Asian Pork Dumplings

As the days get shorter and colder it's time for traditional winter meals to come out again. This dish is a slightly different take on the hearty and warming winter soup. Don't let the number of ingredients put you off attempting this dish, it is easy to prepare and delicious. The following is based on a recipe taken from the New Zealand magazine 'Taste' and will serve 4.



Dumplings
450g of pork mince
1/2 a cup of finely chopped spring onions
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
2 teaspoons of minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon of cornflour
1/2 a teaspoon of salt
1/2 a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
20-30 dumpling wrappers (found at your local Asian supermarket)

Prepare the dumpling filling by thoroughly mixing all of the above ingredients in a bowl (except the dumpling wrappers of course).
Place the dumpling wrappers on a flat surface and place a teaspoon of the filling in the centre of each (don't over fill). Moisten the edge of one half of each wrapper and fold over to enclose the filling. Press down firmly right along the edge to seal.
Poach the dumplings in batches in boiling water until they are cooked through, this takes around 4-5 minutes. Drain and set aside.



Broth
1 1/2 litres of chicken stock (buy it in liquid form not powder)
1 clove of garlic, squashed (not minced)
6 slices of ginger
A handful of dried shitake mushrooms, sliced and rehydrated in a cup of hot water
250g of portobello mushrooms
2 heads of baby bok choy halved lengthwise
1 head of broccoli cut in to florettes

To prepare the broth pour the stock in to a large pan and add garlic, ginger and the shitake mushrooms and the water they soaked in. Bring to the boil and then add the fresh portobello mushrooms and the bok choy and broccoli. Simmer for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are just tender but not soft.
Put the dumplings in to your serving bowls and ladle over the broth adding mushrooms, bok choy and broccoli. Seve with Asian style soup spoons and chopsticks. 好吃