Har Gow — Steamed Prawn Dumplings

Ingredients

• For the wrappers: 80g wheat starch (cheng mian fen), plus extra for dusting
• 40g tapioca starch
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vegetable oil, plus extra for oiling
• 120ml just-boiled water
• For the filling: 250g raw peeled king prawns, deveined
• 40g tinned bamboo shoots, drained and very finely diced
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
• To serve: Chinkiang black vinegar and chilli oil

Method

1. Pat the prawns very dry with kitchen paper. Chop two-thirds roughly into 1cm pieces and mince the remaining third to a paste. Mix with the bamboo shoots, sugar, salt, white pepper, cornflour, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine. Stir in one direction until sticky, cover and chill for 30 minutes.

2. Mix the wheat starch, tapioca starch and salt in a heatproof bowl. Pour in the boiling water and stir quickly with chopsticks until it comes together. Add the oil and cover with a damp cloth for 5 minutes.

3. Knead the warm dough briefly on a surface dusted with wheat starch until smooth and glossy. Keep it covered at all times as it dries quickly.

4. Roll the dough into a log and cut into 16 equal pieces. Lightly oil the flat side of a cleaver or a tortilla press lined with baking parchment. Flatten each piece into a thin round about 8cm across.

5. Place a heaped teaspoon of filling in the centre. Fold in half and make 7 to 8 small pleats along the front edge, pressing to seal against the back edge, to form a pleated crescent.

6. Line a bamboo steamer with perforated baking parchment or lightly oiled cabbage leaves. Place the dumplings 2cm apart.

7. Steam over a rolling boil for 7 to 8 minutes, until the wrappers are translucent and the prawns are pink and firm. Serve at once with black vinegar and chilli oil.