Handmade boiled dumplings

Mix the dough oil into the flour, then add the cool water gradually. Stop when it forms a firm, even dough; not all water is necessarily needed. Cover and rest for 45 min.

Wash, thoroughly drain and mince the chives first. Add them gradually while the pork filling remains cohesive. Mince scallion and ginger and mix with the pork, optional fatty pork, chives, salt, oyster sauce, soy sauce, filling oil and egg white until cohesive. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min; do not leave raw filling waiting at room temperature.

Roll the dough into a rope and divide into similar portions, about twenty wrappers for the original batch. Dust lightly and roll each round slightly thicker in the center than at the rim. Adjust wrapper count when scaling, rather than making them thicker.

Place a modest amount of filling in the center, keep the rim clean and fold and pinch shut. Avoid overfilling. Refrigerate waiting dumplings and raw filling in batches and keep raw and cooked utensils separate.

Boil ample drinking water in a roomy pot with headspace. Add dumplings in batches, gently nudging them to prevent sticking. When it returns to a boil, adjust to steady gentle bubbling rather than violent boiling that tears wrappers.

Floating and puffing are only cues. Lift one dumpling and measure the thickest filling center for at least 71°C. Keep cooking if needed and check other larger dumplings in the batch. Neither floating nor a fixed number of water additions proves doneness.

Once cooked, lift out with a slotted spoon, drain and serve on a clean plate. Cool slightly before eating the hot filling.