Okay, so today I wanted to try making har gow, that classic dim sum dish. You know, the shrimp dumplings with the translucent wrappers? I’ve always loved them at restaurants, but never thought I could make them myself. Figured it was time to give it a shot.
First, I gathered all the ingredients. Needed things like shrimp, obviously, some bamboo shoots, and seasonings like ginger and soy sauce. The wrappers were going to be the tricky part, so I made sure I had wheat starch and tapioca starch. Those are the key, apparently.
I started by prepping the filling. Chopped up the shrimp into small pieces, but not too small, you know? You want some texture in there. Then I diced the bamboo shoots really fine and grated some fresh ginger. Mixed all that together with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper. Smelled pretty good already!
Making the Dough
Next up, the dough. This is where I was a little nervous. I combined the wheat starch and tapioca starch in a bowl, and then, slowly, I poured in boiling water while stirring constantly. It turned into this weird, sticky mess at first, but I kept at it. Then I added a bit of oil and kneaded it until it became a smooth, elastic dough. It was actually kind of fun, like playing with Play-Doh.
- Rest the dough, it needs to rest.
- Cover it, let it sit.
After letting the dough rest for a bit, it was time to roll it out. I divided the dough into small portions and rolled each one into a thin circle. It was a little tricky to get them perfectly round and thin, but I managed.
Forming the Dumplings
Now the fun part – forming the dumplings! I placed a spoonful of the shrimp filling in the center of each wrapper. Then, I carefully folded the wrapper in half and pinched the edges to seal it. I tried to make those little pleats like they do at the restaurants, but mine looked a bit…rustic. Oh well, practice makes perfect, right?
Finally, I steamed the dumplings for about 8-10 minutes. I was so excited when I opened the steamer. They looked pretty good! The wrappers were translucent, and you could see the pink shrimp inside.
And the taste? Not bad at all! They weren’t exactly restaurant-quality, but they were definitely tasty. I dipped them in some chili oil and soy sauce. I was pretty proud of myself for pulling it off. Next time, I’ll work on my pleating skills, but overall, it was a success.