Okay, so today I wanted to try my hand at making some har gao, you know, those yummy shrimp dumplings you always see at dim sum. I’ve had them a million times, but never actually made them from scratch. Figured it was time to give it a shot!
First things first, I needed to get all the ingredients together. From what I gathered online, the filling is basically a mix of shrimp and pork fat. I grabbed some fresh shrimp from the store, and for the pork fat, well, I just used a bit of oil instead. I’m not a huge fan of super fatty stuff, so I thought this would work just fine. I also found out that the wrapper is made from some kind of starch – tapioca starch, I think it’s called, and also some wheat starch. Plus, you need boiling water. Sounds simple enough, right?
Prepping the Filling
I started by chopping up the shrimp into small pieces. I wasn’t sure if I should go for a fine mince or leave some bigger chunks, so I did a mix of both. Then I just mixed it with a bit of oil. I guess this is where the pork fat would normally go, but oh well, my version will be a bit lighter. I also added a tiny bit of salt and pepper, just to give it some flavor.
Making the Dough
Next up was the dough. This part seemed a little tricky. I mixed the tapioca starch and wheat starch together in a bowl. Then, I carefully poured in some boiling water, stirring it all the time. It quickly turned into a sticky, gooey mess, but I kept kneading it until it formed a smooth ball. It was actually kind of fun, like playing with playdough! I covered it with a damp cloth and let it rest for a bit.
Putting It All Together
After the dough had rested, I rolled it out into a thin sheet. It was way harder than it looks in those videos! Mine was a bit uneven, but I managed to cut out some circles using a small cup. Then came the fun part – filling the dumplings! I put a spoonful of the shrimp mixture in the center of each circle and tried to fold them up. My first few attempts were pretty pathetic. They looked more like squished blobs than those perfect little dumplings you see at restaurants. But hey, I was learning!
I kept practicing, and after a while, they started to look a bit better. Not perfect, but definitely more like har gao. I placed them in a bamboo steamer I had lying around, making sure they weren’t touching each other. Then I steamed them for about, I don’t know, maybe 8-10 minutes? I just kept checking on them until the wrappers looked kind of see-through.
The Taste Test
Finally, it was time to try my creation! I carefully took them out of the steamer, and to be honest, they didn’t look half bad. I took a bite, and… they were actually pretty good! The shrimp filling was juicy and flavorful, and the wrapper, although a bit thicker than the ones at dim sum places, had a nice chewy texture. They weren’t perfect, but for a first attempt, I was pretty proud of myself.
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Some Takeaways:
- Practice makes perfect: My folding skills definitely need work.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment: Using oil instead of pork fat worked out fine.
- It’s harder than it looks: Rolling out the dough thinly and evenly is a real challenge.
- Steaming time is key: You don’t want to overcook them, or they’ll get tough.
Overall, it was a fun experience. It’s definitely not something I’d do every day, but I’m glad I tried it. Maybe next time I’ll get a bit closer to those restaurant-quality har gao. Or maybe I’ll just stick to ordering them at dim sum, who knows! But at least now I know what goes into making them, and I have a new appreciation for the chefs who make it look so easy. Making har gao is a lot harder than it looks!