Shumai

Method

1. Cover 2 dried shiitake with just-boiled water and soak for 30 minutes until soft. Squeeze them out, cut away the woody stems and chop the caps into 3 mm dice.
2. Chop 50 g peeled prawns coarsely, leaving some pieces the size of a pea so the filling has bite. Finely slice 1 spring onion, green and white, and finely dice a little of 1 carrot for the tops.
3. Put 100 g pork mince in a bowl with 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 0.5 tsp caster sugar, 0.25 tsp salt, 1 pinch ground white pepper, 1 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp grated ginger. Stir vigorously in one direction with chopsticks for about 2 minutes, until the meat turns pale, tacky and clings together as a paste.
4. Fold the prawns, mushrooms and spring onion through the pork with a spatula, keeping the pieces visible rather than mashing them. Cover and chill for 30 minutes so the fat firms and the filling holds its shape.