Put the flour into a heatproof bowl. Pour in hot water (soon after being boiled). Stir with a pair of chopsticks or a fork until the flour turns into small lumps.
Knead into a soft, smooth dough when cool enough to handle (see note 2).
Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel. Leave to rest for 30 mins.
Mix the filling
Finely chop chives.
Soak vermicelli noodles in hot water for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water until pliable. Chop into small pieces.
Heat up oil in a wok then fry eggs (see note 3). Coarsely chop the egg.
Put chive, noodles and egg into a mixing bowl. Stir in salt and ground Sichuan pepper/Chinese five-spice powder.
Assemble the pockets
Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.
Roll each piece into a round wrapper (about 15cm / 6inch in diameter).
Place filling in the middle then seal the wrapper into a semi-circle flat pocket (see note 4).
Fry the pockets
Heat up oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Place the pockets in then cover with a lid. Flip over when the first side becomes golden brown.
Fry the second side uncovered until it turns golden brown (see note 5).
Notes
1. Mung bean vermicelli noodles don’t have much of a flavour on their own, but they provide an interesting texture to the filling. You may skip them if not available. In this case, increase the volume of chive and egg accordingly. 2. The ideal flour water ratio may vary slightly depending on the brand of the flour and how you measure it (Measuring with cups is less accurate). You may also use a stand mixer to make the dough.3. Please refer to the post tomato and egg stir-fry for more instructions on how to cook Chinese scrambled egg.4. Three ways to seal the pockets:
A: Simply seal the edge of the wrapper by pinching between your thumb and index finger.
B: After step A, pressing the edge with a fork.
C: After step A, use your thumb and index finger to pinch and fold the edge towards the centre of the pocket. Repeat all the way around the edge (as shown in the images in the post).
5. Cooking time may vary depending on the pan. For your reference: I fry 12 pockets in 2 batches in a 28cm / 11 inch, heavy bottomed frying pan. It takes me around 5 minutes to cook the first side and a further 2 minutes to finish the second side.