Learn 手

Before making dinner, Alex and Lin washed their hands at the kitchen sink. On the table waited round dumpling wrappers, a bowl of vegetable filling, and a little dish of water. Alex dried his hands carefully. “I’m ready,” he said.

Lin folded a wrapper around a spoonful of filling. Alex tried beside her. His first dumpling leaned sideways. The second looked like a little bag with a very thick handle. He set both on the floured tray, leaving room for the next one.

Alex used less filling and pressed the edges together firmly. The new dumpling stood up, although one end was higher than the other. Lin checked that all the edges were closed. Then they lowered the dumplings into a pot of gently boiling water.

When dinner was ready, Alex found his crooked dumplings easily. He let one cool, tasted it, and reached for another. Lin passed the dipping sauce. The tray was empty, the table was dusty with flour, and neither of them was still worrying about the shapes.