Some foods are just worth the effort and for me this is one of them, Won Ton Soup made from scratch. You Can buy the dumpling skins from the Chinese supermarkets, but for those of us outwith the central belt, making them from  scratch is a satisfying option.

Top tip: Double up the dumpling recipe and freeze what you don’t need.

Won Ton Soup

Serves 4

       Dumplings

• 125 mls of warm water
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 250g of either plain or bread flour

1. Mix all the ingredients together and knead to create a soft dough.
2. Cover and allow to rest for 30mins.
3. Using cornflour on your work surface, cut the dough into 4 and then 4 again creating 16 small pieces.
4. Roll each piece until very thin, stack dusting each side of the wrappers with a little cornflour to stop them from sticking.
5. Store in a tupperware to stop them from drying out.
6. If you have doubled up your recipe freeze half at this point.

          Filling

• 100g of minced pork
• 100g of minced chicken
• 1 inch of grated ginger
• 2tsp of light Soy sauce
• 2tsp of rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp of sesame oil
• 1 spring onion thinly sliced

1. Mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

           Soup Broth

• 1 litre of Chicken Stock
• 85g of sliced mushrooms
• 1 head of pack choi chunkily cut
• 1tsp of sesame
• 1tsp of light soy sauce
• 1tsp of rice wine vinegar
• Spring onions for garnish
• White pepper to taste

1. Keeping your pack choi and spring onions separate put all the rest of the ingredients in a pot and bring to the boil.
2. Cook for around 15 mins.

Whilst waiting on your soup, compile your dumplings.

1. Taking one wrapper at a time, put a good sized tsp amount of your meat mixture into the centre of the wrapper.
2. Bring the sides together to meet at the top, twist firmly to seal.
3. *Once they are all prepared, gently drop into your soup.
4. Bring back to the boil and gently cook for 20mins.
5. Add the pac choi and allow to wilt for 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Serve into bowls and garnish with spring onions.

Top tip: *If you are not sure about adding the dumplings direct to the soup, cook them in a steamer over your soup first, and then place directly into your bowls before adding the soup around them.

Next week we shall make things a little simpler, coated Chicken quarters with Potato wedges. A mixture of store cupboard spices is all you need for this simple yet tasty meal.

Spice Coated Chicken