Nature's springtime gifts

Recipe

Shepherd's purse dumplings

1 kg shepherd's purse (or fresh spinach or amaranth)

500 g minced pork

1 teaspoon ginger juice

1 teaspoon hot chili oil (optional)

1 tablespoon oil, plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Soy sauce, salt and pepper

50-80 dumpling or gyoza skins

Wash and rinse the vegetables, then drop them into boiling water for two minutes. Drain, cool and chop. Squeeze out all the water with your hands. If there is too much water in the filling, your dumpling skins will break.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat mixture, ginger juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix in the chopped vegetables, then add the tablespoon of oil and teaspoon of sesame oil.

Mix well and set aside to rest for five to 10 minutes.

Place a large spoonful of filling and seal the edges. For the potstickers or fried dumplings, crimp or pleat the edges of one side to get the concave shapes so they will stand in the frying pan.

For boiled dumplings, just make sure the edges are sealed tight with a smudge of water.

Fry the dumplings for five minutes over medium heat to crisp the bottom, then add boiling water to the pan and cover and cook another 10 minutes. Allow the water to evaporate, uncover and cook until bottoms are golden brown.

Boil a big pot of water and add dumplings. When the pot comes back to a boil, add half a cup of water to calm it down. When it boils again and the dumplings float, they are done.

Chop up some garlic and ginger shreds and place in vinegar and soy sauce for a dip.