Dumplings...

I've clearly been very lax with the recipes and cooking lately - I have lacked inspiration and inclination, more than anything. But today Kat got a craving for Chinese dumplings, and her talking about them got me craving them too! I promised her the recipe my Mum and I have used for years for steamed pork buns...actually I'm only listing the dough here because Kat is vegetarian, and also because I don't think you need to be limited by the idea of bbq pork in dumplings...there are just so many possibilities for what you could tuck inside these tasty treats!

Chinese Steamed Buns/Dumplings

3 cups of flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
60g lard/vegetable shortening (if you're vegetarian)
3/4 cup warm water
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, stir in the sugar and salt. Rub in the fat, then add the liquids and knead to a fairly soft dough. Cover and rest for 1/2 an hour.

Divide dough into 10 - 12 portions and mould each one into a smooth ball. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a 10 cm circle and moisten the edges slightly with water put a heaped teaspoonful of the (cold) filling in the centre of the circle and gather the edges together folding and pleating to make a neat join. Twist dough to seal and make into a wee round filled bun.
Place each bun, join-side up on a small square of greaseproof paper.
Place in a bamboo steamer, not too close together and steam for 10 - 15 minutes (adding a little vinegar to the water will help to keep the buns white).
Serve warm.


(this picture isn't mine, but gives you an idea of what they should look like. You could make them smaller if you wanted to, I guess).

I am starving - I'm off to raid the fridge and pantry!

Enjoy

(NB: Recipe adapted from Australian Women's Weekly Chinese Cookery from about 25 years ago!)