Making dumplings

Ingredients

• 125 g peeled shrimp (about 250 g unpeeled)
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 75 g Chinese cabbage, cut into 5 mm cubes
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• Pinch of pepper
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tbsp sake or dry sherry
• 15 dumpling wrappers (10 cm diameter)
• FOR THE SAUCE:
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Instructions

1. 1

   Thaw the dumpling wrappers in their packaging or cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent them drying out.Pat the shrimp dry and pulse them briefly in a food processor or chop them finely with a knife (this takes a little longer). They should still have some texture, so don't process them too finely.Put the chopped shrimp in a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. Keep the filling in the fridge until ready to use.Mix the ingredients for the dipping sauce and pop that in the fridge as well.Get your dumpling maker. Open it and dust it lightly with flour to stop the wrappers from sticking. Place a wrapper on it and put 2 tsp of filling in the centre of the dough. Moisten the edge slightly and close the dumpling maker so the edges seal together!When all the dumplings are filled, it's time to steam them. Use a frying pan for this and heat a shallow layer of water. Place the steamer basket in the pan, making sure the base is not completely under water. Put the dumplings on a piece of parchment paper in the steamer basket. Make sure the dumplings don't touch each other or the sides, otherwise they'll stick. You can also stack several steamer baskets so you can steam more at once. It takes about 5 minutes for the dumplings to be cooked through!Serve with the dipping sauce and, if you like, some fresh chives.Eat them straight away while the dumplings are nice and warm!Gyoza wrappers are sold in the freezer section of Asian stores and larger supermarkets. You can also make them yourself if you want!Tip!This recipe uses dumpling wrappers and a shrimp filling, but the possibilities for variation are endless. You could, for example, try wonton wrappers with a Chinese-style filling, puff pastry with an apple filling, or homemade pasta dough filled with sun-dried tomatoes.