Yields about 60 Xiao Long Bao,

Wrappers

• 250g plain flour 中筋面粉
• 125g, water in room temperature
• 1/3 teaspoon, salt

Fillings

• 300g           ground pork
• 100g           minced shrimp (optional) or same amount of ground pork
• 3 tablespoon    water in room temperature
• 1 tablespoon    cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon    ginger, minced 姜末
• 30g or 2-3 tablespoons           spring onions, minced 香葱末
• 1/2 teaspoon      salt
• 1 tablespoon    light soy sauce 生抽
• 1 teaspoon    caster sugar白糖
• 1 teaspoon     Chinese cooking wine料酒
• 1 teaspoon      corn flour生粉
• 1 teaspoon     sesame oil 香油
• 1/3 teaspoon    white pepper 白胡椒粉
• 200g           pork jelly cubes  肉皮冻 (recipe)

Dipping Sauce

• Chinkiang vinegar镇江香醋
• 1 tablespoon    light soy sauce
• 10 sliced ginger
•  Szechuan Chili Oil (optional).

Method

1. Place the flour and salt in a mixing bowl and gradually add in the water; mix it with a fork or chopsticks.
2. Use your fingers to bring the mixture together and make a dough. Knead the dough for about 6 minutes till it is smooth. Cover the bowl in a plastic bag. Rest for 20 minutes.
3. Place the minced pork in a bowl. Gradually add water and stir in the same direction for 100 times. Add the cooking oil and stir in the same direction. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and stir all in one direction till all ingredients are well mixed.
4. To make the wrap, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll one piece into a long snake of about 1.5cm diameter and cut in 1cm, cover the dough pieces (each pieces weighs 5-6 grams); roll one till a ball and press it down as a dish and roll it out in a circle about a diameter of 6-7cm, about 1mm thin – edges are thinner than the center as this has to hold the filling.
5. Place a half tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrap and add 1 pork jelly cube. Fold the edges to the center while twisting so the bao is completed sealed. You should aim to achieve 18-20 folds/pleats for one single bao.
6. Bring the water of the steamer to a boil, place parchment paper into the steam basket, place the Xiao Long Bao in the steam basket, cover it with a lid and steam on high heat for 6-8 minutes.
7. Serve the Xiao Long Bao with dipping sauce.

Make the ordinary extraordinary –  I stumbled upon this dish years ago at a tiny restaurant over by my previous neighborhood in Singapore. I tried it at home and it has become the staple food for my family ever since. All are rather humble ingredients.  But the combinations are so intensely flavored – the sweetness released by the caramelized onions just perfectly balances the bitterness of the potato leaves while the pungent aroma of fish sauce adds a delicious savory depth of flavor.

Serves 2-4,

• 1 bunch (about 150g)   sweet potato leaves 番薯叶
• 1 big yellow onions (about 150g)   thinly sliced 洋葱丝
• 3 tablespoon       cooking oil
• 1 teaspoon         minced garlic 蒜末
• 1 teaspoon         Thai red chili, thinly sliced 红色小泰椒
• 1 tablespoon        light soy sauce 生抽
• 1 teaspoon          fish sauce 鱼露

Method

1. Cut the sweet potato leaves by separating the leaves from the stems
2. Heat the 2 tablespoon cooking oil in a frying pan till it is hot, turn to low medium heat, add yellow onions and sauté for 10 minutes till the onions are soft and caramelized. Set the onions aside
3. Heat the 1 tablespoon cooking oil over high heat, add garlic and chili and fry for 1 minute, add sweet potato leaves and sauté for 2 minutes
5.  Add fish sauce and light soy sauce and stir fry for 1 minute
6. Done

Is it worth making pita at home? Absolutely – the oven is like a magician’s cave as you are thrilled to see the dough puff up in the oven. Once you get hang of it, it’s not difficult.

Makes 8 pieces,

• 1 cup (or 215g)          lukewarm water
• 2 teaspoon (or 6g)        dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon (or 3g)        sugar
• 2 and 1/2 cup (or 310g)    plain flour中筋面粉
• 1/4 cup (or 35g)          wholemeal flour 全麦面粉
• 2g                     salt
• 2 tablespoon            extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Make sponge: place 1 cup lukewarm water in a mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar. Stir to dissolve. Add the 1/4 cup wholemeal flour and 1/4 cup plain flour and whisk well. Put the bowl in a warm place (e.g on top of another bowl with very warm water). Leave it uncovered for about 15 minutes until mixture is foamy and bubbling.
2. Add salt, olive oil and nearly all remaining plain four (reserve 1/4 cup for dusting).Stir for 1 minutes until mixture forms a shaggy mass.
3. Lightly dust the work surface. Turn the dough onto it and knead for 4-5 minutes.
4. Move the dough back to bowl and cover it with a plastic bag. Leave until dough has doubled in size. It takes about 1 hour.
5. Place a baking tray in the oven. Heat the oven to 235℃.
6. Divide the dough into 8 pieces of equal size. Form each piece into a little ball. Place dough balls on work surface, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 10 minutes.
7. Remove 1 ball (keeping others covered), punch down the ball and flatten it into a thin piece (in 3-4 mm) with a rolling pin.
8. Remove the baking tray from the oven (BE CAREFUL – it is very HOT). Place 3-4 pieces on the tray. Move the tray back to the BOTTOM shelf of the oven. Bake for 2-3 minutes –the dough should be nicely puffed. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. The pita should be pale, only lightly browned on one side.
9. Transfer warm pita to a clean kitchen towel and cover so the bread stays soft.
10. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.

Tips

1. Make sure the oven is VERY HOT. Otherwise the dough will not puff!
2. Don’t overbake – 4-5 minutes altogether shall be good. Otherwise you will end up with very dry bread.