Har Gow (蝦餃) – Shrimp Dumplings

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Har Gar is a shrimp dumplings that is filled with tender and bouncy shrimp. The filling is wrapped in a light, chewy dough. The har gow is steamed and eaten right away! After the har gow gets cold, the dough gets hard and crumbly so eat when they are fresh ◡̈

The har gow tastes really light so the fresh seafood flavor comes through. You can also dip them in a little bit of chili oil for extra spice. Hope you enjoy this dim sum classic!

Har Gow is eaten at Dim Sum

You may have seen Har Gow at dim sum restaurants. Sometimes, they are served with other types of dim sum in a cart (see picture below) including siu mai, custard buns, bbq pork buns, dumplings are served at dim sum with har gow. Dim sum (點心) means Cantonese small dishes served during brunch. All these small dishes are meant to be shared with your friends and family, so everyone can have a taste of all the different foods.

If you’re looking for a side to complete your meal, try pairing this dish with Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce or Creamy Tofu Udon Noodles with Minced Pork.

How To Make The Shrimp Filling

The shrimp filling should be tender and bouncy. To achieve that, you can mince shrimp and chop it finely until it becomes a paste. Small pieces of pork fat helps bind the filling and makes it very juicy. I also added bamboo so there’s a slight crunch in the filling as well.

How To Make The Dough

To be honest, the dough was slightly tricky for me in the beginning. The dough was falling apart and I wasn’t able to fold them. Since I already made the mistakes, you won’t have to! Follow my pictures and videos below, and your dough will be a piece of cake! I did some online research and learned how to make a great dough with one of my favorite Chinese blogs, Woks of Life. They also gave great tips on folding!

1. Start with Mixing Dough

Mix cornstarch and wheat starch together. Then, boil some hot water in a kettle. Immediately add the boiled water to the dough when continuously stirring. Finally, add some salt and pork lard to the mix. Mix the dough until everything is well incorporated and the dough turns crumbly. Then, cover the bowl for 5 minutes for the dough to develop.

2. Knead the Dough

Add a little bit of oil to your hands so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Start kneading the dough in the bowl so the flour is not sticking to the sides. Add a little bit of oil on your flat surface. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead on a flat surface for 5 minutes until the dough is very smooth.

3. Roll Dough and Cut Into Pieces

Make the dough in a circle and cut the dough in half and half again. The dough should be in quarters (4 pieces total). Start rolling one of the quarters in a long cylinder shape. Put the other 3 doughs back in a covered bowl so it doesn’t dry out. After rolling them out, start cutting them in 8 even pieces (like below!). You’re ready, so lets start wrapping the filling.

4. Flatten the dough

I used my Chinese cleaver to flatten the dough by oiling the cleaver and applying even pressure on top of the dough. You can also use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. Your goal is to make a thin wrapper (not too thin or it will break!) in a circle.

Wrapping The Dough

Practice makes perfect for wrapping these shrimp dumplings. I am still learning myself but this method is very easy for beginners. Add 1 tablespoon of filling to the center. Then, make small folds on one side of the dough until you reach halfway. After, pinch the dumpling shut.

Ingredients You Need For Your Har Gow (shrimp dumplings):

Dough:

• 1 cup wheat starch
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 ¼ cups boiling water– Use boiling water, not hot water
• 1 tablespoon pork lard or oil – I made my own by heating up pork belly!
• 1 teaspoon salt

Shrimp Filling:

• ½ teaspoon ground ginger – I cut off the skin of the ginger and grounded the ginger myself!
• ½ pound shrimp (half pound bigger pieces), ¼ pound large pieces – I bought peeled frozen shrimp so I don’t have to de-shell and de-vein them! I cut the shrimp in different sizes so when I bite in my dumpling, it has different textures.
• 2 tablespoons minced bamboo -I bought a can of bamboo shoots and boiled them in water to get rid of any unwanted smells.
• ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ tablespoon pork fat (cut in very small pieces)
• ½ teaspoon sugar

Steps To Make The Har Gow (shrimp dumplings):

Dough:

1. (optional) Heat up pork fat to make pork lard. Cook the pork fat in a pot for 10 minutes until fat renders and becomes pork lard.
2. Mix ½ cup cornstarch and 1 cup wheat starch together. Add boiling water to the dough while continuously stirring. Finally, add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon pork lard to the mix. Mix the dough until everything is well incorporated and the dough turns crumbly. Then, cover the bowl for 5 minutes for the dough to develop.
3. Then, knead the dough for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.
4. Split the dough into quarters and then cut 8 pieces in each quarter. The dough should make roughly ~32 pieces of dough. Oil your surface and flatten the dough with a knife or a rolling pin so the skin is round and flat.

Shrimp filling:

1. Mince and chop the shrimp until it becomes a fine paste. Save some shrimp and cut into larger pieces if you like a variety in texture.
2. Open can of bamboo shoots and drain the water. Boil the bamboo shoots in water for a minute to get rid of any unwanted smells. Then, drain the bamboo and dice in very small pieces.
3. Cut pork fat in small pieces. It is helpful to make sure they are all uniform in size to the bamboo. This ensures that the filling has equal amounts of bamboo and pork and avoids large chunks of something while eating the dumpling.
4. In a bowl, mix shrimp paste, bamboo shoots, pork fat, ¼ teaspoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, and ½ teaspoon sugar. Mix for 100 times until the paste is smooth and bouncy!

Wrap har gow:

1. For every dumpling skin, add 1 tablespoon of shrimp filling. Make small folds until half of the circle. Then, pinch the dumpling shut. Make a slight curve on the dumpling.

Steam dumplings:

1. Steam dumplings by adding parchment paper to the bottom of the plate or bamboo basket Carefully placing each dumpling on the paper.
2. In a large pot, add the pan or bamboo basket on a wire rack when the water is boiling on high heat. Steam for 8-10 minutes until you see the dough is clear and you see the shrimp is orange inside.
3. Eat all dumplings immediately! You cannot freeze or eat them later as the skin will get harder. Enjoy them while they are hot.

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