Wontons / gyoza / dumplings

Call them what you will, but these tiny mouthfuls of pork and spice goodness are amazing.

This is how I make them. Simple and easy with ingredients you most likely already have.

1 pack gowgee wrappers
300g pork mince
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 carrot, grated
2 tablespoons minced garlic/3 cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons minced ginger or equivalent fresh ginger
2 tablespoon chinkiang vinegar
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
couple of drops of sesame oil

dipping sauce:
3 tablespoon kecap manis (dark soy)
1 tablespoon garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon chilli oil
good crack black pepper

mix all the ingredients for the gyoza together in a big bowl.
place one teaspoon of the mixture onto one gow gee wrapper. use a little water to stick the edges together.
keep going until you have made them all!

cooking options: steam, boil or fry.
I personally llike to steam them to cook the meat and then fry them just to get them crispy, but they taste just as good steamed. i guess it depends on what kind of texture you like and how you're serving them.
Cooking times for each option:
Steam for about 10 minutes.
Fry for about 4 minutes each side
Boil for about four minutes.

tadaaaa!

Curried pumpkin and chickpea patties

I've always been a fan of chickpea patties, but then something happened that changed it all. I accidentally put curry powder in once instead of cumin. Mind blown. I can't believe I didn't try this out earlier (on purpose).
SO here is my recipe that I made up for this batch - it makes about 16 quite huge round balls. 
You could also use this recipe to make big, flatter burger patties - I did this last week and it was amazing. I served it in big fresh rolls with salad and a raita - I'll pop the recipe for that at the bottom. 

About 500g pumpkin - peeled and diced into even sized pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 red onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 egg
about 1 cup breadcrumbs
1.5 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried coriander 
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli (leave this out if you want)
1 tablespoon diced garlic (fresh or from a jar)
Decent cracking of ground pepper

Boil the pumpkin until soft. 
Mash pumpkin and chickpea in together. until relatively pureed. Chunks are ok though. 
Put everything in  a big bowl and mix together until well combined. Add a little more breadcrumbs if it's too wet. 
Roll the mixture into balls or flat patties depending on what you want.
Put them on a plate or tray in the fridge for about half an hour to let them set and get the flavour a bit more developed. 
Cooking - either in a frypan or in the oven.
In a frypan, use a little oil to stop them burning, and cook slowly until brown and crispy on the outside. 
In the oven, grease a tray with a little spray oil. Cook for about 15 minutes at 180C, then flip them over and cook for about 10-15 or until browned.

Done! These taste great with raita, a basic tzatziki - which is just as follows: 
1/4 cup plain greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon garlic (Fresh or from a jar) 
1/4 Lebanese cucumber, grated (then squeeze all the moisture out)
small handful fresh mint, chopped
salt and pepper, to season