I have a thing for dumplings. One of my favourite dishes to cook, and eat, is Mr Flintharts wonton soup, a aromatic slurp fest with pork wontons. I don't get to eat out much so when I was in Melbourne last year and Albion Love Den suggested we go for dumplings and introduced me to xia long bao, dumplings with soup in them. Rarely has my mind been blown like that even when I wasn't sober.
If I can get out for a feed I'll try and look for a good dumpling place. Brisbane has some awesome dumplings at Sunnybank but I never go through that part of town. Cheeeesy is going to record a podcast out there when my schedule gets a little less crazy.
So if I want dumplings I have to make them myself. And I really wanted some tonight. The plan was to incorporate some of the brisket I'd slow cooked in stock, garlic, soy and fish sauce the night before. So what I ended up doing was finely chopping a heap of ginger, garlic and fresh cabbage and sweating it off with the shredded beef. Then I coated it with soy sauce, mixed up with a little vinegar, sugar and corn flour. Once the mix cooled I added a little sesame oil and filled my wonton wrappers.
Rather than hang steaming them I did what I've seen Tastetrekker do and fry the bottoms a little before steaming them. Goddamn they tasted good. Much better than I expected. Win, win, win.
