Chicken broth with spinach dumplings

Good manners: the noise you don’t make when you’re eating soup. – Bennett Cerf, journalist

These Asian dumplings are fun to prepare but it takes time to master the traditional folding technique with pleating, especially if you make your own dough. So we didn’t pleat ours, we simply pinched them closed. A sense of humour is recommended.

Serves 4 Preparation time: about 1 hour Cooking time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

• 15ml sesame oil • 4 deboned chicken thighs, diced • 1 bunch spring onions, chopped • 1 knob ginger, peeled and grated • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 1 chilli, finely chopped • 30ml oyster sauce (or to taste) • 100ml chopped mushrooms • about 1.5L chicken stock • a generous pinch of dried fish flakes or 15ml fish sauce • 1 bunch fresh coriander, stems and leaves chopped separately • 4 medium-sized baby marrows, cut into noodles with a spiral veggie slicer DOUGH • 140g (250ml) flour • about 60–80ml hot water (not boiling) SPINACH FILLING • 5ml oil • 1 bunch spring onions, chopped • 1 chilli, chopped • 1 clove garlic, chopped • 150g baby spinach, blanched, squeezed dry and finely chopped • 1 bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped • about 250g medium-fat cream cheese

1 For the dough Stir the water into the flour until it is too thick to continue stirring; turn out onto a clean surface and knead until smooth (about 5 minutes). Form a neat ball and cover with a damp tea towel and an inverted mixing bowl and rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

2 For the spinach filling Sauté the spring onions, chilli and garlic in the oil until fragrant. Stir in the spinach and coriander and remove from the heat. Add the cream cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. The mixture must be thick, otherwise it will make your dumplings soggy.

3 Make the soup Heat the oil and fry the chicken until golden-brown all over. Add the spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilli and fry until fragrant. Stir in the oyster sauce and mushrooms and stir-fry until heated through. Pour in the stock and season with the coriander stalks and fish flakes or fish sauce (both serve the same seasoning purpose, and can be left out altogether). Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently over moderate heat for about 45 minutes. Add the baby marrow noodles and coriander leaves and simmer for another 5 minutes. Check if you need additional seasoning such as chilli, salt or herbs and adjust to taste.

4 Fold the dumplings Divide the dough in half. Work with one piece at a time and cover the rest with a damp tea towel. Roll the dough in a little flour and shape into a flat rectangle. Using your pasta machine, roll the dough until the second last setting. Using a round cookie cutter (or a large glass), cut the dough into 7cm circles. Spoon about 10–15ml of the filling onto each circle of dough, fold the circle into a semi-circle and pinch around the filling with your fingers to seal tightly. It is essential that there are no gaps or air pockets between the filling and the dough. Place the dumpling with the seam edge facing upwards on a clean, lightly-floured chopping board. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough until you have about 18 dumplings.

5 Place the dumplings in the soup in batches as it gently simmers; wait until they float and then simmer for another minute. Spoon into soup bowls and repeat until all the dumplings are cooked. Divide the soup between the bowls. Sprinkle extra fish flakes on top and garnish with fresh herbs; serve immediately.