While browsing through a fancier grocery store than where we usually go to (we were on the hunt for a galette des rois, the epiphany cake having been sold out at our go-to French bakery), I spotted some dumpling sheets. 

Why don’t we make our own dumplings for dinner tonight?

I’d helped make dumplings once in my life, when I was about 7 under the guidance of my grandmother and aunties. Think it may have been New Year’s. Anyway, we accepted the challenge. 

After first baking up a storm for the week - orange cake, basic bread, galette des rois - it was finally dumpling time. 

We minced our own pork in the Thermomix then divided it into three bowls for three different flavours: spring onions, yellow capsicum, and chives. Sauce - soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, salt, white pepper - was added, then mixed together. No leafy vegetables. These were definitely not traditional dumplings but our own original creations. 

The work station set up was complete: three bowls of fillings, spoons, a bowl of water to close the pastry ends together, one board to eat straight away and another to be frozen, and the TV on. 

Getting the dumplings to fantail shape was hard! But the process was quite fun. Afterwards, we pan fried our dinner half, slightly steaming them at the end. Delicious! Next time we should get some spicy oil to dip the dumplings in. We managed with just the soy sauce this time. 

Trying new recipes, part of my new year resolutions. So far, so good.