Instructions: First make the dough.

Put the flour into a large bowl and stir the hot water gradually into it mixing it all the while with a fork or with chopsticks until most of the water is incorporated.

Add more water if the mixture seems dry.

Then remove the mixture from the bowl and knead it with your hands until it is smooth.

This should take about 8 minutes.

Put the dough back into the bowl cover it with a clean damp towel and let it rest for about 20 minutes.

While the dough is resting combine the stuffing ingredients in a large bowl and mix them together thoroughly.

After the resting period take the dough out of the bowl and knead it again for about 5 minutes dusting with a little flour if it is sticky.

Once the dough is smooth form it into a roll about 23cm long and about 2.5cm in diameter.

Take a knife and cut the roll into equal segments. There should be about 18.

Roll each of the dough segments into a small ball. Then roll each ball into a small round flatpancake about 6cm in diameter.

Arrange the round skins on a lightly floured tray and cover them with a damp kitchen towel to keep them from drying out until you are ready to use them.

Put about 1 teaspoon of filling in the centre of each pancake and then fold in half.

Moisten the edges with water and pinch together with your fingers.

Pleat around the edge pinching to seal well. (The dumpling should look like a small Cornish pasty with a flat base and a rounded top.)

Transfer the finished dumpling to the floured tray and keep it covered until you have stuffed all the dumplings in this way.

Heat a frying pan (preferably a non stick pan) over a high heat until it is hot.

Add 1 tablespoon of oil and place the dumplings flat side down into the pan.

Turn down the heat and cook for about 2 minutes until they are lightly browned. (You may need to cook the dumplings in two batches.)

Add the 150ml of water cover the pan tightly and cook for about 12 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Uncover the pan and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.

Remove the dumplings and serve.

Provide each person with three small bowls each containing some Chinese white rice vinegar Chilli Oil and light soy sauce.

The idea is to concoct your own dipping sauce by mixing these three things exactly to your taste.

This is a popular and rather substantial snack from northern China where during the harsh cold winter the dumplings are often frozen outside until they are needed. At Chinese New Year whole families gather round and stuff the dumplings together. The dumplings can be shallow fried boiled or steamed but I find shallowfrying to be the tastiest way of cooking them. Shallow fried dumplings are called potstickers because once they have been fried they are covered with liquid and cooked until they literally stick to the pan. They should be crispy on the bottom soft on the top and juicy inside. A dipping sauce made from Chilli Oil vinegar and soy sauce is generally served with the potstickers. Potsticker dumplings can be made in advance and then frozen uncooked. If you do this you dont need to thaw them before cooking them but you will need to cook them for a little longer.

Makes about 18 dumplings

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