蝦餃 (Xia Jiao)

Har gow, steamed shrimp dumplings with delicate, translucent skins, are one of the iconic dim sum items. A specialty of Guangzhou, it is said that har gow were first created by a chef looking to add the plentiful seafood of the region to his teahouse menu. [1] Today these dumplings are popular at dim sum restaurants around the world.

Ingredients

***For the Wrappers***
1 cup wheat starch
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ tsp salt
1½ tbsp shortening or lard
¾ cup boiling water
Vegetable oil

The trickiest part of making har gow is the translucent crystal skins. The dough for the dumplings is made of wheat starch and tapioca flour. [2] Most doughs are held together by gluten, a family of proteins which polymerize to provide structure and elasticity. Unlike wheat flour, however, neither wheat starch nor tapioca flour contain any gluten. Instead, starch-based doughs rely entirely on starch gelatinization to come together. Gelatinization of starch occurs in the presence of water and heat, so to make the dough we must employ boiling water, and work quickly to hydrate the starch before the heat dissipates. The resulting dough can be sticky and will not stretch, both of which make forming the wrappers difficult. Here’s how to do it.

Begin by combining the tapioca flour, wheat starch, and ¼ tsp salt in a large bowl and mixing the dry ingredients together. Bring some water to a boil on the stovetop. When working with starch-based doughs, I prefer boiling the water myself, rather than relying on water from a hot water dispenser or instant kettle. This is because the water from these sources is often below 100° C, and we really want every bit of heat we can muster from a given volume of water when trying to bring together a dough using gelatinization alone. Measure ¾ cup of the boiling water, and slowly pour the water into the starch, stirring rapidly and continuously with chopsticks or a fork. Continue mixing until the starch begins to clump up and turn translucent.

As the dough starts to come together, introduce the shortening or lard in about teaspoon-size pieces. Mix until the shortening melts and is incorporated. When the dough becomes too stiff to mix, knead the dough with clean hands for 2 to 3 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and uniform. Since there is no gluten, kneading doesn’t serve any structural function in this dough—it just helps combine the lumps of gelatinized starch into one uniform mass.

Once the dough is smooth, cover with plastic wrap so the dough retains its moisture, and set aside. This dough cannot be refrigerated, and also cannot sit for too long. Once it dries out it will crack and cannot be used to make wrappers.

Ingredients

***For the Filling***
2/3 lb shrimp
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp white sugar
½ cup bamboo shoots, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp sesame oil

With the dough done, let’s move onto the filling. Mince your peeled and cleaned shrimp. When mincing the shrimp for this recipe, I like to leave some of the shrimp in larger, 1 cm pieces, so you have recognizable pieces of shrimp in the cooked dumpling. Finely mince the bamboo shoots, and combine them with the minced shrimp in a large bowl, together with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ½ teaspoon white sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch (to help bind the filling together), and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Mix the filling until uniform.

Once the filling is ready, set up your workstation for wrapping the dumplings. One bowl should contain your dough, still covered in plastic wrap. A second bowl will contain your filling, with a spoon standing by. Have a plate lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper standing by for you to place your completed dumplings. The dough will stick, so liberally grease your work surface with a vegetable oil-soaked paper towel. We will also need a knife with a wide blade (ideally a cleaver, but a broad chef’s knife will work too) to press the wrappers. This blade will also have to be oiled. Keep additional oil nearby if you need to re-grease the blade during the wrapping process. To keep the dough from sticking to your hands and fingers, oil your fingers as well.

Because the dough will dry out quickly, the best workflow is to make one wrapper and then fill it immediately, forming the dumpling before making the next wrapper. The dough should yield 24 wrappers in total. Divide the dough ball into 4 equal pieces, and return 3 of the pieces to the covered bowl for later. Roll the piece of dough into a cylinder with your hands, then cut it into 6 equal pieces with a greased knife.

To make a wrapper, begin by using your palm to carefully flatten one of these small dough pieces into a circular puck about 1 inch in diameter. Because the dough contains no gluten, it cannot be rolled thin without tearing. Instead, we will form the wrapper by pressing, similar to the way a tortilla is made (incidentally, if you have a tortilla press it is a great tool for making these dumpling wrappers).

Place the dough puck on your greased work surface, and press down on the puck with the flat of your greased knife. Use the fingers of your non-dominant hand to help press the blade down, applying equal pressure on the dough. Equal pressure is much more important than total pressure. The dough is soft and does not need a lot of force to flatten, and if you apply too much pressure you risk losing control of the knife. Press the dough a few times, moving the knife as necessary to create a flat wrapper about 3 inches in diameter and 1/16th of an inch thick. The thinner you can get the wrapper, the better—as long as no holes or tears appear. To release the wrapper from your work surface, swiftly sweep the blade of the knife under the wrapper.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of shrimp filling into the middle of the wrapper. Pinch the two sides of the wrapper together in the middle, then carefully pleat each side until the dumpling is sealed, forming a crescent shape. Remember that the crystal skin dough is not elastic, so work gently when wrapping. Be sure that there’s no air inside the dumpling, which can expand and burst the skin of the dumpling when steaming. Set the completed dumpling on the lined plate, and repeat until all 24 dumplings are finished.

