Prawn and Wood Ear Shui Jiao

Method

1. Mix the flour with cold water into a stiff dough, knead it until it stops tearing, then cover it and leave it alone. Cold-water dough is what gives a boiled wrapper the bite to survive the pot.
2. While the dough rests, cover the wood ear in warm water to swell, then drain and shred it. Grate the zucchini and squeeze it hard, chop the spinach and grate half the ginger.
3. Chop the prawns coarsely and stir them through the vegetables with the white pepper, beating the mix against the bowl until it turns sticky and holds a shape.
4. Roll the dough into thin rounds, fill each one and press the rim into a tight pleated seam — a boiled dumpling has nowhere to hide a weak seal.
5. Cut the rest of the ginger to threads and stir it into the black vinegar, soy and sesame oil in the serving bowl.
6. Bring a deep pan of unsalted water to a rolling boil.
7. Slide the dumplings in, stir once so they do not settle, and cook them until they lift off the base and float with the wrappers gone glossy.
8. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, letting them drain over the pan for a moment, and drop them straight into the dressing.
9. Turn them over once in the vinegar and eat them hot.