Saturday 28 January 2012

Done Some Dim Sum

"Agnolotti Asiatiche" con Ripieno die Maiale al Vapore
Steamed Pork Dumplings


Sometimes, it's those little things in life that make all the difference, am I right? And sometimes, those little things are parcels of dough with a ground pork and shredded cabbage filling... and yes they did make a difference this evening! They put a smile on my face and that's for sure!

I had been out of town all day and was home and hungry... it was after 8pm and something had to happen FAST! I opened the freezer and there was a packet of Thai Spring-roll pastry... next to it was a container of shredded red cabbage that I had frozen a month or so ago, in the fridge was ground pork, ginger and some fresh white cabbage- and already a thought was forming...

Before I knew what was happening, I had fetched out my trusty steamer, started some water boiling and was reaching for my chopping board and the fun was about to begin!


I finely shredded the white cabbage and mixed it with the ground pork- about a handful of each. To this I added about a teaspoonful of grated fresh ginger, the same amount of finely chopped coriander, some salt, pepper, 5-spice powder, a little fish-sauce and a pinch of sugar... and that was the filling taken care of!

Next, I cut rounds from the spring roll pastry using a cookie cutter. Using a double layer of pastry, I laid out the ground pork mix and one side of the circle and folded it shut. I glued it down using a simple paste made of flour and water, first with one layer of pastry and then with a second, just to make sure the little parcels would not be too delicate.

To steam the dumplings, I laid out lettuce leaves  on the steam rack to prevent the pastry from sticking.The type of lettuce I used was similar to a Romaine, but you can use any kind that you like. I sprinkled the red cabbage with a little salt and sugar before adding it and then put on the lid and steamed everything for 10 minutes... and that was it!

I served them with a little Thai sweet chili sauce and some toasted red-chili flakes on the bed of lettuce I steamed them on and a little of the red cabbage. A few Spring onion rings and a little fresh Cilantro and a good time was had by all! Well... by me anyway...

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