Pork and Chinese Chives Dumplings in chicken broth

Time flies.  It’s June now, it’s the examination period.  When I was young, my mom always let me have pork with Chinese chives dumplings and a glass of fresh soya bean milk for my breakfast during the examination period.  I like dumplings a lot but it is very difficult to buy some freshly made here.  The dumplings I found in the supermarkets are frozen and the meat is hard and dry.  This morning I bought fresh chives in a Chinese supermarket and made some savory and juicy dumplings for brunch. 

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serve: 2 (10 pieces)

Ingredients:

-      100g minced pork (10% fat)

-      70g Chinese chives (finely chopped)

-      10 wrappers (round-shaped)

-      4 tsp water

-      3 tsp light soy sauce

-      4 tsp sugar            

-      6g ginger (mashed)

-      A drizzle of sesame oil

-      A pinch of pepper

-      1 spring onion (chopped)

-      50 ml water

Soup:

-      2 cups homemade chicken broth* or ready-made chicken broth

*Refer to the recipe of making Cantonese Wonton Soup (May 2017)

Method:

1.	In a big mixing bowl, marinate the minced pork with mashed ginger, 4 tsp water, sesame oil, pepper, light soy sauce and sugar for 10 minutes.
2.	Add chives and mix well with the marinated pork.
3.	Wrap dumplings: Fill a small bowl with water.  Use a spoon to scoop out 1-1.5 tablespoons of filling mixture in the center of the wrapper.  Wet the finger and run a little water around the edges of the wrapper.  Fold the sides together.  Then press the wrapper firmly around the filling mixture.   Repeat wrapping the others  until all filling mixtures are used.
	The above-mentioned is the easiest way but there are some other ways of wrapping dumplings.
4.	In a saucepan, add and boil the ready-made/homemade chicken broth over medium heat.  Place dumplings inside for 5-6 minutes until they float.  Remove from heat.
5.	Drizzle sesame oil in a serving bowl. Place in the cooked dumplings and chicken broth.
6.	Garnish with spring onion and ready to serve.
	Tips:
i.	You can make more dumplings and keep them into freezer for further use.
ii.	There are three to four ways to wrap dumplings.  I only suggest using the simplest way to do it.
iii.	If you like, you can steam or pan-fry the dumplings instead of cooking them in soup.   For steaming: Preheat the steamer, place in the dumplings and steam them for 5-6 minutes.   For pan-trying: Add 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat, place in the dumplings and pan-fry them for about 2-3 minutes until a bit golden brown.  Reduce to low heat.  Then add ¼ cup of water and 1 tsp vinegar, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until it dries up.  It is ready to serve.