Dumping the Dumpling

I'm going to admit I have a problem, because I know that is the first step on the road to recovery.

I'm addicted to dumplings.

It doesn't really matter what sort - pan fried, steamed, deep fried... I just can't get enough of those pop-in-your-mouth explosions of flavour.

When I travelled in Japan, I ate gyoza every day.

When I was shown how to make my own Nepalese version (Mo Mo) it was the end of me. It meant I had 24-7 access to such tasty morsels... and no one in a restaurant to judge me when I had seconds, thirds and fourths.

It's just too easy.

Step 1: buy a packet of pre-made circle dumpling pastry from an asian grocery (the japanese version with the smiling chef on is best).

Step 2: buy 500g pork mince and 500g chicken mince. Mix it with an egg, garlic, onion and spices to taste (i like chilli, tumeric, cumin).

Step 3: dollop spoonfuls of the mince into the pastry and close into whatever shape takes your fancy. Steam them for 15-20mins

Step 4: Serve them with whatever sauce floats your boat. I like making my own: onion, tomato, coriander, cumin seeds.

Yum.

Or just eat out at places like Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant in Tattersalls Lane and the Oriental Tea House in Collins Street.

If being an addict is wrong, I don't want to right.

Catch of the Day

What is it about going for a swim in the ocean that prompts cravings for fish n' chips?

As soon as I dive under a wave I start dreaming about battered flake, golden potato cakes and crumbed calamari - doused in lemon and tartare sauce.

During a week's holiday at the beach I had F n' C twice: the first was disappointment. We went to a place in Barwon Heads that's at the round-a-bout as soon as you come off the bridge, because Gilligan's was already closed for the night. It all tasted lovely, but everything came pint-sized in cardboard boxes.

We got the real stuff a couple of days later at Ocean View Fish and Chips - massive pieces of flake that were served up the way they should be served up: wrapped in paper.

It tasted all the more satisfying considering we had just been fishing and hadn't caught a single thing.