Pork & coriander dumpling noodle soup

For those who feel overwhelmed by the thought of re-creating a favorite Asian dish at home, the simplicity of this recipe makes this one a great meal to try.

For the ingredients, most will be available from your standard supermarket but for a complete (an often more economical) experience try shopping at your nearest Eastern supermarket. Put some extra time aside for this one as you'll most probably find yourself engrossed in exploring the aisles of your new found ethnic food bazarre.

This recipe makes roughly 25 dumplings & feeds four people. If you have time, the pork dumpling mixture can be made up to three days in advance & stored in an airtight container. By this stage the ginger & garlic flavors are well developed & most enhanced.

Shoppinglist:

200g Pork mince
frozen round, white dumpling wrappers (in this recipe I prefer the white, rather than the yellow variety)
500g bag fresh egg noodles
bunch fresh Bok Choy
sesame oil
bag fresh bean sprouts
bunch fresh coriander
bunch fresh garlic shoots (these are so delicious & versatile)
1 large garlic clove
3 by 4 inch piece of fresh ginger root
fish or squid sauce
soya sauce
fresh red or green chilli (heat according to preference)
palm sugar
sea salt



Defrost half the wrappers. Most come in bundles of two. Return one half to the freezer immediately as they will thaw quickly. Alternatively I have refrozen these wrappers in the past without any problems to flavor or texture.

In a bowl combine pork mince, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, fresh chilli, loosely packed 1/2 cup coriander leaves, 1 tablespoon grated palm sugar, 2 teaspoons sea salt, grated ginger root, garlic, 1/4 cup chopped, fresh garlic shoot. Place small amount of mixture in center of dumpling wrapper and work from the center out. A small amount of water on the edges will help the wrapper to adhere. Too much mixture will result in a difficult to close wrapper. After a couple of attempts you will be able to gauge the perfect amount for your individual wrapper. Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel (to prevent wrappers becoming dry) & set aside.

In a deep pan bring 6 cups of filtered water to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Add the noodles & cook for five minutes. Add the half the dumplings, half the bok choy (leaves halved), two large handfuls of the sprouts, 1 tablespoon sea salt & palm sugar, 5 tablespoons fish sauce. The dumplings will take roughly five minutes to cook. By this time the vegetables will be just tender. Arrange the noodles into bowls, followed by the dumplings & vegetables. Lastly pour over the liquid to form the soup. Return the rest of the pan to the heat & repeat process. I prefer to cook in half batches to prevent the dumplings from sticking (they will!). Finally serve with lashings of drizzled sesame oil, fresh chopped coriander & halved lengths of garlic shoot.