It just ain’t Christmas without mince pies but they do all become a bit same-y by the time you’ve got to box three. Enter Mam Sham, the supper club run by Maria and Rhiannon, who have created the ultimate twist on the Christmas classic – mine pie GYOZA served with brandy custard and candied almonds. HELL YES. And you can give it a go with the recipe below:
What You Need
For the gyoza
1 pack round gyoza dumpling wrappers
350g of mixed dried fruit (we like the one with apricots and candied peel)
50g dried cranberries
1 cooking apple (grated)
60g butter
100g muscovado sugar
1 lemon, juice + rind
100ml brandy
100g marzipan (finely diced)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
Candied almonds
250g almonds
1 egg white
100g sugar
Freshly grated nutmeg
Custard
125g cream
125g milk
3 egg yolks
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp brandy
What You Do
1. The first thing you’ve got to do is the mincemeat filling. This should be done at least 24 hours in advance so that the flavours have time to develop. Combine the dried fruit, cranberries, cooking apple, butter, muscovado sugar, lemon juice & rind, cinnamon and cloves in a pan. Heat everything on a medium heat until the butter is melted then turn the heat down and cook for 10 minutes whilst stirring continuously. When you’ve taken the mincemeat off the heat add the brandy, marzipan and stir to combine. This will make about 700g of mincemeat which will be enough to make a tonne of gyoza but there will also be lots left to make some more traditional mince pies.
2. For the candied almonds, heat the oven to 150, then separate 1 egg (keep the yolk for the custard) and mix together the almond and egg white until the almonds are completely coated. Add your sugar and mix again before laying the almonds out on greaseproof paper keeping them as separate as possible. Grate over your nutmeg or any other spices you’d like to add and put in the oven for about an hour (stirring halfway). When you take them out, they should have a delicious crispy sugary outer layer. You won’t need all of them for this dish but they’ll keep for a week and make for a tasty little snack.
3. When it comes to the custard, we’re using a fool proof method that will take away all your scrambled egg fears. Place a bowl over a pan of hot water to make a bain marie. Add your milk and cream to the bowl, warming gently on a medium heat. Whisk together your egg yolks and sugar in a separate bowl then add a small amount of the warm milk before combining both in the bain marie. Keep whisking until thick and once it’s ready add your brandy!
4. Now it’s time to make your gyozas. Take a wrapper and add about a teaspoon of mincemeat to the centre (less is more). Dip your finger in water and run it around the whole edge of the gyoza wrapper so that it will stick to itself when sealed. Bring the edges of the skin together, then pinch pleats along one side and press each pleat against the opposite flat side of the wrapper. Place each finished gyoza on a floured plate so that they don’t stick.
5. To cook the gyoza, heat a nonstick pan over a medium heat and add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Dust off any excess flour then add the gyoza to the pan, frying on 1 side until crisp. When the gyoza is golden (around 2 mins) add a large splash of water (be careful here as it will spit) and cover with a steaming lid or a lid where a small amount of air is still able to escape. After about 5/7 mins the gyoza wrappers should be tender and ready to go! (you want the water to have evaporated but if it’s not cooked, add some more water and repeat).
6. To serve, add everything to a bowl and eat!