It all began one fateful summer’s afternoon as my friend and I traversed London’s sun-drenched South Bank.  I was hungover, hungry and happy to be lead, so when my companion suggested we pop into Ping Pong to gorge on some dim sum I was delighted to oblige.

Sat around a large circular table I split open my wooden chopsticks with a crack and was presented with the most wonderful feast my little green eyes had ever seen.  Dumplings steamed, fried and puffed, lay before me in an array of shapes and sizes, delicately sizzling in their bamboo containers.  These little pockets of joy were a revelation to me so it was only after a good few minutes of prodding, poking and sniffing that I actually popped one in my mouth.  The texture was the first thing that captivated me, but just as I was trying to wrap my head around the gooey goodness of a steamed dim sum the flavours of the filling burst forth.

Initially I had ordered three different types of dumpling, but by the time we asked for the bill the whole table was littered with discarded bamboo pots and empty bottles of soy sauce.  It is safe to say that since that balmy summer’s afternoon I have struggled to walk past a dim sum restaurant or food stall without salivating erratically, and my obsession for the little rascals only continues to grow.

In the past couple of months I’ve been trying to experiment with food and develop my culinary skills beyond dipping carrot sticks in hummus.  But dumplings always seemed like a feat fit only for a culinary wizard so I left them well at bay.  Until, that is, another fateful day and another friend came into the picture and taught me how it’s done.  Under the influence of a cheeky glass of wine or two I came to realise this dumpling thang ain’t so hard after all.

So here is my solo attempt at making dumplings, no wine, no expert friends at hand.  Just me and the dumplings, the way it was always meant to be.

Recipe below.

Making dumplings #food #foodie #dumplings https://t.co/w88PkvVTcK

— Louise Bastock (@LouiseBastock) April 16, 2015

Ingredients

This recipe makes 42 dumplings.  Very few people in their right mind need or want 42 dumplings so feel free to add and subtract quantities as required.

Filling

• 375g minced pork
• 2 large spring onions
• 2 closed-cup chestnut mushrooms
• 75g spinach
• 2 tsps cold chicken stock
• 1 tsps ginger
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (plus extra for dipping)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

Pastry

Next step will be to attempt making these from scratch.  Simple recipe, very easy to get wrong.

• 42 dumpling pastries (you can buy these from most oriental supermarkets)

To cook

• Olive oil
• Water

Recipe

1. Don the proper attire. 
2. Make up your chicken stock. You will need this to cool before you can add it to the filling,
3. Finely chop your spinach, mushrooms, spring onions and ginger.
4. Combine the filling ingredients in a bowl. Get your hands in there to give it a good mix – spoons are for suckers.
5. Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and lay down your first dumpling pastry.  Add a tsp of filling to the centre.  The trick is not to overfill or it oozes out like a kind of snotty green mush when you try to seal the dumpling.
6. Coat the circumference of the pastry in water so that it is slightly moist but not soaking.
7. To seal (everyone does this slightly differently – as long as you achieve a kind of pleat you’ve done well young grasshopper) fold the pastry in half and pinch together around the edge. Starting at one end pinch the edges in both hands between your forefinger and thumb, fold the edge in one hand on top of the other and then pinch that down.
8. Once you have stuffed, pinched and pleated all your dumplings it’s time to fry the cheeky things. You’ll need a large deep frying pan with a lid (or something to that effect).
9. Liberally coat your pan with olive oil and heat. Place the dumplings in on their side and fry each side until golden brown – roughly 2 mins on each side.
10. Next add a splash of cold water. The amount will depend on your pan.  For me it was about 75-100ml.  You want enough to line the bottom but you don’t want to drench the dumplings.
11. With the lid on simmer for approx. 10-15 mins turning regularly until the dumplings have browned entirely.
12. Remove from the pan and allow to cool slightly.
13. Gobble with lashings of soy sauce.

NB:  if you have the skills, chopsticks are the best tool for turning the dumplings.  Tongs can be a bit brutal and can rip the soft pastry before it’s had a chance to cook.

This post was inspired by my love of dim sum and by the folks at Our Growing Edge, who aim to connect food bloggers and inspire us to try new things. This month’s event is hosted by Nikki from Every Life Mother and Wife.