Guotie pan-fried pork dumplings

These little parcels start with the dough. Pour plain flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl, add hot water and work it into flakes with a fork. Knead briefly into a smooth dough that does not stick to your hands. Cover it with a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes so it softens and rolls out more easily later on.

Chop the napa cabbage as finely as you can, sprinkle it with a teaspoon of salt and let it stand for 10 minutes to release its water. Then squeeze it firmly dry with your hands, because only a dry filling holds together well and keeps the parcels from falling apart while frying.

In a bowl combine the ground pork, squeezed napa cabbage, chopped spring onion, grated ginger and pressed garlic. Add soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Stir in water a spoon at a time, always mixing in one direction, until the filling softens, starts to shine and holds together nicely.

Divide the rested dough into two parts and roll each into a thin rope. Cut it into equal pieces and roll each into a round about 8 centimeters across, thicker in the middle than at the edges so the filling does not leak during cooking.

Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center of each round. Fold the dough into a crescent and seal only the top edge, pleating just the front side toward the flat bottom. Set the finished parcels on a floured board so they do not stick to one another.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan and stand the parcels flat bottom down, snugly next to each other. Fry them for 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat, until the bottom turns golden and starts to crisp up.

Stir corn starch into water, or use just clean water, and carefully pour it into the pan up to about a third of the parcels' height. Cover with the lid at once and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, until the water fully evaporates and the dough turns soft.

Take off the lid and let the rest of the water cook away so the bottom crisps up again. Meanwhile stir together soy sauce, vinegar and chili oil for the dip. Serve right away, crispy bottom up, with a bowl of the dip on the side.