Home-Made Dumplings and Popiahs and A Very Simple Christmas Dinner

Merry Christmas everybody!

I made a very simple Christmas dinner for my family. I made fried rice, fried bee-hoon (vermicelli) and some mini dumplings and popiahs.

For the dumplings' and popiahs' fillings, I used the fried beehoon and fried rice.

Fried Rice

Ingredients:
1. 3 cups of Basmathi rice
2. Thinly sliced garlic
3. 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil
4. 200g of large prawns (marinated with brown sugar, salt and pepper) (cut into pieces)
5. 200g of minced chicken (marinated with salt and pepper)
5. 250g of french beans (chopped into small pieces)
6. Sea salt
7. Pepper (optional)
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1. Pour about 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into a heated wok and add the thinly sliced garlic.
2. Fry the garlic till slightly browned.
3. Add the minced chicken and fry till almost cooked.
4. Then add the prawns and french beans.
5. Fry till thoroughly cooked.
6. Add the cooked Basmathi rice and season with some salt.
7. Fry till fragrant.

Serve hot.

Fried rice

Fried Beehoon

Ingredients:
1. 500g of organic brown rice bee-hoon (soak in a basin of water until soft)
2. 3 big onions (sliced thinly)
3. 1 garlic clove (sliced thinly)
4. 1 carrot (cut into thin strips) (You can change this to a non-salicylate vegetable if you are not able to tolerate carrots)
5. 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil
6. 100g of minced chicken (marinated with salt and pepper)
7. 200g of large prawns (marinated with brown sugar, salt and pepper) (cut into pieces)
8. Sea salt
9. Pepper (optional)
10. 200ml of boiled water

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1. Pour the 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil into a heated wok and add the garlic and onions.
2. Fry them until slightly browned/fragrant.
3. Add the carrots and continue to fry.
4. Add the minced chicken and fry until 3/4 cooked.
5. Add the prawns and continue to fry.
6. Add the beehoon and continue frying. As you stir-fry the beehoon, add the boiled water a bit at a time and continue frying.
7. Season with some sea salt and pepper and continue to fry until soft.
8. Serve while hot.

Fried beehoon

Dumplings & Popiahs

Ingredients:
1. 300g of all-purpose flour
2. 1/2 cup water
3. 1 teaspoon of sea-salt
4. Oil for deep frying

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1. Sieve the flour and sea-salt into a large bowl.
2. Add the water a bit at a time while you stir the flour.
3. Mix until the dough becomes smooth. Add more flour if the dough is too wet and sticky. Add more water if the dough is too crumbly and dry.
4. Make about 10 small balls out of the dough.
5. Roll the balls with the rolling pin and make them as flat and thin as possible without tearing.
6. Add the fillings and seal them.
7. Heat the oil in the wok and drop the dumplings and popiahs in when the oil is boiling hot.
8. Fry till golden brown.
9. Place them on a bowl with paper towels.
10. Serve while hot.

Before frying

1st batch in the boiling oil

Yummy dumplings!

Some of the skins weren't thin enough. They were chewy. The thinner ones were crunchy. Will attempt this dish another time.

Bon appetit!