Pan-fried Bun with Chives and Minced Pork - 韭菜豬肉餡餅

I have been in the cooking mood lately, trying all sorts of recipe and cooking during weekends. I saw this recipe from Christine's Recipe, I fell in love with this recipe blog after finding it.

Ingredients:

180 gm plain flour
6 Tbsp hot water, about 80C
3 Tbsp cold water
170 gm Chinese chives
160 gm minced pork
1 tsp minced garlic

Seasoning for minced pork:

1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tsp Shaoxing wine
Pinch of salt, to taste
dash of sesame oil
pinch of pepper

Method (making filling):

1) Rinse chives and briefly blanch in boiling water until just tender. Drain well and let cool. Squeeze water out of the chives and chopped into small pieces. Set aside.

2) Add seasoning, minced garlic and chopped chives into minced pork. Blend all ingredients towards only one direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise according to your preference, no turning backwards though. This method will ensure the pork stick together very well. Mix pork very well until elastic, about 15 minutes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. The filling is done.

Method (making and frying buns):

1) Sift flour into a big bowl. Add 6 tablespoons of 80C hot water into the flour. Use a spatula to mix well and create some little flour crumbs.

2) Add 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time into the flour. Use hand to knead the dough until the surface is not sticky. Brush a bit of oil on the bottom of a bowl, place dough inside and covered with a damp towel. Let sit for 30 minutes.

3) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times until smooth. Roll and stretch the dough out into a long strip, about 1 1/2 inches in thickness. Divide into 10 equal parts. Roll each part into a small ball. Lightly flatten with your palm and roll out into a thin, even round using a rolling pin. Wrap a heaped teaspoon of filling in the center. Seal the edge (Trim excess dough on the seal if you like, it tastes and looks better then.) with the seal facing down.

4) Heat non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil. Place wrapped pork buns in a single layer without touching with each other. Fry them until both sides are light brown. Add 1/2 cup of boiling water, cover with a lid and cook until the water dries up. Done! Serve hot, accompanied with a zesty dipping sauce, combining soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce.