If there was ever an official mascot for dim sum, “har gow” would definitely be a strong contender. What’s not to love about? Pump and juicy shrimp just barely visible through its clear dumpling skin, what a tease to the senses.
A dim sum meal without it would not be complete for me. Growing up I was lucky enough to live within walking distance to many Chinese restaurants in Philadelphia, and most of my Sunday afternoons were spent eating dim sum. With all my years of eating har gow, I never tried making it until early this year.
This recipe is a combination from what I have learned from watching how my mom and dad makes it, and how my uncle makes it.
Different Shrimp Dumplings
There are usually two types of filling you would find in har gow.
Number one: A lump of shrimp meat usually with mince size pieces of bamboo.
Number two: Minced shrimp combined with either bamboo or water chestnut.
Cook’s Tips
I prefer filling number two. When you bite into it, the elasticity of the minced shrimp mixture is a nice contrast against the transparent skin.
Don’t worry about getting a bamboo steamer if you don’t have one. Simply line a regular steamer or a plate with either napa cabbage or thin slices of carrots.
This Recipe Goes Well with:
Shrimp Dumplings Recipe (Har Gow/虾饺)
Shrimp dumplings/har gow/虾饺 is a popular Chinese/Cantonese dim sum. Made with shrimp and wrapped with a translucent skin, shrimp dumplings/har gow is yummy.
Ingredients
The Filling:
- 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
- 2 tablespoons minced bamboo shoots
- 1 tablespoon minced scallion, white part only
- 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced pork fat
- 3 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 4 teaspoons tapioca starch, potato starch, or corn starch
- 3 dashes white pepper
The Wrapper:
- 1 ½ cups wheat starch, plus extra for kneading
- 2 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon lard, If you don’t want to use lard, you can add oil
- OR
- A bag of Har Gow wrapper flour
Instructions
For the filling:
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Finely mince the shrimp and add in all the ingredients for the filling.
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Mix until everything is incorporated and the mixture almost has an elastic feel to it. One trick my mom taught me is to mix it in one direction. Set aside and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
For the wrappers:
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There is no shame in buying a bag of Har Gow wrapper flour. You still have to do the work of kneading and rolling it out and they taste perfectly good. You should be able to find Har Gow wrapper flour in most Asian grocery stores.
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If you want to make your own, here are the instructions:
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In a large bowl combined the wheat starch and the tapioca starch together.
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Make a hole in the circle of the bowl and pour the hot water in.
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Add the lard and combine until a ball of dough starts to form.
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Transfer the dough into a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth.
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Divide the dough into 3 pieces and form it into a cylinder shape. Cover it with a damp towel or napkin and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
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After 15 minutes cut the cylinder into 1 inch diameter and about a quarter inch thick pieces.
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Roll the dough out into round pieces.
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You can make the wrappers 1hrs or 2hrs before you need it. Just remember to cover it with a damp towel or napkin.
Wrapping the dumplings:
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There really is no easy way to wrap these dumplings. It took me a few times before I got the hang of it and I’m still not as good and lighting fast as my mom. Just remember to try to evenly pleat your pleats and make sure each dumpling has an equal amount of filling. Traditionally there are about 7 pleats per dumpling, but I’ve only mastered 4 and sometimes 5 if it’s my lucky day.
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Start by taking your filling and place it in the middle.
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Pleat the front side of the dumpling. Bring the back side forward and seal it with the front. Use water to seal your dumpling.
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Repeat.
Cooking and freezing the dumplings:
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Before you steam your dumpling, line your steamer or plate with either nappa cabbage or thinly slice pieces of carrots.
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If you are using nappa cabbage, briefly cook the cabbage in water so that it would lay flat on the steamer.
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Place the dumplings on the lined steamer and cook for about 10 minutes.
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If you are freezing the dumplings, flour a baking sheet and carefully place the dumplings on it.
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Place that in the freezer. Once the dumplings are hard and frozen, you can transfer it into a ziploc bag.
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Mary Bostow
Definitely going to try these! Hoping my kids might like them. They look delicious and I love that the recipe is so simple.
Ainsley
I halved the recipe and made it for my partner and I. It was a big success, super yummy!
moni
Hi what can i use to substitute wheat starch.
Rasa Malaysia
You can use wonton wrapper which is wheat based but it’s not really har gow without wheat starch.
Neny Lily Lao
I have tried the recipe, but unluckily, I am not satisfied with the result. It is not as shiny as what I see on the picture. Could it be something wrong with the dough? Thus, the wrapper easily broken after cooking. I really want to perfect them. Can you give me an advice?
Rasa Malaysia
You can oil the surface to make it shiny.
Moggie
Thank-you for the recipe. They only had high protein wheat starch at my Asian grocer. I used that with the tapioca starch and the dough was not translucent. It was sticky and soft. What is high protein wheat starch used for?
Bonnie Tan
Do I have to use pork fat?
Christine
My mum’s parents are Guangzhou ex-pats so I decided I have been neglecting my heritage for too long!
I made these today and they were fantastic!
I have always been a little bit scared of making them because of the hype around them but they were so easy!
Holly B.
I’m dying to try Har Gow. I’ve never tasted it but don’t need to – I already know it’ll be delicious.
My problem is that I can’t get wheat flour. I live in Mexico, and there’s a very wonderful grocery store here that caters to us foreign residents with a delightful variety of international foods, including many Chinese ones.
