Taiping yan (Fuzhou peace soup)

Step 1: For home-made skins, pound or blitz 5 ½ oz very lean pork loin or leg with ¼ tsp salt to a completely smooth paste, about 5 minutes in a food processor. If using wonton wrappers, skip to step 5.

Step 2: Work 7 oz sweet potato starch into the paste a little at a time with your hands, kneading for 8–10 minutes, until you have a firm, smooth, pale pink dough that no longer sticks.

Step 3: On a board well dusted with starch, roll the dough out as thinly as you can, about 1 mm, until you can almost see the board through it. Dust and turn it often.

Step 4: Cut into 8 cm squares, dust them with starch and stack them under a cloth so they do not dry out.

Step 5: Stir 10 ½ oz pork mince, 3 ½ oz raw peeled prawns, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and ½ tsp salt in one direction, adding 3 tbsp iced water a spoonful at a time, until sticky and springy. Mix in 1 ¾ oz water chestnuts, 2 spring onions and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.

Step 6: Put a heaped teaspoon of filling on each square, then gather the corners loosely and pinch just below the filling so the edges flare out like wings.

Step 7: Lower 6 duck eggs into simmering water and cook for 12 minutes, until hard-boiled with a firm yolk. Cool in cold water, peel and halve lengthways.

Step 8: Bring 6 ¼ cups chicken or pork stock to a gentle boil in a large pan and season with ½ tsp ground white pepper.

Step 9: Cook the dumplings in a separate large pan of boiling water in two batches for 4–5 minutes, until they float, the skins turn translucent and the filling reaches 160°F. Common mistake: cooking them in the broth; the loose starch makes it cloudy and gluey.

Step 10: Divide the dumplings and halved eggs between bowls, ladle over the hot broth and scatter with 2 tbsp Chinese celery or coriander.