Golden Chive & Egg Pockets (Jiucai Hebing)

⏱ 60 min · Serves 4

Crisp-bottomed, chewy hot-water dough parcels stuffed with a generous tangle of garlic chives, fluffy scrambled egg and a whisper of sesame. Pan-fried until blistered and golden, these Northern Chinese pockets are the kind of snack you eat standing at the stove — juicy, fragrant and impossible to stop at one.

Per serving: 515 kcal · 17.0g protein · 61.0g carbs · 22.0g fat

Ingredients

• 300g plain flour
• 190ml boiling water
• 1/4 tsp salt (for dough)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (for dough)
• 300g Chinese garlic chives (jiucai), finely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 20g dried glass noodles, soaked and chopped (optional)
• 4 tbsp neutral oil, for frying and scrambling

Method

1. Put the flour and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl. Pour in the boiling water while stirring with chopsticks until shaggy, then add 1 tbsp oil and knead 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
2. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium-high, pour in the eggs and scramble into small fluffy curds. Tip onto a plate to cool completely, breaking up any large pieces.
3. Wash and dry the chives very well, then chop into 5mm pieces. Combine with the cooled egg, soaked glass noodles if using, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, 3/4 tsp salt and white pepper. Mix gently and only just before filling, so the chives stay dry.
4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a 15cm round, slightly thinner at the edges.
5. Pile a generous handful of filling on one half, fold over into a half-moon and press the edges firmly, pleating or crimping with a fork to seal. Flatten gently with your palm.
6. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick or cast-iron pan over medium heat. Fry the pockets in batches, 2-3 minutes per side, until golden, blistered and puffed, pressing lightly with a spatula.
7. Rest 1 minute, then eat hot — with black vinegar and chilli oil for dipping if you like.