Pork and water chestnut dim sims with chicken broth and bok choy
This recipe is very close to my heart and was passed to me by my very close friends the Gow family.
In the early days of my retail shops, Mr Gow would deliver bags and bags of these wonderful dim sims for me to sell to my hungry customers. Mr Gow has passed now although his legacy lives on through these beautiful pork and water chestnut dim sim. I suppose that’s the magic of recipes passed down through generations or passed on from friends gone by, each time you make that dish you think of them. That’s the wonderful power of food.
First prepare your stock
Place a large heavy-based pot or your le Creuset on the heat and add 1 litre of homemade chicken stock.
Add a couple of chards of fresh ginger, a piece of lemongrass bruised, and a couple of kaffir lime leaves. A bunch of washed and bruised coriander roots, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, one teaspoon of sugar, and a pinch of salt.
Just simmer the broth along for a while to take in all of those lovely aromatics.
For the dim sims you will need a large mixing bowl and to that, add:
1 kg of finely minced pork mince, preferably from the sow… Mr. Gow’s instructions.
1 small tin of water chestnuts drained and finely chopped
1 free-range egg
2 heaped tablespoons of toasted sesame
A couple of spring onions finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon of fine sea salt
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon chicken stock powder. This bit is optional although for sentimentality I follow the recipe to a tee.
½ teaspoon white pepper.
Preparation
Mix it all together really nicely so you start to work the flavors together and let the proteins do their job.
Cover and refrigerate for a while or overnight.
Place a large saucepan that will fit a steamer basket on top over high heat and fill it with hot water.
Line the steamer basket with baking paper and spray the paper with oil.
Make a few holes in the baking paper with a sharp knife.
Now to assemble the dim sims
Lay 12 wonton wrappers on the bench (I like the ones that are made with eggs). Place a tablespoon of the pork mixture on each wrapper. Gather the wonton wrapper up around the filling and give it a good squeeze leaving a bit of the mixture showing at the top.
Continue using all the wrappers and the pork mince, laying them all out on a lined baking tray ready to steam.
Place a batch of dim sims in the steamer taking care not to overcrowd and steam for 10-12 minutes.
Now we are ready for the soup
Warm your bowls in the oven
Bring your stock up to a simmer and add the Bok Choy. You can use any greens you have handy or whatever is growing in your garden. Add a few dim sums to the bowls and pour the stock over the top, and top with fresh coriander and a sprinkle of chopped shallots.
I love to serve these bowls of goodness with a little ramekin of sriracha sauce and a big squeeze of lemon for freshness. What is also great is these dim sims freeze brilliantly for another day.