Name: Beans with Fried Rice and Dumplings
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 500g pork (or chicken) mince; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp tamari (or all-purpose soy sauce); 1 tbsp ginger, freshly grated; 1 spring onion, finely sliced; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 packet of Wonton wrappers; Chilli oil, extra tamari (or all-purpose soy) & sesame oil to serve; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp garlic, freshly minced; 500g pork mince; 500g frozen or fresh green beans (frozen pictured); 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup tamari (or all-purpose soy sauce); 3 cups cold, cooked rice (you can use freshly cooked rice too, but add it at the end of the cook just before adding the sauces, so it doesn’t break up); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 cup bacon, diced; 1 tsp garlic, freshly minced; 1/2 cup frozen peas; 1/2 cup frozen corn; 4 eggs, whisked (I like to serve one egg per person); 2 spring onions, finely sliced; 2 tbsp tamari (or all-purpose soy sauce); 2 tbsp sesame oil; Fried shallots to serve (optional)

Instructions

Assemble Wonton Dumplings

Add the mince, Shaoxing wine, tamari (or all-purpose soy), ginger, sliced spring onion, and salt in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine the ingredients.
Lay the wonton wrappers on a flat surface, and place a pinch of the pork mixture (the size of a large grape) in the centre of the wonton wrapper.
Line the outside of the wrapper with some water using your fingers, fold it in half to encase the pork mixture and then pinch the outsides to form small pleats. Cover the dumplings with a damp tea towel to keep them from drying out.
To cook, place the dumplings in a large pot of boiling water. Cook for 4-5 minutes. The dumplings are ready when they float to the surface. Remove one dumpling and cut it in half to check it is cooked through. If still raw in the centre, cook for an additional minute.

Pork & beans

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on high heat.
Add the garlic, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add pork mince, breaking up with the back of your spoon, and cook until browned 2 minutes.
Stir through beans, brown sugar, and tamari (or soy sauce if using). Once the beans and pork are coated evenly, leave to cook for 8-10 minutes, lid off (if using frozen beans) or 4-6 minutes if using fresh beans. Do not stir the mixture. This allows the sauce to caramelise on the base of the pan.
Once the pork and beans are sticky, stir for 1 minute to coat evenly.

Fried rice

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring for 1 minute.
Add the rice, break it up with your spoon, and combine it with the bacon mixture.
Add corn and peas. Cook for 1 minute, stirring until the corn and peas are defrosted.
Push all ingredients to one side of the pan, and add the egg.
Allow the egg to cook through completely (until firm) before stirring through the rice (this will take 1-2 minutes), and then use your spoon to break it up. Stir the egg through the rice mixture.
Add spring onions, tamari and sesame oil. Stir to coat the rice in the sauce. Remove from heat.
Serve with a sprinkle of fried shallots if using.

To serve:

Serve fried rice loaded with beans and dumplings. Drizzle with additional chilli oil, sesame oil and tamari if using.

Notes

MAKE AHEAD – Form the dumplings as per the recipe. Refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 24 hours. Cook as per recipe. Cover with a damp paper towel to stop the dumplings from drying out. Freeze in an air-tight container or bag for up to 2 months. Cook as per the recipe adding 2 minutes to the cooking time.

LEFTOVERS – Can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave. The cooked fried rice is suitable to freeze. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat in the microwave. The pork and beans and cooked dumplings are not suitable to freeze.