Baked chicken dumplings with pickled chilli

“This recipe was inspired by the steamed dumplings of my childhood and experiences from my travels, so it’s a Khoo original. Pickled chillies are a great way to pep up any recipe, and while they’re really easy to make, they’re also readily available from delicatessens too. I like my food with a bit of a kick so I leave the seeds in the chillies, but you can take them out if you prefer it milder.” Rachel Khoo, Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook Melbourne

• serves

  4

• prep

  35 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Dough

• 125 g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp fast action yeast
• 1 small handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ½ small red chilli, finely chopped
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) warm milk
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling

• 200 g skinless chicken breast, coarsely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 50 g cornichons, drained
• 20 g capers in brine, drained

Yoghurt sauce

• 200 g Greek yoghurt
• ½ lemon, zested
• 1 handful dill sprigs, finely chopped
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• sea salt, to taste

Pickled chilli salad

• 1 small leek, white part only, finely sliced
• 5 radishes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pickled chilli, finely chopped
• sea salt, to taste
• 2 tsp pickled chilli liquor 

Resting time 2½ hours

Instructions

To make the dough, place all the ingredients except the milk, oil and egg in bowl and stir to combine well. Make a well in the middle, then pour in the milk, oil and half the beaten egg (reserve the remaining egg for brushing). Stir to combine well, then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or smooth and elastic (the dough will be very sticky but the more you knead the less sticky it will become). Once the dough springs back when pressed, place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size. 

Meanwhile, to make the filling, place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until you have a smooth paste. Use a spatula to scrape it into a piping bag fitted with a 2 cm nozzle and refrigerate until needed.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into an A4 sized rectangle. Cut in half lengthways so you have two long strips. Pipe a long fat sausage of filling along the centre of each strip of pastry, making sure you go right to the ends. Brush the sides of the pastry with the remaining beaten egg, then fold one side of the dough over the sausage and roll up tightly. Cut each roll into 9 equal pieces and place, filling side-up on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush around the sides with beaten egg, then stand in a warm place for 30 minutes or until slightly risen.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220ºC.

To make the yoghurt sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until needed. 

Bake the dumplings for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the bottom.

To make the pickled chilli salad, place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.

To serve, spread a big blob of yoghurt sauce in the middle of each plate. Top with the dumplings, then the salad and serve immediately. 

Recipes from Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook by Rachel Khoo (Michael Joseph, $39.99). Drop by Rachel Khoo’s website.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.