How To Make Oriental Beef With Lime Dumplings

You could get away with using lime juice instead of fresh lime, but the lime zest in the dumplings is what gives them their special fragrance. (Or you could try mixing the flour and suet with lime juice instead of water, I suppose.) If you want to make this in advance, take the stew out of the oven and let it cool down as soon as the beef is tender then reheat thoroughly, adding the spring greens and dumplings once the stock is simmering gently.

1. Step 1:

   Warm plenty of oil in a large saucepan while you trim the meat, season with black pepper and coat with a little flour. (You’d normally use plain flour, but as you need self-raising flour for the dumplings you may as well use that instead. I can’t see that it makes any difference.)

2. Step 2:

   Quickly brown the meat in batches, transferring it to a large casserole dish as you go, then add the chopped spring onions and garlic to the pan with the sugar and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Step 3:

   Put the onions and garlic in the casserole dish with the meat then add the juice from the limes with the sherry, the stock and plenty of soy sauce and give the stew a good stir.

4. Step 4:

   Cover with a lid and cook in a very low oven, Gas Mark 2 (150–160°C), for about 2–2 ½ hours until the meat is just tender.

5. Step 5:

   Meanwhile, finely grate the lime zest (if you haven’t already) and keep it covered in the fridge for later.

6. Step 6:

   When the stew is ready, make the dumplings by mixing the flour, suet and lime zest in a bowl and combining with 3–4 tbsp of water to make a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Roll the dough into small balls with your hands.

7. Step 7:

   Wash and shred the spring greens then stir into the stew. Put the dumplings on the top and push them down a bit, and if you think there’s not quite enough liquid in the stew by this stage, add a little cold water to thin it out before you add the dumplings.

8. Step 8:

   Turn the oven up to Gas Mark 5–6 (190–200°C), put the stew back in and cook for approximately 15 minutes until the dumplings are puffed up and slightly golden. Perfect with green beans and egg-fried rice.