Har Gow Food

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HAR GOW (蝦餃)

Steps:

• Mix the wheat starch, tapioca starch, and salt in a mixing bowl.
• Add the boiling water into the mixing bowl. Stir the mixture vigorously until it looks like snowflakes.
• Add the oil.
• Knead the dough until soft and pliable.
• Cover it and let it relax for 5 minutes.
• Put it on a work surface and roll it into long strips.
• Cut dough into small portions, 15-20g each.
• Roll out the dough, and wrap the shrimp filling with the wrapper.
• Clean and devein the shrimps. Marinate with salt for 5 minutes and wash thoroughly under running water.
• Chop the shrimp coarsely.
• Chop the bamboo shoots into small pieces.
• Mix the shrimps, bamboo shoots, and the seasoning until it becomes sticky.
• Place the dumplings in the bamboo steamer.
• Steam for 6 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

HAR GOW

Steps:

• Chop prawns and mix filling. Mince half the prawns and roughly chop the other half. Combine prawns with water chestnuts, spring onion, grated ginger, 2 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp soy sauce and tapioca starch. Mix well and set aside. | Having two sizes of prawn will result in a slight bite when eating the har gao, instead of a mush
• Form dough. In a mixing bowl, add wheat starch and tapioca starch and pour in 1 cup boiling water. Mix well with chopsticks until you form a dough.
• Prepare dumpling skin. Knead the dough until springy, then divide in two and roll out into 1 inch sausages. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough. Use a 4 inch circle oiled cookie cutter to cut out circles. | The oil on the cookie cutter ensures a clean cut, without dough sticking to the surface. If you do not have a cookie cutter, you may use a cup with a thin rim (ie paper cup) with a diameter of 4 inches.
• Wrap and steam har gao. Place ½ tbsp filling into the skin and pleat. Repeat for all. Line a steaming basket with parchment paper. Steam the dumplings for 6 to 7 minutes, until the skin is translucent and the prawn filling is cooked.

CHINESE SHRIMP DUMPLINGS (HAR GOW)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a medium-sized bowl, place the shrimp, bamboo shoots, green onions, rice wine, sesame oil, salt, pepper, egg white, and cornstarch. Mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to give the flavors a chance to meld.
• In a medium bowl, combine the wheat starch, tapioca starch, and the salt.
• Slowly stir in 1/2 cup of the boiling water. Add the oil and carefully use your hands to shape into a dough.
• Add the remaining boiling water if the dough is too dry. Don't overwork the dough, but continue shaping it for about 2 minutes, until it is smooth and shiny.
• Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
• Coat a paper towel with vegetable oil and use it to oil your cutting board or work surface and the broad side of a cutting knife or cleaver . Keep the dough covered to prevent it from drying out while preparing the dumplings.
• Break off 1 teaspoon of the dough and roll into a ball. Flatten the ball of dough by pressing it in the palm of your hand.
• Lay the dough on the oiled work surface and press down on it with the oiled side of the knife or cleaver to form a circle that is 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide.
• Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the middle of the wrapper, spreading it out evenly, without it touching the edges.
• Carefully lift the top edge of the wrapper and fold it over the filling toward you to obtain a half-circle shape. Use your thumb and forefinger to form pleats in the dough, and pinch the edges closed.
• Repeat the process until you have used all of the dough and filling, always greasing the work surface with vegetable oil when needed. Place the completed dumplings on a plate and cover with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out while preparing the remainder of the dumplings.
• Add 2 inches of water to a wok that is at least 2 inches wider than the bottom of your steamer; bring to a boil.
• Arrange an oiled plate inside the steamer. Place a few har gow on the oiled plate, cover, and place the bamboo steamer on top of the boiling water in the prepared pan. Steam the dumplings in batches, until the wrapper is translucent and the shrimp appear slightly orange, around 13 to 15 minutes per batch.
• Serve the har gow with chili oil and soy sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

HAR GOW (SHRIMP DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Mix filling ingredients together; stir in one direction, mixing thoroughly; refrigerate this mixture for 1 hour.
• Combine dip ingredients and set aside.
• Sift flour and starch together; gradually add boiling water; add oil and let dough cool.
• Knead dough until smooth; divide dough in half and shape each half into a sausage; divide each sausage into twelve pieces (24 pieces total); when not working with the dough, keep it covered with a damp towel.
• Oil a cleaver and your work surface lightly; press a piece of dough, with the oiled cleaver, into a flat round circle.
• To shape each dumpling- Make 3 deep pleats in the top half of a dough circle to form a little crescent cap; fill with 1 teaspoon of the shrimp mixture; press dough edges together and place dumplings on a lightly oiled plate or an oiled piece of parchment paper over the holes on the first level of the steamer.
• Bring water to boil in the bottom part of the steamer; place steamer section with dumplings over boiling water (if you have multiple'tiers' or sections of the steamer, you can cook them all at once).
• Cover and steam 5 minutes.
• Serve with dip.
• These can be made ahead through the shaping of the dumplings, keeping them covered with a damp cloth or, you can shape the dumplings and freeze them before steaming, defrost before steaming.