DIM SUM SHRIMP DUMPLINGS
Steamed crystal shrimp dumplings, known in Mandarin as “xia jiao” and Cantonese as “har gow,” are always the most popular dish in dim sum restaurants. If I’m being honest, I think har gow might be the best dim sum item ever. In any case, it’s unlikely, at least in my opinion, that they are.
RECIPE TIPS
If you keep in mind these helpful hints, the rest should go without a hitch:
- Making the dough necessitates using just boiling water.
- Your dough is excessively dry if it is difficult to fold, and the final product will have a rubbery flavor because of it.
- Using little shrimp, you may either leave them whole or chop them in half. Due to the big size of the shrimp, I chose to first finely chop them before mashing them somewhat.
- Leftovers or warmed shrimp dumplings aren’t delicious, so eat them as soon as you make them!
- For my recipe, I used pork lard, but you can use oil.
- When assembling the dumplings, keep the dough balls moist by covering them with a damp paper towel.
- Prior to constructing the dumplings, heat up a bamboo steamer. To keep it from sticking, cover it with cheesecloth. Alternatively, a thinly sliced carrot can be used to serve as a “seat” for the dumpling. (Isn’t that cute?)
INGREDIENTS
FILLING
- 225g of peeled, de-veined, and patted dry raw shrimp
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped bamboo shoots
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
DOUGH
- 1 1/4 cups of boiling water
- 1 cup of wheat starch
- 1/2 cup of cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons of lard or oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
FILLING
- Everything (apart from the bamboo) should be combined; then, for a few minutes, whisk the mixture in one direction until it looks sticky. Then combine everything with the cut bamboo shoots. While making the dough, cover, and chill.
DOUGH
- In a mixing bowl, combine the wheat starch and cornstarch. Add the boiling water gradually while vigorously stirring. Lard (or oil) has now been added, and stirring continues. The dough should be given a few minutes to knead until it forms a smooth dough ball. After being rolled into a long cylinder, the dough is divided into 18 equal pieces. With a wet paper towel, wrap the dough pieces.
TO ASSEMBLE
- Turn on the heat to bring the water in the steamer to a boil before assembling and cooking the dumplings. Roll a single piece of dough into a circle that is 3″ in diameter. The dumpling should be folded after a tablespoon of filling is added. Up until all of the dumplings are made, keep assembling.
- After the steamer’s water has reached a rolling boil, steam the shrimp dumplings for six minutes over high heat before serving. Ensure that each has an inch and a half of room to grow during cooking.