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...