Zhong dumplings

Step 1: Put ¼ cup light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 ⅜ oz soft brown sugar, ¼ cup water, 1 star anise, 1 piece cinnamon stick or cassia bark and 1 slice fresh ginger in a small pan. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes, until reduced by about a third and slightly syrupy. Strain and leave to cool.

Step 2: Steep 1 spring onion and ½ oz fresh ginger in ¼ cup water for 10 minutes, then strain and let the scented water cool. Squeeze the ginger and onion to get every drop.

Step 3: Put 10 ½ oz minced pork in a bowl with ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp light soy sauce and ¼ tsp ground white pepper. Stir hard in one direction with chopsticks, adding the cooled ginger water a spoonful at a time and letting each spoonful be absorbed before the next. A common mistake is pouring it in all at once; the meat can't take it up and the filling turns watery. Stop when it is sticky, glossy and fluffy, then stir in 1 tsp toasted sesame oil.

Step 4: Put a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre of a 30 round dumpling wrappers round, wet the edge with water, fold into a half-moon and press the edges together firmly, pushing out any air. Keep the finished dumplings on a floured tray under a clean cloth. Wash your hands and the spoons after handling raw pork.

Step 5: Bring a large pan of water to a rolling boil. Add half the dumplings and stir once so they don't stick. When the water returns to the boil, add 100 ml cold water; repeat this twice. The dumplings are ready when they float and look plump, after about 5–6 minutes; cut one open: the filling should be cooked through with no pink (160°F / 160 °F).

Step 6: Lift them out with a slotted spoon into warm bowls, about 7 or 8 each. Cook the second batch the same way.

Step 7: Spoon 1 tablespoon of the sweet soy sauce over each bowl, then 1 tablespoon of 4 tbsp chilli oil with its sediment and a little of the 3 cloves garlic paste. Sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds if you like, and stir everything together at the table.