale, garlic, ginger, spring onion (scallion) and coriander (cilantro) and place in a large mixing bowl, then add the minced pork and the marinade ingredients and mix well.
To make the fat cat fold, place one dumpling pastry flat on a clean surface. Place roughly one teaspoon of the marinated mix in the centre of the pastry.
Dab a little water all around the edge of the pastry, then fold the top of the pastry over the filling until it meets the bottom edge and press down, closing the edges of the pastry to make a half-moon shape.
Now, holding the side edges of the pastry, with the half-moon still pointing downwards, pull the two edges (cat ears) upwards to meet in the middle, creating a ‘fat cat’ shape.
Lastly, overlap the two top corners of the fat cat shaped pastry together and stick together with another dab of water, pinching together tightly.
Do the same with the rest of the pastries and filling.
The same cooking method can be used for all of the dumpling shapes that follow.
Fill a large pot or wok with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Gently add your dumplings and boil for three–four minutes, or until they begin to float to the surface, signalling they are cooked.
Remove using a spider or slotted spoon and serve with the following dipping sauce. Dipping sauce½ teaspoon Chiu Chow chilli oil
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
½ tablespoon light soy sauce
100ml chicken stockCombine the dipping sauce ingredients in a small pan, mixing well. Gently heat, reducing the sauce slightly, then pour into a dipping bowl and serve with fresh dumplings. Hong Kong Diner by Jeremy Pang