Chinese · Starter
Dumplings
Translucent wheat-starch skins pleated over bouncy prawn — the dim sum benchmark that proves a kitchen's discipline
- Prep
- 60 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- Raw prawns — 300 g
- Pork back fat, minced — 30 g
- Bamboo shoots, fine dice — 50 g
- Fine salt — 4 g
- Caster sugar — 6 g
- White pepper — 1 g
- Toasted sesame oil — 6 ml
- Potato starch — 8 g
- Wheat starch — 120 g
- Tapioca starch — 40 g
- Boiling water — 200 ml
- Lard or neutral oil — 10 g
Method
- Chop two-thirds of the prawns to a paste, dice the rest; beat with salt 1 minute until sticky, then fold in fat, bamboo, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and potato starch. Chill 30 minutes.
- Pour boiling water over combined wheat and tapioca starch; stir, then knead with lard 2 minutes to a smooth, warm dough. Rest covered 10 minutes.
- Roll into a 2.5 cm rope; cut 12 g pieces.
- Press each flat with an oiled cleaver, smearing in an arc to a 9 cm translucent disc.
- Fill with 15 g mixture; pleat 7–10 folds on one side, sealing into a crescent.
- Steam on oiled parchment at 100°C for 6–7 minutes until the skin turns glass-clear.
- Serve at once — skins toughen as they cool.