Changhua ba-wan

Step 1: Mix 10 ½ oz pork shoulder with 1 ½ tbsp tamari, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp five-spice powder and ½ tsp ground white pepper. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Heat 2 tbsp neutral oil in a wok over a medium heat and fry 3 shallots until golden. Add 4 dried shiitake mushrooms and 4 oz cooked bamboo shoots and stir-fry for 3 minutes, until fragrant and dry. Tip into a bowl to cool.

Step 3: For the wrapper, whisk 2 ⅛ oz rice flour into 2 cups water in a pan with ½ tsp salt. Stir over a medium-low heat until it turns into a smooth, thin, translucent paste, like wallpaper glue.

Step 4: Put 8 oz sweet potato starch in a large bowl, pour in the hot paste and stir hard with a spatula until you have a smooth, thick, sticky dough with no dry lumps. If it is too stiff to spread, add 1–2 tbsp hot water.

Step 5: Brush eight small saucers or ramekins (about 10 cm across) generously with oil. Spread a 5 mm layer of dough over the base and up the sides of each with a wet spoon.

Step 6: Put a few strips of raw marinated pork and a spoonful of the bamboo mixture into each, then cover with more dough, smoothing it into a dome with wet fingers so the filling is sealed in.

Step 7: Steam over boiling water on a high heat until the wrappers turn fully translucent and the pork inside reaches 160°F on a probe thermometer pushed into the centre.

Step 8: While they steam, make the sauce: whisk 2 tbsp rice flour, 1 ¼ cups water, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp tamari and 1 tbsp tomato paste in a small pan and simmer, stirring, until thick and glossy.

Step 9: Leave the dumplings to cool for 10 minutes, then ease them out of the saucers with an oiled knife.

Step 10: For the Changhua finish, heat 2 cups neutral oil to 275°F and let the dumplings sit in the warm oil, turning once, until the skin feels firm and slightly crisp. Keep the oil below 275°F, or the skin will blister and burst.

Step 11: Split each dumpling open on a plate, spoon over the warm sauce, add a little 3 cloves garlic and scatter over 1 handful fresh coriander. Eat hot with a spoon.