Now it’s no secret that I love Halal-styled Chinese food. The spices, the flavors, it’s really a warming, comforting cuisine. In the spirit of Chinese New Years, I definitely wanted to do something festive, comforting, and family-friendly, so my mind immediately went to dumplings. Specifically, potstickers. I feel like any and every Chinese family has memories of stuffing, wrapping, and making dumplings, so it just felt like the most appropriate recipe to share for this time of year!

I will admit, lamb might not be an American family’s first choice of protein, but in a lot of other countries and regions, it is a go-to. That and with the spicing you get from Halal Chinese food, you would never be able to tell the difference between lamb and beef. To accompany my lamb potstickers, I have a mala-pepper broth and whipped yogurt. The broth adds that sense of comfort, while the yogurt is mostly just there to help tone down any heat so that it will be a balanced bite. I also appreciated how red the mala-pepper broth turned out, because it is THE color of Chinese New Years, representing good fortune and happiness.

Makes about 24 dumplings:
For the mala-pepper broth:
2 red bell peppers
1/4 teaspoon sichuan peppercorn
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup lamb stock
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup minced shallot

Roast the bell peppers on an open flame until the skins are charred. Allow them to steam in a bowl covered with cling wrap for 10 minutes. Peel off the charred exterior and mince up the flesh of the pepper, removing the stem and seeds. Sweat out the shallot, paprika, minced pepper, pepper flakes, salt, and ground peppercorn in the sesame and canola oils. Once translucent, deglaze with the stock and reduce down by about half. Transfer to a blender and puree, then sieve.

For the filling:
8 oz ground lamb
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix together to form the filling. Keep refrigerated until it is time to assemble.

For the wrappers:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and more for rolling
1/3 cup water
a pinch of salt
canola oil

Form a well with your flour and salt. Mix the water in and create a dough. Divide the dough into 24 pieces, and lightly dust with flour to keep them from sticking together. Roll out the dough balls, one at a time, to about 3 1/2 inches in diameter, keeping the center of the dough slightly thicker than the rest. Stuff the dough with about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling and crimp. I like to start by pinching two sides together to form an opened half moon, and crimping each side so that I have a total of eight folds. Heat up a nonstick pan to just medium heat and lightly line with canola oil. Place in the dumplings and allow them to cook for 1-2 minutes, just to get a slight sear, before pouring in your tuile batter. Allow the dumplings to cook in the batter for about 3-4 minutes, with the lid on, before removing the lid and allowing the rest of the water from the batter to evaporate. Once the sides of the tuile start to come off the sides of the pan, turn it over onto a plate. Repeat this with any leftover dumplings you have.

For the lace tuile batter:
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
a pinch of salt

Whisk together until the flour is fully incorporated.

For the whipped yogurt:
1/2 cup labneh
1/4 cup kefir
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a pinch of salt

Whip together. It’s really that simple.