Xiaolongbao

Step 1: For the aspic, put 9 oz pork skin in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse and scrape off any remaining fat with a knife, then cut the skin into thin strips.

Step 2: Put the strips in a clean pan with 5 cups water, 4 slices fresh ginger, 2 spring onions and 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for 2 hours, until the liquid has reduced to about 400 ml and feels sticky between your fingers.

Step 3: Strain into a shallow dish, discard the solids and leave to cool. Chill in the fridge overnight, until set firm like jelly. (The gelatine shortcut sets in 2–3 hours.)

Step 4: Mix 9 oz plain flour and 1 pinch salt in a bowl and stir in ½ cup lukewarm water a little at a time with chopsticks. Knead for 8 minutes into a smooth, fairly firm dough, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Step 5: For the filling, put 10 ½ oz pork mince, 1 tbsp fresh ginger, 1 ½ tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground white pepper and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil in a bowl. Stir hard in one direction for 3–4 minutes, adding 3 tbsp cold water a spoon at a time, until the mince turns sticky and pale. Keep the raw-meat board and bowl apart from everything else.

Step 6: Chop 250 g of the set aspic into 5 mm dice and fold it into the pork. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes; keep any leftover aspic for soup.

Step 7: Roll the dough into a long rope and cut into 32 pieces of about 12 g. Keep them under a damp cloth so they don't dry out.

Step 8: Flatten one piece and roll it into an 8 cm round, thinner at the edge than in the centre. A common mistake is rolling the middle as thin as the rim: the base then tears and the soup runs out in the steamer.

Step 9: Put 1 heaped teaspoon of chilled filling in the centre. Pinch and fold the edge into 14–18 small pleats, turning the wrapper as you go, and twist the top closed. Set on a floured tray and repeat.

Step 10: Line a bamboo steamer with 6 napa cabbage leaves or pierced baking paper and set the dumplings 2 cm apart. Bring a wok of water to a rolling boil.

Step 11: Steam over a high heat for 8–9 minutes, until the wrappers look slightly translucent and the dumplings slump a little as the jelly melts. Cut one open: the pork should be cooked through with no pink, 160°F (160 °F) on a probe thermometer.

Step 12: Serve straight from the steamer with 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar and 1 tbsp fresh ginger. Lift each dumpling onto a spoon, nip a small hole, sip the soup, then eat the rest.