PRAWN AND SCALLOP GYOZA

It's fun making your own dumplings. I tend to be a bit more Thai with my chilli than Japanese, so these are quite hot, but you can easily use less chilli if you prefer.

MAKES 20

1cm fresh ginger, roughly chopped

4 spring onions, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

150g raw shelled prawns, half left whole, the other half finely chopped

100g scallops, finely chopped

2 tbsp chives, snipped

75g Chinese cabbage, finely shredded

1 tbsp miso paste

1 tsp chillies, crushed

1 tsp sesame oil, plus about 4 tsp for frying

20 gyoza wrappers

2 tsp groundnut oil, for frying

For the dipping sauce

3 tbsp soy sauce

1½ tbsp rice vinegar

Place the ginger, spring onions, garlic and the whole prawns into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to make a paste. Add the chopped prawns, scallops, chives, cabbage, miso, chilli and 1 tsp of sesame oil. Pulse a few more times until well combined.

Put a gyoza wrapper on a work surface, place a teaspoonful of filling in the middle, run a wet finger around the edge of the wrapper, then fold it over to form a crescent shape, pinching the edges together into pleats to seal in the filling. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling, keeping the prepared gyozas on a lightly oiled plate under a tea towel, to stop them drying out.

Heat 1 tsp of groundnut oil and 2 tsp sesame oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add 10 gyozas and fry for 3 minutes, until golden on one side. Pour in 2-3 tbsp of water, lower the heat and cover with a lid. Steam-fry for 2 minutes, or until the dumplings feel firm and the wrappers look translucent. Remove the lid, increase the heat and cook until all the water has evaporated. Repeat process with the remaining gyozas.

In a separate bowl, combine the soy sauce and rice vinegar and serve with the gyoza as a dipping sauce.

BRAISED KABOCHA PUMPKIN

This is also delicious as a side dish with teriyaki chicken or beef. If you decide to do this, serve it warm, then enjoy any leftovers at room temperature as a snack the following day.

SERVES 4-6

450g kabocha (Japanese) pumpkin

2 cups dashi stock

1 tbsp sake

1 tbsp mirin

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

200g shiitake mushrooms

Half-peel the pumpkin and cut it into large chunks. Put it skin-side down in a large frying pan and add the stock, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce. The pumpkin pieces should now be submerged in liquid. If not, pour in a little water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the pumpkin is almost tender.

Turn the pumpkin over, add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature in the pan. Stir gently before serving.

Bill's tip
The beauty of the Japanese kabocha pumpkin is that it has quite a dry, dense texture that doesn't break down with cooking.

Food preparation by Marina Filippelli. Props merchandising by Rachel Jukes.