Soy and Ginger Pork Dumplings in Chicken and Lemongrass Soup
Photography by Aaron McLean.
This approachable recipe is your gateway to making pork dumpling soup. Using fresh quality ingredients, this rendition is set to rival those of takeouts.
Serves: 6
INGREDIENTS
Dumplings
400 grams pork mince
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons finely grated ginger
handful coriander leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cornflour
30 thin round dumpling wrappers
Soup
1.5 litres chicken stock
1 red chilli, halved
2 lemongrass stalks, halved lengthwise but still attached at one end
2 heads bok choy, cut crosswise into 1 cm pieces
100 grams oyster mushrooms, halved
METHOD
Put the pork, spring onions, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, coriander and cornflour in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
Lay out 6 dumpling wrappers at a time and place one teaspoon of mixture in the centre of each wrapper. Brush one half of the wrapper with a little water then fold over one side. Press together to seal then set aside. As long as the pork mince has not previously been frozen, the dumplings can be frozen at this point. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add the dumplings and parboil for 4-5 minutes then remove with a slotted spoon, drain well and set aside.
Put the stock, chilli (remove its seeds if you don’t want the soup too hot) and lemongrass in a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bok choy, mushrooms and the dumplings to the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the mushrooms and bok choy are just cooked and the dumplings are cooked through. Discard the chilli and lemongrass and serve immediately.
Pantry Note:
Rice wine: Shaoxing cooking wine (pronounced SHAU-sing) is derived from glutinous rice. The flavour enriches braised dishes and marinades. Available from Asian food stores.

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