LEEK PUDDING
WITH WORCESTERSHIRE CHILI OIL
Leek pudding is a traditional dish of stewed leeks encased in suet pastry and steamed. It originates in the North East of England, just like my mum, who absolutely despises it. She tells me about her mother creating a sloppy flavourless mess of a dish through looks of actual revulsion, which if I am honest is probably a bit dramatic. I believe suet puddings and dumplings are the crown jewel of British cuisine and they don’t get used or appreciated enough, so I have always wanted to make a version that my mum might actually like.
One evening whilst mindlessly scrolling the internet at 2am I came across Pailin from Pailins Kitchen making gui chai tod, a Thai chive dumpling made with rice flour. Unlike most Thai food gui chai tod is rather plain. You make the mix, steam it, slice into bite sized pieces and then fry it, to give it a crispy coating. It immediately struck me how similar it was to leek pudding and how the thing missing from leek pudding was texture (and perhaps in my grandmas case also flavour). It seemed a fitting remedy to my grandmas version, as although she wasn’t much of a cook, the woman knew how to fry food.
These turned out really well, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They make a great little snack which I’d recommend serving with some sort of flavourful sauce, I’ve gone with a Worcestershire sauce chili oil or they also work well as a side to a roast dinner.
RECIPE
EQUIPMENT
18.5×18.5cm square cake pan – larger pan for steaming or a roasting pan works – frying pan
INGREDIENTS
LEEK PUDDING:
1 large leek
3 small cloves garlic, minced
100g suet
200g flour
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp neutral oil
oil for frying
CHILI OIL:
1 shallot
6 Thai red chili
2 large garlic cloves
3 medium ripe tomatoes
30ml Worcestershire sauce
75ml neutral oil
salt, brown sugar & MSG to season