You can steam the har gow immediately, or you can freeze them by placing your parchment or plastic wrap lined plate into the freezer. After 6 hours or so, the dumplings should be rock solid. Transfer into a zipper storage bag for storage in the freezer.

To Cook

Har gow are cooked gently in a steamer, and are too delicate to cook by any other means. If you own a steel or bamboo steamer, use it here! If you don’t own a dedicated steamer, however, it is fairly straightforward to hack one together. All you need is a pot large enough to fit a disposable pie tin. Punch some holes in the bottom of the pie tin to form an improvised steamer basket. Then, find something heatproof that you can perch the pie tin on, to keep it above water level. If you have metal cookie cutters or a clean can, use those. If not, you can ball up some aluminum foil to use as a stand.

Bring water to boil in the steamer. Meanwhile, line your steamer basket with parchment paper, and place the har gow in the basket. Make sure to leave some distance between the dumplings, so the har gow do not stick to each other. Once the water in the steamer reaches a boil, place the steamer basket on the heat and steam, covered, until the har gow are cooked through, approximately 6-8 minutes if the dumplings are fresh and 10-12 minutes if frozen. Serve hot, with chili garlic sauce or black rice vinegar available for dipping.

Substitutions

You can substitute water chestnuts for the bamboo shoots in the filling, or omit the bamboo shoots entirely. For a juicier filling, it is traditional to add some diced pork fat.

[1] Guangzhou is built on the east bank of the Pearl River, near where the river flows into the Pacific Ocean. The Pearl River Delta today one of the most densely urbanized regions in the world, containing the major cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, and Hong Kong.

[2] What’s the difference between wheat flour and wheat starch? Flour is made by grinding the wheat grain, and thus contains carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and protein (including gluten). Wheat starch (and most other food-grade starches, such as cornstarch) is made by first grinding up the grains, then adding water to form a slurry. Only the carbohydrates are water soluble, with the proteins, fiber, and fat falling out of solution. The sediment is removed and the water is then evaporated, leaving pure starch.

Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hr 20 min Cook Time: 10 min Total Time: 1 hr 30 min

Difficulty: 5/5

Heat Sources: 1 burner

Equipment: pot, large knife, steamer

Servings: 24 dumplings

Ingredients

For the Wrappers
1 cup wheat starch
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ tsp salt
1½ tbsp shortening or lard
¾ cup boiling water
Vegetable oil

For the Filling
2/3 lb shrimp
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp white sugar
½ cup bamboo shoots, minced
1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp sesame oil

Instructions

1. To make the dough for the wrappers, first combine the wheat starch, tapioca flour, and ¼ tsp salt in a large bowl. Mix the dry ingredients together.

2. Bring some water to a boil on the stovetop. Slowly add ¾ cup boiling water to the dry ingredients, stirring rapidly.

3. When the dough looks translucent and is beginning to come together, begin to add the shortening or lard in pieces.

4. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes smooth. Cover with plastic wrap so the dough retains its moisture.

5. To make the filling, begin by mincing the shrimp. Separately, mince the bamboo shoots.

6. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, bamboo shoots, salt, white pepper, sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil, and mix until uniform.

7. Before we make the wrappers, prepare your workstation with your covered dough bowl, filling bowl, and a plastic wrapped plate for the completed dumplings. Because the dough dries out quickly, it is best to make a wrapper, fill it, set the completed dumpling aside, and then move on to the next one.

8. Using vegetable oil, liberally grease your hands, your work surface, as well as the blade of a wide knife. Keep additional oil nearby for re-greasing if necessary.

9. The dough should yield 24 wrappers in total. To begin, divide the dough ball into quarters, returning 3 of the quarters to the covered bowl. With your hands, roll the quarter of dough into a cylinder, then cut into 6 equal pieces with a greased knife.

10. To make a wrapper, flatten a piece of dough into a circular puck with your hands. Then, press down on the dough with the flat of your knife, using the fingers of your non-dominant hand to apply even pressure along the blade. Continue pressing, moving the blade as necessary, until the dough forms a rough circle about 3 inches in diameter and 1/16th of an inch thick.

11. Sweep the blade of your knife under the wrapper to release it from your work surface.

12. To wrap, place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Pinch the two sides of the wrapper together in the middle, then carefully pleat the dough to seal, forming a crescent shape.

13. Repeat steps 9-12 until all dumplings are completed. Steam immediately, or freeze.

To Cook

1. Line a steamer basket with parchment paper and place the har gow in the basket, leaving space between the dumplings. Bring water in the steamer to a boil.

2. Steam until fully cooked—6-8 minutes fresh or 10-12 minutes frozen.