Shrimp and Pork Dumplings (Chiu Chow Fun Gor)

By
Roger
– May 14, 2013Posted in: appetizer, recipes, special occasions

fun_gorFun gor (Chinese: 粉果) originated from the eastern end of Guangdong Province, an area called  Chaozhou 潮州, formerly known in English as Chiu Chow. My mom called them gok zai 角仔 (gok zai), or “little dumplings.” They were always a big hit at family functions. Eat them right out of the steamer, or dip them into a spicy soy sauce such as the one used in my Spicy Edamame recipe.

The filling is a combination of pork and shrimp and flavorings. It can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge. Water chestnuts add texture and sweetness. While there is no substitute for fresh water chestnuts, feel free to substitute canned ones or jicama. I’m very fond of yellow chives, but this is not always an easy ingredient to locate. If you can’t find yellow chives, substitute yellow onion or shallots. Chinese green chives are a bit too overwhelming for this recipe so do not use these as a substitute for the yellow ones.

Chopped peanuts is sometimes included in the filling, but I prefer to leave them out. My mom used either dried shrimp or fresh, or both. I prefer fresh. You can experiment with other substitutions and additions to the filling: grated carrots, fresh shiitake mushrooms, char shiu.

The dough part of the dumpling is light, translucent, and slightly pull-y—like the dough in the shrimp dumplings called ha gow. The dough is the trickiest part of the recipe. The water should be scalding and the dough be allowed to rest after kneading and before rolling out. Traditionally, the side of a cleaver would be used to press the dough into flat wrappers. A modern innovation is the use of a tortilla press for this step. My mom used a press. Tortilla presses can be found in Chinese culinary supply stores such as Kamei in San Francisco.

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Shrimp and Pork Dumplings (Chiu Chow Fun Gor)
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Cantonese
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6-8
 
Ingredients
Filling
  • ¼ pound shrimp, shelled, deveined, and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • ¼ pound (125 grams) ground pork
  • 2-3 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  • ½ cup water chestnuts (about 5 or 6), finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon yellow chives or shallot, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped scallion (white part)
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch suspended in 2 tablespoons water
Seasoning for pork
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ¼ teaspoon white pepper
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
Wrapper dough
  • 1 cup (120 grams) wheat starch
  • ½ cup (66 grams) tapioca starch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup boiling hot water
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or lard
Instructions
Prepare the filling
  1. If using dried black mushrooms, soak in water for about an hour. When the mushrooms have been reconstituted, squeeze them to expel most of the water. Cut off the stems and chop the caps.
  2. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the water chestnuts. Peel the skins using a potato peeler or paring knife. Finely dice.
  3. Combine all the pork seasonings in a bowl.
  4. Add some oil to a hot skillet or wok and fry the shrimp until just done (about 30 seconds). Remove and set aside.
  5. Fry the pork using a fork or spoon to break it up into small pieces.
  6. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, peanuts if using, and the pork seasoning. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
  7. Add the scallions, yellow chives if using, and cilantro. Stir fry for another 2 minutes.
  8. Stir the corn starch mixture to re-suspend. Add to the pork-shrimp mixture and stir and heated and blended (about 30 seconds).
  9. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let cool.
Prepare the wrapper dough
  1. Combine the wheat flour, tapioca flour, and salt in a mixing bowl. Push the flours toward the sides of the bowl to form a hole in the middle. Pour the hot water into the hole.
  2. Use a mixing spoon or spatula to work the flours into the water. Add the oil and work it into the dough.
  3. Kneed the dough for 2-3 minutes. The dough should become pliable and not sticky.
  4. Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and roll each part into a ball. Cover each ball tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Final assembly and steaming
  1. Unwrap one dough ball at a time and roll it into a cylinder. Cut the cylinder into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (see Photo 3).
  2. Using a tortilla press or the flat side of a cleaver, flatten each ball into a wrapper that is 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter (7.5 to 9 cm). To prevent sticking, apply a thin coating of oil on the surface of the press or the cleaver. You can do this by rubbing the surfaces with a paper towel that's been dampen with a fill drops of oil (Photo 4).
  3. Add about 1 tablespoon of filling to the top half of each wrapper (Photo 5).
  4. Fold the bottom half of the wrapper over the filling to form a half-moon.
  5. Pinch the edges of the dough to seal (Photo 6).
  6. Arrange the dumplings on a plate to which a light coat of oil has been applied. Steam for 7 minutes (Photos 7 and 8).

fun gor filling

Photo 2 — Chopped ingredients for Fun Gor filling.

fun gor dough

Photo 3 — Fun Gor dough cut into 8 pieces.

flattening fun gor wrappers

Photo 4 — Two methods for flattening fun gor dough wrappers: using the flat side of the cleaver (left), and using a tortilla press (right).

Fun gor filling on wrappers

Photo 5 — Fun gor filling on wrappers.

two folds for fun gor

Photo 6 — Two folds for fun gor: pleated half-moon (left) and half-moon (right).

uncooked fun gor

Photo 7 — Fun gor arranged on plate prior to steaming.

Fun gor in steamer

Photo 8 — Fun gor in steamer.

 

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