…with some home-made dumplings dim-sum-style, xiu mai, in order to celebrate the Shanghai world expo. You need: minced pork, spring onions, ginger, water chestnuts, tapioca starch, wrappers, sesame oil, soy sauce, Chinese rice wine and you’re all set (as long as you have one of these huge steaming pots you can buy in any Asian shop). Sounds complicated? It isn’t actually. Just dare! Be bold!

Chinese dumplings, for a change: they call it xiu mai.

You might think though: only one type of dumplings, that’s a bit boring, isn’t it? And you’re right, I’d say. So why not add a Thai element to your meal? I mean, the steamer is big enough, you could add some fish cakes…and this, too, is easily done. Get some white, firm saltwater fish, a couple of green beans, lemon grass, coriander, Thai red chili paste, lime juice, fish sauce, and here’s your product:

Asians think round things render happy: Thai fish cakes.

Next? It’s your steamer’s job to cook the nice morsels. It’ll take only 5 to 7 minutes, enough time to whisk a dipping sauce and chop some coriander – and you can call your household “à table!”. Serve some rice with it, drink some fruity white wine, and have a nice evening afterwards. I can promise that only minutes after you have served this kind of dinner, it’ll be gone. ‘Cause everybody loves shovelling in these morsels!

Finished in no time: home-made Asian dumplings.