Original subtitles

seasoning or drizzling, flavours that bind by Lee Kum Kee,

proud sponsor of Eva Pau's Asian Kitchen.

My name is Eva, and I'm very excited to welcome you

into my Asian Kitchen.

In this series, I'll share the secrets behind

cooking authentic, fresh, delicious Asian food at home.

Recipes to breathe a bit of fresh air into your weekly meal plan.

I could eat this every day.

To me, food and family are inseparable.

My mum and dad are from China, but we've lived in Ireland since I

was one month old, so I'm a true blend of East and West.

I grew up running around my parents' supermarket,

so my life has always been about food, food, food.

I'm not a professional chef, but cooking is my passion.

So when I'm not working, I'm at home experimenting

with food or thinking about it.

I collect cookbooks and read them like other people read fiction.

I'm very lucky that I get to travel to Asia a few times a year.

I visit my granny in Hong Kong, who is still cooking at 93,

and I keep up with all the food trends.

So join me as we recreate the bold and vibrant flavours of Asia.

Today, it's all about Asian light bites.

Snacky street food specialities that come in delightful little parcels

that are packed full of savoury goodness.

We have soft and fluffy bao buns filled with sticky, sweet

five-spice pork belly.

An absolute winner.

Vegetable and pork-filled wontons served in a delicious fragrant soup.

But first up, it's gyozas, Japanese dumplings.

Dumplings of all types are so popular now,

and you can buy them pre-frozen and ready-made,

but we're going to make fresh gyozas today.

But the good news is you can buy frozen dumpling wrappers,

and these ones are specifically thin for gyozas.

Defrost them just the night before in the fridge,

and they turn out perfectly.

First up, our veg.

So we need some white cabbage.

I'm just going to roughly chop them and add them to a blender.

Some onion, so you don't need to chop them too finely.

A little bit of ginger.

So just a little piece of ginger will do.

And then a small carrot.

Big chunks are fine.

And lastly, some scallion.

We're just going to blitz and pulse it for a few seconds.

You don't want it to be too fine because you still want a little bit

of texture in your gyozas.

That's the perfect texture I want.

And on to the chicken.

I'm using chicken thigh meat again here.

I think it's just more succulent and a little bit more flavoursome.

Again, just blitz it for a few seconds to retain some bite.

OK, the texture is perfect.

Ready to add into our vegetables.

Now it's time to marinate our mixture.

So into this, some light soy.

About two tablespoons.

Then a little bit of sesame oil to give it a little bit of nuttiness.

Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking rice wine,

and we're going to add in a tablespoon.

Mushroom powder.

It adds a little bit of umami flavour to your mixture.

Bit of complexity.

Then some sugar.

A pinch of salt.

And some cornstarch as well.

So this just helps to bind the mixture together.

This mixture is a great way to hide the veggies into your dumplings.

Sometimes I add a little bit of shiitake mushroom as well.

See how easy this is.

And our filling is done.

It's time to start wrapping the gyozas.

Into your left hand, you're just going to grab a gyoza wrapper,

and then we're going to put a little bit of filling into it.

It's important not to overfill it.

So I'm going to put a little bit on there.

About a teaspoon.

And then I'm going to rub the edges of the wrapper with some water.

Secure the top of it, give it a little pinch at the top.

And then I'm going to use my right hand to make some nice

little crimps.

And because we're making gyozas which are

going to be steam pan-fried,

I'm kind of creating a little base for it.

So it's just simpler to pan-fry them if you have a little base like this.

I make these with my kids all the time.

They love getting stuck in,

and everybody kind of has their own crimping style.

So it's quite fun trying to find which dumpling was made by who.

I mean, really, you can make it any way you want

as long as the filling doesn't come out.

I often make these ahead of time, freeze them,

and then cook them from frozen. So quick and easy.

We're ready to steam pan-fry them.

Add a bit of oil into the pan.

I'm going to heat it up, and in they go.

So I'm just going to pan-fry it for about 2 minutes.

Basically, you really just want to see that the base of it has

browned a little.

So I remember visiting Japan when I was about 16 years old

with my mum and my auntie.

And we went to this really nice local restaurant

where they were making fresh gyozas.

They had this gorgeous, crispy base, and were just so juicy.

And I remember mum saying that, yes,

the fresh ones are just so different.

They are so much tastier and fresher when they're just handmade.

I'm checking on my base here.

You can see that it's browned now.

So it's time to add in our water.

Now definitely grab a lid at the same time.

A little bit of water.

To about a third of the height of the dumpling.

And let that steam work its magic to cook the dumpling.

Between 4 and 5 minutes until the filling is cooked.

So I'm just going to check on the gyozas.

You can see that there's just a little bit more liquid left.

