Cooking… 煮緊…
3ConfidentStreet foodCooking… 煮緊…
0 of 15 ready
Shopping:2 supermarket·1 world-foods aisle·1 butcher / fishmonger·2 Chinese supermarket
Prep 1h 15m·Cook 8 min·Rest 1 h
Rub the prawns with the cornflour and a pinch of salt for a minute, rinse under cold running water until it runs clear, then dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined1 tbsp Cornflour, for washing the prawns½ tsp Salt
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Dry prawns stay crunchy and do not leak water into the delicate skin.Spread the prawns on a tray lined with kitchen paper and chill uncovered for 30 minutes to dry further.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
Blanch the back fat for 3 minutes, cool and cut into 2 mm dice. Blanch the bamboo shoot for 2 minutes, cut into 2 mm dice and squeeze dry in a cloth.
30 g Pork back fat50 g Bamboo shoot (fresh or canned)
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Blanching firms the fat so it dices cleanly and removes the sour edge of canned bamboo shoot.Leave 24 of the best prawns whole (or halve large ones). Smash the rest with the flat of the cleaver and chop to a paste.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
Mix the prawn paste with the remaining salt and stir in one direction until sticky. Add the whole prawns, sugar, white pepper and tapioca starch and stir until they are coated and bound.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined½ tsp Salt1 tsp Sugar¼ tsp White pepper1 tsp Tapioca starch
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
The paste is the glue that holds whole prawns together in a neat mound, so the dumplings keep their crescent shape.Fold in the back fat, bamboo shoot and sesame oil. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
30 g Pork back fat50 g Bamboo shoot (fresh or canned)1 tsp Sesame oil
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Cold, firm filling is much easier to pleat around.Make the dough: mix the wheat starch, tapioca starch and salt in a heatproof bowl. Bring the water to a full rolling boil and pour it all in at once, stirring fast with chopsticks.
120 g Wheat starch30 g Tapioca starch1 pinch Salt165 ml Water at a full rolling boil
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
The water must be truly boiling to cook (gelatinise) the starch. Water that is merely hot leaves a crumbly, chalky dough that cannot be pleated.Cover the bowl with a plate for 5 minutes so the steam finishes cooking the starch.
120 g Wheat starch
Add the lard and, while still hot, knead on a lightly oiled surface until completely smooth and pliable, like soft play dough.
10 g Lard120 g Wheat starch1 tbsp Oil, for the cleaver and steamer
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Knead with oiled hands, not flour; extra starch makes the skin opaque and cracky.Roll the dough into a log and cut into 24 pieces of about 12 g. Keep them covered with an upturned bowl or cling film at all times.
120 g Wheat starch
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Wheat-starch dough dries and cracks within minutes in the open air.Oil the flat of the cleaver. Roll a piece into a ball, then press and twist the cleaver over it to flatten it into a 7–8 cm round, about 1 mm thick (拍皮).
1 tbsp Oil, for the cleaver and steamer120 g Wheat starch
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
The twisting press makes a round that is slightly thicker in the middle, so it holds the filling, and thinner at the edge for pleating. A small rolling pin also works.Hold the skin in your left hand. With your right thumb and index finger, make 10–12 small pleats along the far side, folding each one towards you, so the skin forms a pouch with one pleated side and one smooth side.
120 g Wheat starch
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
Pleat before filling: it is far easier. Only the back half is pleated; the front stays smooth and is pressed onto the pleats to seal.Spoon in about 12 g filling with a whole prawn, press the smooth edge onto the pleated edge and pinch along the top to seal into a plump crescent.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined120 g Wheat starch
Place on an oiled steamer (or on cabbage leaves or baking paper), 2 cm apart. Cover with a damp cloth while you finish the rest.
1 tbsp Oil, for the cleaver and steamer
Steam over fully boiling water on high heat until the skins are translucent and the prawns show pink through them.
300 g Raw king prawns, peeled and deveined120 g Wheat starch
Mum's tip媽媽小貼士
About 6 minutes. Serve immediately: as har gow cool, the skin turns opaque and tough.Ready? Let's cook it step by step!
Level 5 · Master大師
Restaurant or banquet level. Many sub-recipes, delicate skills, hard to get right first time.
Best steamed and eaten at once. Uncooked har gow can be frozen on a tray, then bagged, for 2 weeks; steam from frozen for 8–9 minutes.
The benchmark of a dim sum chef: a translucent wheat-starch skin with at least ten fine pleats, wrapped around whole crunchy prawns. Thin enough to see the pink through, strong enough to lift with chopsticks.
Level 5 · Master大師
Restaurant or banquet level. Many sub-recipes, delicate skills, hard to get right first time.
Steamer · Wok · Chinese cleaver · Kitchen scale · Pot