Editor’s Note: Many adventurous cooks are taking advantage of their extra time at home to learn new techniques — witness the explosion of interest in baking bread. There are many other worlds to explore, though. This is one we at Crave sought to sample.

First of all, don’t make fun of my dumplings. You can see by the photo they’re kinda lumpy and wrinkled and probably too big. But I display them with pride because they didn’t fall apart and they were delicious.

I learned to make basic wonton when I was a kid — place filling on a square wrapper, fold into a triangle, then bring the corners into the center like little crossed arms. But I always knew there was more to it.

At the beginning of this quarantine period, I found myself in possession of some extra ground pork and decided through some stretch of logic that the ideal use would be mandoo — Korean dumplings.

It was not a disaster. So that launched a curiosity that coincided with the arrival of a new cookbook by Brendan Pang, a competitor on “MasterChef Australia” who runs a mobile restaurant called Bumplings Perth out of an Airstream trailer.

His book — “This Is a Book About Dumplings” — is a charmer, covering Chinese dim sum and Korean mandoo, in myriad shapes and even colors (through doughs tinted with vegetable purees).

Step-by-step photos made folding look doable, so I committed to a few, but first I tried making the wrappers, a first for me.

It wasn’t a difficult project, and the dough produced a nice, tender finished dumpling — but it took a lot of kneading and rolling. I’m happy to say if the world should suffer a shortage of store-bought wrappers, I could persevere. But in the interests of time, on most occasions I’ll probably buy my wrappers.

I picked one filling and used it in several dumpling shapes. My favorites were the triangle and the round “gold ingot,” which were easy and cute.

These recipes are adapted from Pang’s book. To see his version of the finished dish, go back to the cover of Crave.

Try making your own dough, or buy prepared wrappers, then start folding.

DUMPLING WRAPPERS

Recipes adapted from “This is a Book About Dumplings” by Brendan Pang (Page Street Publishing Co., 2020)

• 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

Stir flour and salt together in large bowl. Create a well in center and slowly add water while mixing to make a smooth dough (Pang uses chopsticks for this). Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, if more is needed.

Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until elastic (dough should spring back when stretched), 15 to 20 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest 30 minutes.

Knead dough again on a lightly floured surface 5 minutes, then roll into 2 to 4 logs of equal size. Cut the logs into 24 equal portions.

Roll 1 portion of dough into a ball, then press flat to form a disc. Use a rolling pin to roll disc 1 millimeter thick (or as thin as you can) and 3-1/2 to 4 inches across, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. It’s OK if wrapper is not perfectly round. Repeat process to form 24 wrappers.

PORK AND KIM CHEE DUMPLINGS

• 24 to 30 round dumpling wrappers
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• >> Filling:
• 3-1/2 ounces firm tofu, drained and pressed to remove excess water
• 5 ounces ground pork
• 2/3 cup kim chee, finely chopped and squeezed to remove excess liquid
• 2 stalks green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt

>> To make filling: Break tofu into crumbs. Add remaining filling ingredients; stir until well combined.

Place heaping tablespoon filling in center of a dumpling wrapper. Form into a triangle or gold ingot shape (see photos). Cover with a clean, damp towel and repeat process to form remaining dumplings.

In a large, nonstick skillet with a lid, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. Working in batches, add dumplings, flat side down. Press so base flattens against bottom of pan. Cook, uncovered, until golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes.

Add water to pan and cover. Cook 5 to 7 minutes.

Remove lid and continue to cook until liquid evaporates and undersides of dumplings are crisp. If needed, add more oil. Makes 24 to 30.

>> NOTE: Any extra filling may be made into patties and pan-fried.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving of 6 dumplings: 270 calories, 10 g fat, 2.5 g saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g sugar, 11 g protein.