And that's when you need to take off the lid

and let the last bit of water evaporate.

OK, I'm happy with these.

They have a lovely golden, crispy base on them.

I'm just going to set them on a plate.

Presentation in Japanese cooking is very important.

So I'm setting these in a lovely round shape here.

Now it's time to make a quick dipping sauce.

Light soy, 2 tablespoons.

A drop of sesame oil.

And now some white wine vinegar.

Just a tablespoon.

You can dip it in soy sauce, but just add a little vinegar.

It really helps balance out the gyoza.

Quick taste.

Mmm.

These are so good.

They have a lovely crispy base, juicy filling.

These little parcels are just packed full of flavour.

But be careful, you could end up eating tons of them.

♪♪

Originating in China, the bao bun is now a staple throughout Asia

and is very popular here in Ireland too.

My next recipe is a two-for-one deal.

Bao buns and five-spice pork belly.

You're in for a treat.

Now there are two main types of bao buns.

Both are very soft and fluffy.

The first type is a closed one and the second is an open one.

And today we're making the open one.

So into our bowl, we're just going to add some low-gluten wheat flour.

You can use plain flour, but I like this flour because it is super fine

and it makes a really nice fluffy bao bun.

And into that, some baking powder.

Instant dried yeast.

Tablespoon of sugar.

Pinch of salt.

Half a teaspoon.

Some cooking oil.

Warm water.

And some warm milk.

Now it really is key to try and use the warm water and warm milk

because it helps to combine the dough.

And then when you roll it out, it'll be much easier to work with.

Give it a quick mix.

So it's best to work on your counter top.

I'm going to turn my dough out.

It's a lovely springy, sticky dough.

You just want to knead it for two to three minutes, not too long,

just to get it smooth.

OK, now we're just going to roll it out.

I'm using a little dumpling roller here.

That's about 3mm, ready to cut out our bao buns.

So I have here an 11cm cutter.

Cut out little circles.

We just want to brush the inside with a little bit of oil

because we don't want them to stick.

And then we just fold them in half.

They might be looking quite flat now, but they will double up in size.

This dough makes approximately eight bao buns.

Of course you can use a smaller cutter and make mini ones,

which I've also done before, and you can make double the quantity.

Cover them with a tea towel

and let them prove for one and a half to two hours.

Quick clean down, and then we're going to start on our filling.

The braising liquid is key to tender pork.

So light soy for our saltiness, dark soy for colour,

some Chinese cooking wine,

so this is probably a new ingredient that I haven't used yet,

but it's gorgeous. It's called chu hou paste.

It's used a lot in Chinese cooking and braising.

It's a five-spice paste.

So a tablespoon, and then some Chinese rock sugar here.

It's less sweet, but it gives the braising liquid a really nice sheen.

OK, give that a quick stir with some water as well.

You need so much liquid because it will be braising for about

45 to 50 minutes.

And of course the rock sugar will dissolve completely.

Next, some ginger.

We're going to fry this with the pork belly so that we can release

the aroma of the ginger.

Now onto our pork belly.

This is perfect for braising.

Chop them into two-inch chunks.

Quick hand wash.

Time to fire up our wok.

So we just want to add a little drizzle of oil.

You don't need too much because when you're frying the pork belly,

it will release its own oil.

So first we're going to add in the ginger.

You want to release the aroma of the ginger.

Then in goes the pork belly.

The ginger is really releasing its warm, spicy, musky sweetness.

Such a gorgeous smell.

So all you want here is to brown both sides of the pork belly

before you add in the braising liquid.

So at this stage, we're going to add in the cinnamon sticks

and star anise. Give it a quick stir.

I just want to release the flavours of the cinnamon and star anise

before we add in our braising liquid.

Smells amazing already.

Lid on, and you want to simmer that for 45 to 50 minutes

so that watery liquid is going to turn into a gorgeous, sticky,

thick, sweet sauce.

So now we have our bao buns proving and our pork belly braising.

It's definitely time for a cup of tea.

♪ (relaxed instrumental music)

Whether it's breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack -

Chiu Chow it with Lee Kum Kee.

Proud sponsor of Eva Pao's Asian Kitchen.

Lee Kum Kee, proud sponsor of Eva Pao's Asian Kitchen.

♪ (jazzy piano)

Let's check on our bao buns.

They look perfect.

They've doubled in size.

We definitely don't want to touch the bao buns

because they've been proving.

So cut the greaseproof paper.

And the steaming makes all the difference.

It gives us that light, fluffy bao bun.

Let that steam for eight minutes and rest for five.

Gives me time to prepare some garnishes.

First up, some coriander.

Fresh parsley or Thai basil works too.

Next, crush some salted peanuts.

