Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings) 虾饺xiā jiǎo

A delicate and light-tasting dim sum. It is not that difficult to make your own at home. The most challenging part is handling the dough because it is largely made from gluten-free wheat flour (澄粉), which is commonly used in making Chinese Dim Sum. A good tip is coating your work area with vegetable oil or using parchment paper.

Yields about 24 Har Gows,

Filling

150g                                                    deveined and unshelled shrimp 鲜虾去皮去虾线
60g                                                      minced bamboo shoots (blanched)竹笋
60g                                                      minced pork fat (cooked) 肥肉
1 and 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons caster sugar白糖
1 and 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil香油
1/8 teaspoon                                      white pepper powder 白胡椒粉
1 teaspoon corn flour 玉米淀粉

Har Gow Wrappers

120g wheat flour 澄粉
40g potato starch 土豆淀粉(或者叫太白粉)
140ml boiling hot water
20ml vegetable oil

Method

Step 1 Make the filling

Slice the bamboo shoots. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the bamboo shoots in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain the bamboo shoots. Cook the pork fat in the same pot for 2 minutes. Drain. Mince bamboo shoots and pork fat. Set aside.
Use kitchen towel to pat dry the unshelled and deveined shrimp. Mince half of the shrimp and cut the remaining ones into smaller pieces. Different cuts result in contrasting mouthfeels.
Add chopped and minced shrimp in a mixing bowl. Place into 1 teaspoon of corn starch and 1 and half teaspoon of salt and stir in one direction for 2-3 minutes until mixture becomes quite sticky. Then add sugar, sesame oil, white pepper powder, minced bamboo and minced pork fat. Mix well. Set aside, covered and in fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 2 Make the wrapper

Mix the 120g wheat flour and 40g potato strach in a mixing bowl. Use a chopstick to stir into 140ml boiling hot water. Mix well and cover with a lid, set aside for 10 minutes.
Add 20ml vegetable oil into the mixing bowl. Use your hand to mix it well with the flour mixture. Knead the dough on a working surface for 5 minutes. Shape the mixture into a ball. Then cover it with kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. (Wheat flour helps create the translucent skin of the dumplings while potato starch helps add some strechability to the dough.)

Step 3 Assemble

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces.
Pick up a piece, shape it into a small ball. Place the ball onto a piece of parchment paper. Then use your palm to press it down to create a circular disc. Use rolling pin to smooth it out each disc till it is about 9cm in diameter. The wrapper is very delicate so handle it carefully when rolling out the wrapper and moving it onto your hand for assembling.

3. Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the center of the wrapper, form taco shape and start pinching one end of the wrapper to seal, heading towards the middle.