Make the sweetened soy sauce
Add the brown sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water, spring onion, black cardamom, star anise, fennel seeds, bay leaf, ginger and cinnamon stick to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for around 30 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly into a glossy, syrupy sauce.
Strain out all the aromatics and allow the sauce to cool completely to room temperature.
Make the aromatic water
Add the chopped spring onion, grated ginger and Sichuan peppercorns to a bowl.
Pour over ¼ cup hot water and leave to infuse for around 10 minutes.
Strain the liquid, discarding the aromatics, and set the aromatic water aside.
Make the dumpling filling
Add the pork mince, Shaoxing wine, salt, sugar and white pepper to a bowl.
Mix vigorously in one direction while gradually adding 2–3 tbsp of the aromatic water.
Add the liquid little by little rather than all at once - you want the pork to absorb the water without becoming wet and too loose.
Continue mixing until the filling becomes smooth, sticky and paste-like.
Now grab the mixture and firmly smack it back down into the bowl several times. This helps develop the texture and keeps the filling juicy and bouncy.
Make the dumpling dough
Add the flour and salt to a bowl then give it a mix.
Gradually pour in around 125ml room-temperature water, mixing until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead for around 8–10 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth.
Cover and rest for 30–40 minutes.
Make the wrappers
Once rested, divide the dough into around 20–25 equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a ball, flatten it slightly, then roll it out into a thin circular wrapper.
Keep the wrappers covered while you work so they don't dry out.
Fill & fold the dumplings
Add around ½ tbsp of filling to the centre of each wrapper.
Fold the wrapper in half and firmly seal the edges with your index finger and thumb, making sure there are no gaps. (look at my video to see how I do it, it's super easy!)
Repeat until you've used all the filling.
Cook the dumplings
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Carefully add the dumplings. The temperature of the water will drop once they're added, so allow it to return to a gentle simmer rather than a vigorous boil.
If it starts boiling too aggressively, add a splash of cold water to bring the temperature back down, this also helps to firm up the dumpling skin to give a nice QQ texture.
Cook for around 6–7 minutes, or until the dumplings float to the surface and the filling is cooked through.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well.
Make the sauce & serve
Add some of the freshly cooked dumplings to a bowl and for each serving, add the sweetened soy sauce, Sichuan chilli oil (or whatever chilli oil you have), grated garlic, MSG and sesame seeds to a bowl.
Then gently toss until they're completely coated in that glorious sauce.
Finish with another drizzle of chilli oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
