Great Gruner

Imagine if Riesling and Pinot Gris had an illegitimate lovechild" - is how Jules describes Grüner Veltliner... And the wonderfully talented Unna Burch has come up with the perfect recipe to try at home with this wine. Read on for the recipe or scroll to the bottom to order the wine!

Dumplings are one of my favourite foods in the entire world, and prawn and chive and the ones I love most when we got to Yum Char. So I decided to share a recipe for them with a homemade chilli oil. And when I thought dumplings couldn't get any better, Jules Taylor sends me some of their Gruner Veltliner wine which goes so perfectly with spicy food! It has flavours of mandarin peel, stone fruit, blossom and white pepper and it also pairs well with crispy 5 spice pork belly or freshly shucked oysters. If you are a Riesling or Pinot Gris fan, then you should definitely give this a try.

MAKES | 30-40 dumplings (depending on how much filling you use) + 2 cups of chilli oil
TIME | 50 mins for the chilli oil, including chilling time + 1 1/2 hours for the dumplings, including chilling time

For the chilli oil
1 1/2 cups peanut or canola oil (or a combination of the both)*
4 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorns **
3/4 cup chilli flakes/chilli powder **
1 teaspoon salt (I used smoked flakey sea salt)

For the dumplings

500g raw prawn cutlets (I used from frozen)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small bunch garlic chives
1 teaspoon oil
Salt & white pepper
1 pack of dumpling wrappers **

To serve (optional)Chilli oil above
Soy sauce
Black vinegar **
Sesame oil
Coriander
Spring onions, sliced
Crispy fried shallots **

For the chilli oil - put the oil, star anise, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and Szechuan peppercorns in a medium-sized pot and heat over medium heat. Cook the spices in the oil until the spices start to pop and go slightly crispy, then turn the heat down to low and cook for 30 mins to infuse the oil. Put the chilli flakes and salt into a heatproof dish, and when the oil is ready pour it gently over top. Stir gently and set aside. (Note: it will develop more flavour the longer it sits. Will last in the fridge for 6 months)

For the dumplings - devein and wash the prawns. Take half of them and chop them so they are minced but still with some texture to them and put them in a bowl. Take the remaining prawns and cut into chunky pieces (I cut mine into 6th) and add these to the bowl with the crushed garlic. Cut the chives into 3cm slices and sauté in the oil over medium heat until they are just wilted - this should only take a few seconds. Add these to the prawns, season with the white pepper and salt and mix well. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 30mins. When the prawns are ready, take a dumpling wrapper and on the cornflour dusted side, add a teaspoon of prawns, rub the circumference of the wrapper in a little water to seal it close by pressing well, getting all of the air out from around the filling as you do so. You can see YouTube videos (HERE) on fold techniques - I like to fold my ones as seen in the finished dish photos above as it traps and holds more chilli oil. To steam, I line the bottom of bamboo steamer baskets with baking paper so the dumplings don't stick, and I stab a few holes into it to allow steam to come through. Pace the dumplings on top, and steam for around 8 minutes.

While the dumplings are steaming, make a little dipping sauce by mixing some of the chilli oil, soy sauce, black vinegar and sesame oil to taste -I love almost a half-half ratio of chilli oil and vinegar for mine. When the dumplings are done, cover with the chilli sauce, and top with any additional toppings you like; coriander, sliced spring onions and fried shallots. Enjoy with a glass of Jules Taylor Gruner Veltliner.

* A neutral flavoured oil is needed for this chilli oil, do not use something strong flavoured like olive oil.

** All of these ingredients can be found at Asian supermarkets