CHICKEN AND PRAWN WINDMILL DUMPLINGS - GAI HA GAO
Makes 24-30
"This delicious dumpling is a salute to the master dim sum chefs of the cities in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore," says cookbook author Tony Tan. "The dough, the most traditional and widely used dumpling dough, is a favourite with dim sum masters because it can be shaped and sculpted without too much effort. The dough itself uses two different kinds of flour: tapioca flour and wheat starch. Wheat starch (called tang meen fun in Cantonese) is what remains of wheat flour when the wheat’s protein is removed to make gluten. Traditionally these thin wrappers are shaped by using the flat side of an oiled cleaver but, since this dough can feel rather soft and strange to make if it’s your first time, I’ve also offered a cheat’s method to help you get the hang of it."
GAI HA GAO FILLING
200 g (7 oz) peeled green prawns, chopped
200 g (7 oz) minced chicken
50 g (1¾ oz) carrots, finely diced
50 g (1¾ oz) tinned or frozen bamboo shoots, finely diced
5 pieces dried bamboo pith, soaked in water until soft, then drained and diced (see note)
2 tablespoons coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
½ egg white, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch)
Pinch of caster (superfine) sugar (optional)
Salt and white pepper, to taste
DUMPLING WRAPPERS
2/3 cup (125 g) wheat starch
2/3 cup (120 g) tapioca flour, plus extra for dusting
Pinch of salt
300 ml (10½ fl oz) boiling water
1 tablespoon neutral oil, plus extra for greasing
1. For the filling, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
2. For the dumpling wrappers, add the wheat starch, tapioca flour and salt to a bowl and mix well. Pour in the boiling water all at once and stir quickly with a pair of chopsticks to incorporate the flour. Add the oil and continue to stir until a ball forms. Turn the hot dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth and pliable. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 10 minutes to rest.
3. Before working with the dough, lightly oil the work surface. Roll the dough into a long cylinder and cut in two. Cover one cylinder with a hot, damp tea towel or place it in plastic wrap while you cut the other cylinder into 2.5 cm (1 inch) pieces (you should have about 10–12 pieces). It is best to make these wrappers in multiples of five, keeping the remaining pieces under a damp tea towel or in plastic, because you want the dough to remain soft and pliable. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll out the dough with a well-oiled cleaver or a rolling pin to form 9–10 cm (3½–4 inch) discs (if you’re using a rolling pin, roll the dough out between two sheets of oiled plastic wrap).
4. Place a wrapper on your palm and spoon 2 teaspoons of the filling onto the centre. Then, with your thumb and forefinger, gather opposite ends of the wrapper and fold together, pinching in the middle. To form a windmill shape, with your other hand, push the exposed corners into the centre. Pinch the edges to seal. Cover the dumplings as you go to prevent them drying out, and repeat with remaining dough and filling.
5. Place the dumplings in steamer baskets lined with silicon or baking paper studded with holes, then cover and steam over simmering water in a wok, for 6–8 minutes or until translucent. Serve with your choice of soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar or chilli sauce.
INGREDIENTS
METHOD
NOTE Bamboo pith is a fungus that grows in bamboo forests and is sold dried in packets at Chinese and Asian grocers – it’s called juk saang in Cantonese.
Images and text from Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class by Tony Tan, photography by Mark Roper. Murdoch Books RRP $59.99. Published with permission.
