Little Lo beef short rib pot sticker dumperring

T minus 4 days till the food feast and gorge of our Hong Kong and Singapore trip. The boyfriend has never been, and it's a funny mix of wanting to just see family and do local things as well as do the tourist attractions I've not done in years. But one thing is for certain, the food. I've mapped out all the places I am dying to try. Following a load of Instagrammers from Hong Kong is agony - seeing a beautiful bowl of noodles and then realising you're thousands of miles away till you could taste it...painful. But, a google map of all the best looking local cafés, dim sum, asian fusion is my main goal to work around as many as possible in two weeks. If anyone had any more places to add, feel free to comment below! 

My last little post before I head to HK is in anticipation of a great little place that's popular in Central called Little Bao. Worth the wait and so hard to choose which bao to chow down on. But, the appetisers were so inventive on Asian fusion and everything I love cooking having a mix of British and Chinese culture in my upbringing. 

They do these great short rib beef dumplings. I definitely can't contend with theirs, but I adore short ribs - and the cut works so well for asian flavours, it's a main element in a lot of my supper clubs. 

It's a meat which isn't sold widely enough in supermarkets, but you should always go to the butcher for this sort if thing, as you'll get a beautiful marbling of fat and meat to slow cook to beefy heaven. I get mine from Turner and George, who deliver and you can order from online. It's worth the 4am-7am pre work order time slot I promise. 

Last week I had to defrost the freezer as a new one was being delivered. Playing "eat the fridge and freezer" contents all week led to some interesting combinations. (Onion bhaji and fish cakes?!).  I realised that I have FOUR different types of dumplings in the freezer, and it was almost an intervention in itself of my dumpling/potsticker obsession. So, as a form of therapy...I cooked one last batch ahead of the exciting trip to Hong Kong. This is actually two recipes, the first is beautiful as it stands.  

Ingredients 

Five spiced slow cooked beef short rib 

1 kilo of quality beef short rib 

5 tablespoons of Palm sugar or brown sugar

150ml of shaosing rice wine 

200ml of water

1.5 inches of sliced ginger 

2 cloves of garlic 

1 tablespoon dark soy 

1 tablespoon light soy 

3 teaspoons of Chinese five spice 

1 red onion, sliced finely 

Beef and veg short rib dumplings 

1 cup of shredded beef short rib

1 carrot, finely diced 

1 tsp sesame oil 

1 spring onion, very finely diced

Round dumpling wrappers (from your asian grocery store) 

If you have a slow cooker- easy! Season the beef with five spice (about a minute on each side in a pan with a little oil). Add the beef and all the other elements into the slow cooker and whack it on high for 5 hours, or low for 8 hours. 

If you don't have one, place in a pot with a tight lid, and cook on a low heat (about 110 degrees) for 5 - 6 hours. The beef should easily fall off the bone. Reserve the sauce and reduce in a pan. Tear the meat with two forks and then pour the sauce back into the pot. This is a beautiful dish on it's own, with rice. 

For the dumplings

In your bowl, mix your beef with the finely diced carrots, spring onion and sesame oil.  

Place a dumpling wrapper on your surface. Add one heaped teaspoon of beef in the middle and shape into a rectangle shape. With your finger, dab water all the way round the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half over the meat and pinch the middle together. With the wrapper side closest to you work out from the middle by pinching the wrapper and folding to the side to make some pleats. This is the best way to learn - watch this video here

Make the rest of your dumplings and when they are ready, heat a pan with oil. When hot, place five or six dumplings in and cook till you get a brown, crisp base (don't touch the dumplings) and then quickly add half a mug of water. Keep on a high heat and put a lid on and wait for the water to boil away. When the water is gone, remove the lid and leave the dumplings to crisp up the bottom again.