Delicious Dim Sum Pork Buns

I absolutely hate wasting food so I'm always on the look out for new ways to use up leftovers and I think this is the best one yet. These dim sum buns are t o  d i e  f o r.

The buns themselves are SO easy to make - there's no proving, no resting, no kneading and they can even be made in the food processor! The beauty of this dish, though, is the balance of textures and flavours: the soft, light, airy bun gives way into juicy, slightly sweet, slightly salty, slightly spicy pork and the hint of freshness from the cold, crispy spring onions and chilli really finish off the dish. Bring these to the table and you're sure to really impress.

Of course, you can make these even when you don't have leftover pork, they work well with any leftover roast meat or you can simply cook some slices of meat before starting the recipe OR if you're a vegetarian, these work really well with sautéed mushrooms.

Delicious Dim Sum Pork Buns
Serves 8

1 fresh red chilli 
4 spring onions 
300g leftover cooked pork 
4 heaped tbsp black bean sauce 
2 tbsp hot chilli sauce 
500g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting 
400ml semi-skimmed milk 
2 tbsp sesame seeds 
1 bag of spinach, washed and drained
Hoi sin sauce 

Deseed the chilli and trim and halve 2 spring onions. Very finely slice them lengthways, put them into a little bowl of ice-cold water so they curl up, then put aside. 

Trim and finely chop the remaining spring onions and place in a bowl. Pull the pork into fine shreds, add to the bowl along with the black bean and chilli sauces, and mix well. 

By hand or in a food processor, mix the flour and milk with a pinch of salt until combined. Add a sprinkling more flour, if needed, to bring it together, then tip on to a flour-dusted work surface and roll into a thick sausage. Cut into 16 pieces and roll into balls, then flatten each one into a round about 0.5cm thick. 

Place a heaped teaspoon of pork mixture in the centre of each round, then fold and pull the edges up over the filling, pinching the ends together really well to seal. Place upside-down, so the seam is at the bottom, in double-layered muffin cases in a steamer basket – you won't get them all in at once, so you'll have to cook them in batches. 

Put a wok on a medium heat and quickly toast the sesame seeds, then tip them into a small bowl, put aside, and add 2cm of boiling water to the wok (top up between batches, if needed). Add the steamer basket of buns, pop the lid on, cook for around 12 minutes, or until the buns are fluffy and hot in the middle, then sprinkle with a quarter of the sesame seeds. Repeat with the rest of the buns.

Serve the buns in the middle of the table with the hoi sin sauce for dipping, a handful of spinach and with the drained curly chilli and spring onions on the side for sprinkling over.