Har Gow Or Chinese Shrimp Dumplings Recipes

Steps:

• To make the filling, toss the shrimp with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, put them in a strainer, and rinse under cold water. Transfer the shrimp to a paper towel and blot dry. Chop the shrimp into peanut-size pieces; halve each shrimp lengthwise first to make it easier. Put the shrimp into a bowl and add the pork fat, bamboo shoots, and scallion. Stir with chopsticks or a fork to evenly distribute the ingredients.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cornstarch, sugar, white pepper, rice wine, and sesame oil, stirring to dissolve the cornstarch. Pour the seasonings over the shrimp mixture. Stir with chopsticks or a fork to ensure that all the shrimp are well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes or refrigerate for up to 4 hours to marinate. Makes about 1 1/3 cups.
• Working with 1 piece of dough at a time to form the wrappers, roll it on an unfloured work surface into an 8-inch log. Cut the log into 8 equal pieces. Follow the instructions on "Forming Wrappers from Wheat Starch Dough" (page 133) to shape circles that are each 3 to 3 1/4 inches in diameter.
• Before assembling the dumplings, line steamer trays and baking sheets with parchment paper, then oil the paper.
• To assemble a dumpling, hold a wrapper in a slightly cupped hand. Use a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork to scoop up about 2 teaspoons of filling and place it slightly off-center toward the upper half of the wrapper, gently pressing to flatten slightly and keeping about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of wrapper clear on all sides. Then fold, pleat, and press to enclose the filling and create a pleated crescent (see page 29), finishing it by pinching the rim together between your fingers into a thin layer of dough that resembles a crown; this prevents the edge from being unpleasantly thick once cooked. If the skin breaks, dab a tiny bit of oil on the area and try smoothing out and patching up the wrapper. For the pouchy har gow shape, lightly press the unpleated side of the dumpling against the knuckle of a bent finger; this will softly arch the dumpling forward. If this shape proves too challenging, simply form a half-moon (see page 26). Set the finished dumpling in a prepared steamer tray. Assemble more dumplings from the remaining wrappers before working on the next batch of dough. Space them about 1/2 inch apart; if using a metal steamer tray, keep the dumplings 1 inch away from the edge where condensation will collect. Place overflow dumplings on the baking sheet with a good 1/2 inch between each and cover with plastic wrap. Once assembled, the dumplings should be cooked as soon as possible, because they cannot be refrigerated uncooked.
• Steam the dumplings over boiling water (see page 17 for guidance) for about 6 minutes, or until they have puffed slightly and are glossy and translucent. Remove each tray and place it atop a serving plate.
• Serve hot with soy sauce and chile garlic sauce. Cooked dumplings can be refrigerated, then steamed for about 3 minutes before serving. Cooked dumplings can also be frozen for up to 1 month, completely thawed in the refrigerator, and steamed for 3 to 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix filling ingredients together; stir in one direction, mixing thoroughly; refrigerate this mixture for 1 hour.
• Combine dip ingredients and set aside.
• Sift flour and starch together; gradually add boiling water; add oil and let dough cool.
• Knead dough until smooth; divide dough in half and shape each half into a sausage; divide each sausage into twelve pieces (24 pieces total); when not working with the dough, keep it covered with a damp towel.
• Oil a cleaver and your work surface lightly; press a piece of dough, with the oiled cleaver, into a flat round circle.
• To shape each dumpling- Make 3 deep pleats in the top half of a dough circle to form a little crescent cap; fill with 1 teaspoon of the shrimp mixture; press dough edges together and place dumplings on a lightly oiled plate or an oiled piece of parchment paper over the holes on the first level of the steamer.
• Bring water to boil in the bottom part of the steamer; place steamer section with dumplings over boiling water (if you have multiple'tiers' or sections of the steamer, you can cook them all at once).
• Cover and steam 5 minutes.
• Serve with dip.
• These can be made ahead through the shaping of the dumplings, keeping them covered with a damp cloth or, you can shape the dumplings and freeze them before steaming, defrost before steaming.