Okay, let me tell you how I finally figured out a faster way to make dim sum dough last weekend. I mean, who has time for the old-school way when you’re just trying to get some har gow wrappers done before the kids start screaming?
The Messy Reality Check
I grabbed my usual big mixing bowl like I always do. Flour everywhere. Water splashing. Ended up adding too much water by accident – dough turned sticky like glue. Tried to fix it with more flour, then it got tough. Already wasted 15 minutes just fighting with it. Felt like throwing the whole thing in the trash.
Switching Gears
Scrapped that batch completely. Started over but did two things totally different this time:
- Ditched the measuring cups for my kitchen scale. Just dumped 150g plain flour straight into the bowl – no scooping drama.
- Boiled water instead of cold. Poured 80g of it straight onto the flour while stirring with chopsticks. Sounds crazy, right? Made this weird clumpy mess at first.
The Magic Trick
Left that hot mess alone for 5 minutes to cool down. Came back and pressed it together with my hands. Boom. It just came together smooth like playdough in like 30 seconds flat. No stickiness, no dry bits fighting back. Mind blown.
Final Test
Rolled a small piece paper-thin between my palms. Held together perfectly for shrimp filling. Steamed three test dumplings – wrappers stayed stretchy and didn’t crack. Kids scarfed them down like hyenas. Took under 10 minutes from flour to finished dough. Game changer for real.