Erchen Chang’s Cull Yaw Dumplings
Makes 25 dumplings
The great thing about making dumplings is that everyone can join in and help. Keep the telly on while you do it, and watch the coronation celebrations unfold.
- 175g 12-13% protein noodle or dumpling flour, plus extra for dusting
- A pinch of salt
- 60ml hot water
- 50ml cold filtered water
- 200g minced (ground) cull yaw (or use lamb)
- ⅓ tsp ground black pepper
- ⅓ tsp ground white pepper
- ⅓ tsp ground cumin
- ⅔ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp premium soy sauce
- 1 1⁄4 tsp vegetable oil
- 1⁄2 tsp sesame oil
- 65ml chicken or pork stock
- 80g onion, finely diced
- 70ml Chinkiang black rice vinegar
- 45ml whole bean soy sauce
- 45ml mirin
- 3 spring onions, finely sliced
- 50g onion, finely diced
- 5 teaspoons Sichuan Chilli Oil
To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the hot water, stirring with chopsticks. Add the cold filtered water and stir again until loosely combined, then tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work counter and knead until smooth. The dough will be crumbly at first, but it will become smooth and soft after some persistence—don’t be tempted to add any more water. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest at room temperature for two hours.
To make the filling, combine all the ingredients except the stock and onion in a bowl. Using your hand to mix in one direction, gradually add the stock until it is completely absorbed. The meat mixture should be sticky and have resistance. You want to break down the proteins in the meat so that it does not taste mealy and instead has a smooth and bouncy mouthfeel when you eat it. You’ll know this has happened when the white streaks of fat in the lamb mince are no longer distinct from the meat itself, so don’t be afraid to mix longer than you might normally think to. Add the diced onion and mix well to ensure it is evenly dispersed through the meat. Try to make the dumplings fresh before using rather than pre-preparing.
To make the dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.
To assemble the dumplings, unwrap the dough and roll out into a long sausage shape, then divide into 7g dough balls. Dust a baking sheet, a rolling pin, and the work counter generously with flour, then roll out the dough balls into 7cm (2 3⁄4 inch) discs.
Wet a butter knife and scoop out about 12g of cull yaw filling onto a dumpling skin. Fold the skin in half to cover the filling and press the sides together. You shouldn’t need water to close the dumplings as the moisture from the fresh dough will be enough, but if you had stored the discs or used too much dusting flour, then you can use a dab of water. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining skins and filling.
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and drop in the dumplings one by one. Make sure you cook the dumplings in small batches so they have room to bounce around happily. Cook for 4 minutes, or until all the dumplings float to the surface of the water. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Spoon the dressing and Sichuan chili oil into the bottom of 5 bowls, then place 5 steaming hot dumplings into each bowl, and garnish with the spring onions and onion. Serve with the chili oil.
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Skye McAlpine’s Rhubarb and Cheddar Tart
Serves 4 to 6
There is something so unequivocally British about both rhubarb and Cheddar that I couldn’t not make this tart (a favorite recipe of mine) for the Coronation celebrations this weekend. I love the sharpness of the stems of hot pink rhubarb against the buttery, salty creaminess of the cheese and flaky puff pastry. It’s one of those recipes that is so delightfully simple and low effort to make that you can easily scale it up or down: you could even make individual smaller tarts if you prefer, with just a few sticks of rhubarb per piece, or – if catering for a crowd – then bake a few larger tarts and slice them up so they’re easy to serve and eat with your fingers. Alongside the tart, I like some crisp greens: a fresh watercress salad with mustard-y dressing would be a lovely, suitably British touch. And strawberries with clotted cream for pudding, of course.
- 325g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 250g mascarpone
- 2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 400g thin stems of bright pink rhubarb
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 130g Cheddar cheese, grated
- A small bunch of thyme
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oven to 200 ̊C/180 ̊C fan/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and unroll the sheet of pastry onto the tray. Use a sharp knife to score a 2-3cm border around the edge, then prick all over the center part with a fork.
Brush the pastry edge with the egg, then line with baking parchment and baking beans. Blind-bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until dry to the touch and lightly golden at the edges. Take out of the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes or so.
In a small bowl, combine the mascarpone with the Parmesan and season generously with salt and pepper. Spoon the mascarpone over the middle of the tart and spread it out as evenly as you can. If the pastry is puffed up in the middle, don’t worry, just press it down gently with your hands and spoon the mascarpone on top. Cut the rhubarb into long-ish pieces, roughly 16cm long, and arrange them snugly, side by side like soldiers, over the mascarpone. Sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb, then top with the grated Cheddar. Lastly, scatter over a few thyme leaves.
Set in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the rhubarb is tender. Serve warm.
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Ravinder Bhogal’s Rose, Cardamom, and Olive Oil Doughnuts
Makes 30 doughnuts
What could be more opulent for a coronation than these fragrant, rose syrup-soaked doughnuts?
- 500g self-raising flour, sifted
- 250g Greek yogurt
- 100ml fruity virgin olive oil
- 125ml double cream
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 4 cardamom pods, crushed to a powder
- The zest of one unwaxed orange
- 400g caster sugar
- 400ml water
- A few drops of rosewater
- Groundnut oil for deep-frying
- A handful of crushed pistachios
- A handful of dried rose petals
Put all the ingredients for the dough into a large mixing bowl and turn with your hands until it starts to come together. Once it has come together fully, tip it out onto a work surface and knead for 5 minutes. You should have a smooth dough.
Roll into a sausage shape and pull off gobstopper-sized pieces. Roll into a ball with your hands, flatten, and then push your finger through the middle to create the hole.
Make the sugar syrup by boiling the sugar and the water together until you have a thickened syrup—this should take around 10 minutes. Be careful you don’t over-reduce it—otherwise you will end up with caramel. Lower to a simmer.
While it is simmering, heat the oil in a wok over a low to medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the doughnuts for five to eight minutes in batches—be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Turn regularly so both sides are evenly colored. Drain the fried doughnuts on kitchen paper.
Once all the doughnuts are fried, take the syrup off the heat and sprinkle with rose water. Dip the doughnuts briefly in the syrup in batches, making sure they are well coated. Rest on greaseproof paper and sprinkle over the rose petals and pistachios.
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