“I was taught how to make basic ngoh hiang by a close friend and we decided to put it into a dumpling because who doesn’t love pork dumplings! They are easy to make and can be done in advance, and then we’d sear them hard in a cast iron pan because #noburnnotaste,” says Chef Sam Chablani.
Ingredients
- 50 pcs wanton wrappers
- 180 ml sunflower oil
- 350 ml water
Filling
- 1 kg fresh minced pork
- 1 kg peeled chestnuts, chopped or lightly blitzed in the food processor
- 1 kg tiger prawns, diced
- 5 tbsps tofu skin, chopped 5 x 5 mm
- 8 shallots, minced
- ½ small yellow onion, minced
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 5 tsps sugar
- 5 tsps mushroom powder
- 4 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 2 eggs
Beauty In The Pot Sauce
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 leaves Chinese celery, thinly sliced into strips
- 2 chilli padis, sliced thinly
- 2 tbsps fish sauce
- 2 limes, juice squeezed
- 2 tsps sesame oil
Steps
Combine all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and work it with your hands till well mixed.
Place in chiller for half an hour to let the meat marinate.
Spoon about 1 tbsp of filling in the middle of the wrapper, wet the edge with a little water and pinch and crimp together, forming small pleats to seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Place the dumplings in an airtight box and freeze till needed. This helps set it.
BEAUTY IN THE POT SAUCE In a bowl, add garlic, shallots, chillies, fish sauce and lime juice. Set aside 5 mins to let it pickle. Add in sesame oil and Chinese celery leaves just before serving.
To prepare dumplings, heat up a cast iron pan.
Add 30 ml oil and heat up till it’s about to smoke.
Add dumplings fl at side down, fry till browned with crisp, charred bits for added flavour, about 3 to 4 mins.
Add 70 ml water to create steam and cover the pan with a lid to fully cook the dumplings, about 5 mins. Repeat for remaining dumplings.
Serve with Beauty In The Pot Sauce.