Prawn & Chive Potstickers

For the dipping sauce, whisk all ingredients together.

To making the dumpling wrappers, place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the warm water, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture starts to come together use your hands to knead until the dough forms a clean ball. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead for 2-3 minutes or until the dough is firm and bounces back when you poke it with your finger. Place the dough in a ziplock bag and seal. Let the dough rest and steam in the bag for 15 minutes.

While the dough is resting, make the filling. Take half the prawns and finely mince them. Season minced prawns with a little salt and place in a large bowl. Roughly chop the remaining prawns and add those to the bowl. Slice your chosen chives into small pieces (about ½ cm long). You’ll need 1/3 cup of sliced chives. Add those to the prawns along with the water chestnuts, pepper, soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of sea salt. Set aside in the fridge while you roll out the wrappers.

Divide the dough in half. Take one half and roll into a log about 2cm in diameter. Cut into 10 even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Take one ball and use a plastic cup or small rolling pin to roll the ball into a flat circle. Then roll the edges of the circle thinner than the centre. You should finish up with a wrapper about the size of your palm. Place wrapper onto a floured surface and continue the same process with the remaining dough. Be sure to generously flour between the stacked wrappers and don’t pile too many on top of each other because the weight can cause them to stick together.

To fill the dumplings, take one wrapper and place a heaped tablespoon of filling into the centre. Fold the wrapper edges together using your fingers to create pleats in the top layer of the wrapper (see video for this technique). Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

To cook the dumplings, heat vegetable oil a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the dumplings and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Hold a lid above the pan to protect you from splatter. Then pour in enough water to come half way up the sides of the dumplings. Place the lid on the pan and steam for 5 minutes. Then adjust the lid so that it is slightly ajar to let the steam escape. Cook for another 2 minutes. Then remove the lid altogether and cook until the water has completely evaporated and the dumpling bottoms are deep dark brown colour. Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with coriander if using. Serve with dipping sauce.

– Water chestnuts are sold in cans and are usually found in the Asian section of most supermarkets.

– You can use store-bought gyoza wrappers also. Just use less filling than for the homemade wrappers.