So, I got this thing in my head, you know? I was pretty fed up. Those store-bought dim sum wrappers? Total rubbish, most of ’em. Half the time they’d be stuck together like glue, or they’d be so dry they’d crack if you just looked at ’em sideways. And if you’re trying to make something decent, like a good har gow, you need that nice, stretchy, almost see-through skin. The ones from the shop just weren’t giving me that. So I thought, “Alright, I’m gonna make my own.” How tough could it possibly be, right? Famous last words, let me tell you.
First thing I did was dig through my cupboards. Found some wheat starch – everyone online says that’s the magic stuff for getting them translucent. Also had some tapioca starch, which is supposed to give ’em that good chew. And just regular all-purpose flour, though I’ve seen recipes that skip it. I figured, “Eh, might as well toss some in.” Oh, and boiling hot water. That’s super important, apparently.
So, I chucked the starches and a tiny bit of flour into a bowl. Made a little well in the center, like I’m some kind of pro baker or something. Then, super carefully, I started pouring in that boiling hot water. Stirring like a maniac with a pair of chopsticks, mostly ’cause I didn’t fancy scalding my fingers. It looked like a right gloopy, lumpy disaster at first, not gonna lie. I was this close to just turfing the whole lot in the bin.
But I stuck with it, kept stirring, and it actually started to come together into a sort of shaggy dough. Once it wasn’t lava-hot anymore, I tipped it out onto the worktop and started kneading. Jeez, that was a bit of an effort. It was sticky as anything, then it got a bit less sticky, and then finally it started to feel smooth. I just kept at it for, I dunno, maybe 10 minutes? Until it felt kinda soft and bouncy, like an earlobe, as they say. Weird comparison, but it actually makes sense when you feel it.
Then came the waiting game. Covered the dough ball with a damp tea towel and just let it sit there for about half an hour. This is supposed to let the starches properly soak up the water and make the dough easier to roll later. I basically used that time to try and clean up the white powder explosion that had mysteriously coated every single surface in my kitchen.
Alright, rolling time. This is where it got a bit… tricky. I portioned the dough into little balls. My first genius idea was to use a normal rolling pin. Bad move. The dough just stuck to it like crazy, even when I oiled the pin a bit. Then I vaguely remembered seeing chefs on TV using the side of a big Chinese cleaver to press them flat. Didn’t have one of those I trusted for the job, so I improvised with the flat bottom of a small saucepan, greased up a little. I put a dough ball between two sheets of oiled plastic wrap – that was a brilliant discovery, that plastic wrap trick – and then pressed down.
- The first few attempts? Absolute shockers. Way too thick. Weird, blobby shapes. One of them tore right down the middle.
- Then I started to get a feel for how much pressure to use. Not too hard, not too gentle.
- Still, getting them perfectly round and paper-thin? That’s a proper skill, mate. Mine were definitely on the… rustic side. Yeah, let’s call them rustic.
I eventually managed to get a decent batch of these little skins made. They weren’t all identical twins, and some were definitely chunkier than others, but hey, they were mine. And they felt so much more delicate and full of potential than those stiff, store-bought discs.
So, what did I do with them? Well, that’s probably a whole other story for another time, but let’s just say they actually held the filling without splitting open when I steamed them. And the texture? Miles better. Chewy, tender, actually pretty darn good for a first proper attempt.
Was it a faff? Yeah, a bit, to be honest. My kitchen looked like a flour factory had exploded, and my arms were aching from all the kneading and pressing. But honestly, seeing those little homemade wrappers steam up all beautifully? Totally worth the effort. I reckon I’ll definitely be doing this again. Might even treat myself to one of those little specialist wooden dowel rolling pins next time. Or just get better at the saucepan technique. Practice makes perfect, or at least, makes ’em less wonky.