This recipe is inspired by my chef Ben Bayley's stories of very late night weekend dumpling sessions on Dominion Rd. So we decided to do our own version.
For the dumpling mix
200g finely chopped crayfish meat
100g finely chopped pork fillet
50g finely chopped pancetta
50g sliced chives
5g salt
80g cabbage, sliced finely and cooked for 2 minutes in boiling water
15g chopped shallots
1 lemon, zested
Simply give all ingredients a good mix together to bind. Instead of chopping you can also mince in a mincer, or you can use a food processor and carefully "pulse" meat to a coarse texture, then add the other ingredients
For the dough
300g "00" pasta flour
150g whole eggs whisked together (about 3 eggs)
1 tsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1 In an food processor blend all ingredients together, tip the contents out on to a bench and knead to form a tight pasta dough.
2 Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for a least two hours or overnight. This a great pasta dough that can be used for home-made pappardelle or fettuccine as well as the dumplings. You will need a small benchtop pasta roller - you can pick one up these days for about $100.
3 Take you pasta dough and roll with a rolling pin until thin enough to squeeze through the pasta roller on its highest setting. Keep adjusting the setting thinner on the pasta roller, rolling until you have a very thin sheet of dough.
4 Cut a large circle with a round cutter and place a tablespoon of dumpling mix in the centre, fold one side over on the other forming a half circle and crimp the dough to seal the dumpling face inside.
5 Poach in simmering, salted water for 4 minutes then serve.
(You can also buy dumpling wrappers in the Chinese supermarket to make it easier.)
