Steamed Wontons in Chilli Broth

1. Finely chop the garlic, spring onion, coriander, Chinese chives, soaked shiitake mushrooms and Chinese leaves and place in a mixing bowl. Finely dice the prawns (if using) and add to the mixing bowl along with the soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Mix everything together.
2. To wrap the wontons: Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center of each pastry. Using the tip of your finger, wet all sides of the pastry with cold water. Fold the bottom corner over the filling to the top corner and press the pastry down to seal all sides (to form a triangle). Holding the base of the filling with your thumbs, pull the 2 corners of the triangle towards each other – in the School of Wok cookery school, we like to call this the ‘Dark Knight Rising’ as it looks roughly like a Batman shape. Overlap the ends and press together to form a ‘gold ingot/trough’ shape. Set aside and fold the rest of the wontons the same way.
3. Place all the wontons in a large, deep bowl. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a saucepan, then stir in the oyster sauce and chilli oil. Pour the broth ingredients over the wontons.
4. Set the wok up with a steamer stand and fill with boiling water to a third of the way up the sides. Put the wonton bowl into the wok, cover with a lid and steam for 6–8 minutes, until the wontons have shriveled slightly and are cooked through. Remove from the wok and serve garnished with a little chopped coriander.

Tip: Dumplings like these can be kept in the freezer once made. They must be cooked from frozen for 2 minutes longer than the recommended cooking time when cooking fresh, rather than allowing them to thaw out and lose their shape.