Dumpling Bonanza! Shanghai Pork & Prawn and Chive Dumplings

Now I am as Italian as they come, but if someone was to offer me a plate of pasta or a bamboo steamer of dumplings, I'd choose the dumplings every time, hands down. 

I first became a lover of the dumpling years ago in my beloved home town of Melbourne in "Chinatown". They are a cheap and delicious treat and your opportunities for Yum Cha and Dumplings are endless in Chinatown. We're really spoiled for choice in terms of our Asian cuisine in Melbourne. I've now been living in the UK for almost a year now and I have been so disappointed with the scarce number of Yum Cha/ Dim Sum restaurants, so on Saturday after much Googling, we found an Asian grocer about 20 minutes away and thought we might have a go at making some dumplings at home. 

Chinatown Melbourne, image from madlyjuicy.com

Now I must confess I did not make my own dumpling pastry as making pastry is the one thing I HATE to do in the kitchen. We did manage to buy some square wonton wrappers and some round dumpling pastry. I turned to my favourite foodie blogger Not Quite Nigella for the Shanghai Dumpling recipe and to Super Food Ideas for the Prawn & Chive Dumplings, both equally delicious! 

Shanghai Dumplings (Pork & Prawn)

Yield: approx 50 dumplings

450 grams minced (ground) pork

125 grams prawns (shrimp) shelled and finely chopped

3 stalks of green onion finely minced

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 teaspoons of salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix together using hands or a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined.

Prawn and Chive Dumplings

Yield: approx 30 dumplings

600g green king prawns, peeled and deveined

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon ginger

Method

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds, you don't want the mixture to be a paste so you still should have some prawn chunks.

(Please see wrapping/ assembly instructions below for both types of dumplings)

Wrapping/Assembly for both dumplings

1. Fill the pastry disc with a ball of filling and wet the edges with water. Pinch and pleat the edges together on top of the dumpling to make a parcel and ensure they have been firmly sealed. Or similarly you can make crescent shaped dumplings as well by placing the filling on one side and pinching and pleating around one side.

2. Steam in a bamboo steamer over a wok for around 12-15 minutes or until cooked through.

3. Leave dumplings in steamer hen serving so the pastry doesn't go hard.

4. Serve with soy sauce.

Prawns for the Shanghai Dumplings

Shanghai Dumpling filling

Prawn and Chive filling

Prawn and Chive filling

Chefette's Victoria Sandwich Sponge Cake

The Victoria Sandwich Sponge Cake is probably the most popular and stock standard cake in the UK. In Australia, I guess our typical type of Birthday cake would be a chocolate mud, well in the UK it is the classic Victoria Sponge. I wouldn't describe the Victoria Sandwich as a sponge by my maybe Aussie definition, but more like a butter or pound cake. The cake was named after Queen Victoria who favoured this cake with her afternoon tea over all other sweet treats. Victoria Sponge recipes barely differ, but as I find this cake a bit too heavy, I have changed the method, which made the cake far less dense.

Victoria Sandwich Sponge Cake

200g caster sugar

200g butter

200g self-raising flour

4 eggs separated

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cream of tartar

2 tablespoons milk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease and line two baking tins.

2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, set aside.

3. Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixing bowl and gradually add egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, milk and flour (in that order).

4. Gradually fold egg whites into cake batter.

5. Traditionally you halve the batter and bake two cakes and sandwich them together once baked, however, I separated my batter into halves and coloured some red and baked four individual cakes rather than two. Completely your preference. Be creative!

6. Bake until cake springs back or when a skewer comes out clean.

Assembly 

Victoria Sandwich Butter Cream

100g butter

140g icing sugar

1. Blend butter and icing sugar together in electric mixer until smooth.

In between every layer OR in the middle of your two sandwiches, spread a layer of strawberry or raspberry jam and the Victoria Sandwich Butter cream.

Decoration

Quite often icing sugar is sifted on top, but I used a hard white icing and then piped on some roses in royal icing to finish it off and give it a special touch.

Happy Caking xxx