-
1
Combine the flour, water, and oil in a bowl and work to a smooth, cohesive dough. Add the oil so the dough stays supple and does not stiffen when rolled thin — a stiff dough will tear at the pleats. The dough is done when it yields to gentle pressure without springing back and shows no dry streaks.
-
2
Rest the dough, covered, while you prepare the filling, so the gluten relaxes and the dough rolls without resistance later. Combine the buffalo, onion, ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, sesame oil, and salt, then work the mixture until entirely homogenous. The filling must be minced very fine throughout — any coarse fragment will tear the thin wrapper.
-
3
Divide the dough into portions of approximately 12 g each. Roll each portion into a thin round — thinner than a jiaozi wrapper — keeping the centre slightly thicker than the edge so the base holds the filling without splitting. The round is ready when it is translucent at its edges when held to light.
-
4
Place a measured amount of filling at the centre of each round. This is where the dish lives or dies: pleat the wrapper around the filling in one continuous pinching motion, gathering the dough upward and inward until the top is fully sealed, so no pocket of air is trapped inside to burst the wrapper under steam. The seal must be airtight — any gap will allow steam to breach the wrapper and the filling will escape during cooking.
-
5
Dry-roast the tomatoes, sesame seeds, and dried chillies separately in a heavy pan over direct heat, turning until each is darkened and fragrant, so each ingredient reaches its own point of caramelisation without one scorching before another has coloured. The tomatoes are done when their skins blister and char in patches; the sesame seeds when they colour to deep gold and give off a nutty smell; the chillies when they darken and become aromatic. Blend all three together to a smooth sauce.
-
6
Bring water to a vigorous boil beneath a bamboo steamer, so a strong, even head of steam surrounds the momos from the moment they go in and the wrappers set quickly without sticking. Arrange the momos in the steamer without touching and steam for 10–12 minutes. The momos are done when the wrapper is translucent throughout and the filling, pressed gently through the dough, has firmed completely.