This will add a lovely, salty crunch.

Some red chilli.

This will add a bit of a chilli kick, but also some nice colour.

Let's check on our pork.

Oh, that smell is amazing.

You get that lovely hit of that five-spice chu hou paste.

And now you can see that the braising liquid has really reduced down

to become a thick, glossy, sweet and sticky sauce.

It's the perfect filling for our bao buns.

Yes, the bao buns are done.

Time to assemble.

Into the bao bun, add some pork belly.

Gorgeous, thick piece.

Garnish with a little bit of coriander.

Some chopped chilli.

And some crushed peanuts.

I'm going to go in for a quick taste.

The bao buns are light and fluffy, and you get so much flavour from

the five-spice pork belly, which has become so tender.

Then you get all the lovely garnishes, the hit of the

fresh coriander, the crushed peanuts.

It's just amazing.

♪♪

Where do you want to sit?

Where's Mrs. Deer?

Here.

Where's... Here!

(all laugh)

Wontons are an absolute Hong Kong classic.

These little parcels of yumminess will fill your heart with warmth,

and never more so than when they're served in a glorious, clear,

fragrant soup.

OK, we'll start with the soup.

First up, we need to peel some ginger.

I love this little teaspoon hack.

Now, nice, thin slices.

This will add lovely warmth to your soup.

Some scallion, roughly two-inch pieces.

But we'll start by browning some chicken wings.

These add nutrition and flavour.

Add a litre of water, and then our scallions and ginger.

Leave that to simmer for 25 minutes.

Let's start on our wonton fillings.

First, we need to chop a few prawns.

I have here some king prawns,

and I usually just like to use the frozen ones.

These are peeled, deveined.

All the hard work is done for you.

And simple to defrost, just 4 minutes under running water.

Now, prawns and pork are probably a very unusual combination,

but in Asia, it's a very classic filling.

If you just use prawn, your filling won't combine as well as if you

add in the minced pork as well.

I like my wontons with a bit of a bite,

so I've kept my prawns quite chunky, not too fine.

Let's get some water chestnuts in there.

This will add such a nice crunch to your wontons.

Now it's time to season.

Into this mixture, add a little bit of light soy for the saltiness,

and also umami flavour.

A drop of sesame oil.

Teaspoon of sugar.

Some cornstarch to bind it together.

Bit of salt, not too much.

And then last but not least, a little bit of white pepper.

Perfect. Quick mix.

Okay, our mixture is done, it's ready to wrap.

Again, frozen wrappers are the way to go.

All you need to do is stick them in the fridge the night before

or just keep them out of the freezer for two or three hours

and they'll defrost pretty quickly.

So into the wonton, we're going to add a teaspoon of mixture.

So it's really like wrapping our dumplings,

but just a little bit different.

So the two corners, fold that together,

and then you just crimp it like that.

So it's the four corners meeting in the middle.

This is a great one to get the kids involved

and get a production line on the go.

Like when you're making ravioli, you want to make sure that the

air bubbles are just out of the mixture and then you're

crimping the edges so that they're nicely stuck

so when you put them into the water,

none of the water seeps into your filling.

All done.

I'm just going to add some water into my wok.

And we're just going to drop our wontons into the hot water.

You notice that I'm using this little spatula to just drop them in

and make sure that they're not sticking to the bottom of the pot.

These will cook for five to six minutes

and you'll know they're done when the wontons float to the top.

Now while they're cooking, I'm going to prep my pak choi.

All you want to do here is take off the ends and chop it in half

and into our soup base.

Give it a little stir.

Time to season with salt and some white pepper

because I definitely don't want flecks of black pepper

in my clear soup.

OK, the wontons are ready.

They're floating at the very top. It's time to plate up.

Next, our broth and pak choi.

The pak choi is a gorgeous, bright green colour

and now we're just going to ladle some soup over.

The smell really takes me back to Hong Kong.

Garnish with some scallions and we're ready to taste.

First, a little bit of the broth.

The broth is so warming.

You can really get that ginger and scallion hit.

Now for the wontons.

Mmm.

There is great texture from the wontons.

This whole bowl is just like a warm hug.

♪♪

I really hope that you've enjoyed this series,

learning to make some of your favourite Asian dishes

and I hope that you've picked up some new recipes too.

You can see that you really only need three or four Asian pantry staples.

And you can make wonderful, authentic Asian food at home.

But no matter what you cook

and whether it takes minutes or hours to prepare,

it's really all about who you're going to sit down and eat it with.

The conversations, the laughter,

the connections that sharing food provides.

So I wish you many wonderful meals with family and friends,

and have fun with your cooking.

Bye for now.

All the recipes from today's episode and this series are available at

rte.ie/food.

♪♪