Meet Dumpling Queen, Kirra-Lea

With the Bedford hospitality team continuing to flourish, our Panorama cafe welcomed a smiley new member recently, dumpling extraordinaire Kirra-Lea Wall.

Growing up with a love of cooking, the 18-year-old has become well-known for her amazing pork and shallot dumplings – an exciting new menu addition at Panorama.

For Kirra-Lea, joining the hospitality team was a perfect fit.

“I’ve had a lot of cooking experience. I was part of a school cafe team where I would make coffees, and I did work experience and prepared meals at One Little Sister in Normanville,” she said.

“I chose to work in hospitality because I prefer being hands-on and crafting new meals. I also have tiny hands which helps me have a good technique for making dumplings without any difficulties.”

In the future, Kirra-Lea aims to start a TAFE cooking course, along with some other short courses.

“I’d love to get some new qualifications under my belt next year.”

And we're proud to support her on this journey to reach her career goals! If you or someone you know is interested in joining the Bedford hospitality team, get in touch today.

Below is Kirra-Lea's delicious dumpling recipe for you to enjoy.

Ingredients

2 tsps vegetable oil

2 tsps finely grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

55g (3/4 cup) coarsely chopped green cabbage

2 tbs water

250g pork mince

2 shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced

1 tbs soy sauce

2 tsps caster sugar

1 tsps sesame oil

Method

1. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook ginger and garlic, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add cabbage and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the cabbage wilts. Transfer to a bowl. Set aside to cool. Stir in pork, shallot, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. Season with salt.
2. Buy wanton wrappers or make your own using the dumpling dough recipe below.
   Place 1 wrapper on a clean work surface. Place 2 tsps of pork mixture in the centre of the wrapper. Brush edges with water. Fold over to enclose filling. Pinch edges together. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Repeat with remaining wrappers and pork mixture.
3. Heat half the rest of the vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook half the dumplings for 2 minutes or until bases are golden. Add half the extra water. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until cooked and liquid has evaporated. Transfer to a serving platter. Cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil, dumplings and water.

Serve with chilli sauce or soy sauce.

Dumpling dough

Ingredients

600g Plain Flour

1 tsp Salt

350 ml boiling water

Method

1. Mix all ingredients with a mixer on medium speed for 3 – 5 minutes.

2. Wrap the dough in plastic and leave for 30 minutes.

3. Flour a bench and roll dough into 2mm thickness. Use a pasta machine if you have one. Cut dough into 10cm circles (wanton wrappers).