Pork and prawn dumplings recipe

Ingredients

10 shitake mushrooms, dried (or fresh if you can get them)
10 large banana prawns or similar, shelled, de-veined and finely diced
200g pork mince
2 tbsp water chestnuts, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely diced
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 pkt gow gee pastry
2 tbsp sesame oil

Dipping sauce:

4 tbsp light soy
2 tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp fresh chilli flakes or one fresh red chilli, finely diced
1 tsp caster sugar

Method

Rehydrate mushrooms (takes about 20 minutes). Drain and then chop finely.

Put mushrooms in a medium sized bowl, and add remaining ingredients except the gow gee pastry and sesame oil. Combine well and set aside.

Place a gow gee wrapper on the bench.Place one teaspoon of the mixture into the middle of the pastry.
Wet your finger, and wet the circumference of the pastry and then fold it in half upon itself. The water will help the two side of the pastry stick together.

Then crimp the top by folding it upon itself and put it down so it stands upright. Repeat until you finish all pastry and/or mixture.

In a frying pan with a lid, heat the sesame oil. When it is hot, turn down to medium heat and add all the dumplings bottom down and let sizzle for about 2 minutes until a little brown on the bottom.
Then add 1 cup of water – it may spit, so stand back! Immediately put the lid on the frying pan and allow to steam for about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all dipping sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

Serve dumplings immediately with dipping sauce.

Notes

I saw Karen Martini make similar dumplings about 2 years ago, and I thought ‘I could do that’. At the time our girls were much smaller and the opportunity to go to Yum Cha just wasn’t there.
I have changed the original recipe each time I have made these and I think this is the best combo thus far.
I’ve made these Prawn and pork dumplings for us as a weekend lunch treat but they are most popular either on a Friday night with some homemade fried rice, or as a canape with a few cocktails with friends.
You can buy gow gee pasty either in an Asian supermarket or in the chiller sections in larger supermarkets.
This recipe was created by Melissa Klemke for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder.