Step 1: Take 3 bowls of flour and pour into a small basin. Add in some salt and stir it well. Make a hole in the middle and gradually add small quantities of water until it forms into small pieces. Sprinkle some more water on the flour pieces and stir by hand to form a paste on a board and smooth it out. Put it into the basin to be fermented.

  Step 2: Clean the meat and chop it. Put into a basin or dish. Clean the lotus root after peeling it first. Cut it into small diced pieces. Put into a dish or basin. Clean and chop the ginger and the green onion. Place into separate dishes.

  Step 3: Add some cooking wine, soy sauce, five spices powder, salt,  chicken essence and the chopped lotus root, ginger and green onion into the ground meat. Stir it well and pour into a dish.

  Step 4: Take out of the flour paste and place on the board. Sprinkle some flour on it. Rub it by hand again. Cut a small section from the paste to be rubbed into a stick. Cut the flour stick into small dough. Roll it flat with a rolling pin. Place into a dish on top of each other, with corn starch in between to prevent each piece from sticking to each other.

  Step 5: Pick some fillings prepared before and put at the center of the wrapper (less filling should be put if you are not used to make dumplings). Fold and pinch the wrapper from the middle to the two outer sides. Put the pinched side on the forefinger. Clasp the hands and pinched it hard. A meniscus shaped dumpling is out.

  Step 6: Find a small basin or bowl. Add in salt, chicken essence, white sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and red chili oil. Stir it well. You can also add in some chopped green onion to enhance the flavor. Pour it into a dish.

  Step7: Pick out 3 teaspoons of the seasoning sauce and put into a soup bowl. Add in the dried small shrimps and chopped cilantro (add in some salt or sauce if you like more taste). Stir it well.

  Step 8: Place a wok over high heat. Fill it with water. Add in the dumplings one by one until the water is boiling. Add in 1/4 table spoon of water when it boils. Repeat this twice again. Turn off the heat.

  Sep 9: Pick out 1 tablespoon of soup and pour in to the soup bowl with seasoning sauce. Scoop out the boiled dumpling through a table spoon or a draining spoon and pour into the bowl.

  Step 10: Scoop out the boiled dumplings with a table spoon or a draining spoon and put into a dish if you prefer dry dumplings, which can be eaten with the seasoning juice prepared before.

Finally, a bowl of steaming soup dumplings and a dish of cool dry dumpling is cooked. You may choose either to your personal favor.

  Place the wok over high heat until hot. Add some cooking oil (Usually 1 tablespoon oil to ten dumplings). Turn to lower heat. Add in the dumplings one by one. Add some water until the dumplings are half immersed. Cover and heat it on medium heat for 1 minute. Then change to middle heat until boiled dry. Remove the cover and turn over the dumplings. Add some water when 1/4 of the dumplings are immersed. Cover and heat it on middle heat.

Fried Dumplings are cooked until boiled dry again. The bottoms of the well-cooked fried dumplings are crispy with golden yellow color.