But no wheat flour. I can get – and DO have already – rice flour, corn flour (cornstarch) and tapioca flour. If I used rice or tapioca flour in place of the wheat starch, might I get the same result?
The cooking properties of all three of these are extremely similar. They should all result in a dough that cooks up semi-transparent, and taste isn’t likely to matter much since any starch is almost tasteless. But that isn’t all that’s needed. Will the dumplings hold together if I use these other starches? Will they cook into a goo? Or lack enough body to hold their shape before steaming?
Has anyone tried making Har Gow with tapioca starch or rice starch instead of wheat starch? What were the results?
Rebecca Lee
Hi, wheat four is 澄粉. If we use Har Gow wrapper flour, just add in water ?? As I have not heard of this powder before, may be only sold on overseas as I stay in Penang. Thanks.
Wow, you made the Har Gow so, so beautiful. I can’t, will try more often.
Amy
I’m a big fan of this blog and have tried many recipes with great success. But!!! I can’t seem to get the har gow recipe right =[ the filling turns out delicious but the wrapper never works out. It stays extremely sticky and does not keep it’s shape ( bounce back to original form after rolling and flattening) the color of the dough is also yellow not white. And when I do try to steam it, the dough turns into a sticky goopy mess. Doesn’t even turn clear. What did I do wrong?? Help please
Nicki
I just made Har Gow with my chinese grandmother today. This recipe is pretty much the exact same recipe as our family recipe! (we use oil instead of lard) I love these dumplings!
PS. LOVE your site ;)
Debbie
i love to eat har goa also. I have been trying to make it but everytime i failed. This recipe help me a lot…thanks…
Dosef
Hi! I tried this recipe today and it was the best Har Gow recipe i’ve tried yet! I’ve tried alot of Har Gow recipes, but this is the closest I’ve come to restaurant quality Har Gow. The pork fat adds a really nice creaminess to the texture of it. Thankyou for sharing, this is one recipe I’m sure to make again.
Cure Bad Breath
I am currently doing some late night work and BELIEVE me, I can smell this from somewhere!
bpytam
hi, i was wondering how many har gow this recipe yields (approximately). thank you!
Lavender
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! I have tried this using different ingredients and see which will suite the shrimp best!
jade
can i substitute tapioca starch with corn flour?
Adelina
This is my all time favorite thing to eat! I think I can easily wobble down at least 5!
I’m very tempted to try this recipe!
Thanks for posting and for sharing!
belle
thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Fusion
I would like to know what is wheat starch exactly
THis seems to have eluded me. I live in Geneva how can I get ahold of wheat starch locally…can it be substituted with something else ?
Thanks
Shao
Fusion, you can find wheat starch in most Asian grocery stores. It should be in the same aisle as the tapioca starch. I don’t think you could substitute wheat starch for anything else, although I might be wrong, but if you do it might turn out to be a different type of dough. The combination of the wheat starch plus the tapioca starch gives the har gow skin that transparent look.
simon
wow nice. can you sent me the recipes to my email please.
Baobabs
I completely agree that they are mascots of dim sum!! Thanks for sharing the recipe, the last time I tried to make them, the skins broke!
Shao
That happen to me the first time I rolled out my dough. Don’t roll it too thin. Cook about 4 or 5 test dumplings before making the rest to test out the thickness of the dough.
My Taste Heaven
i never loved har gow that much before i read this post, i prefered siew mai~
but now i really have the desire for a bunch of har gow, really hungry!!! =]
DaveP
Spectacular. Lining the steamer with vegetables is something I’d never thought of previously – such a great idea.
Janice
These look amazing! very mouthwatering and it’s making hungry
Chowhound
Dim sum is definitely one of my most favourite snacks (meal actually). They are like little bite sized bits of heaven.
backStreetGluttons
However we believe siew mai should be the no 1 contender as it is associated with the signature Chinese mother of all meats !
:)
Shao
Do I hear a food fight?! Har Gow vs. Siew Mai!
cindy
bamboo?? bamboo shoot??
Shao
Bamboo shoots. If you don’t want to use bamboo shoots, I have seen some restaurants add water chestnuts instead.
natalie
YUM! my absolute favorite item to get at dim sum!!! i’ll have to try this recipe out- tried one before, but trying to get the dough right nearly put me over the edge!
Shao
Hope this recipe will work out for you. Let me know if you have any questions.
easy recipes
It looks perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
Christine @ Fresh Local and Best
Wow, you’ve laid -out beautifully and simply a ‘how to’ on a dish that I wouldn’t think would be possible for me to make at home. Your introduction on har gow is beautiful, it’s true this is the poster child for dim sum!
tummythoz
So true. What’s not to like indeed. There are restaurants serving this don’t look as good as yours!
Shao
Thanks! The best part about making it at home is you know what’s in your food. MSG free.
kitkat
looks nice….looking at it makes my mouth water….
Shao
Kate and momgateway, glad you like the recipe! Please let me know if you have any questions on it.
Lisa, I think the only main difference between chiu chow dumplings and har gow is the stuffing and maybe the shape of it. So if you can make chiu chow dumplings you can definitely make har gow!
NYMY
Your har gow looks like the ones served at dim sum restaurants. Beautiful and I can see the pink-color shrimp inside the har gow. Yummy!
Have never been to Guangzhou and would love to sample the dim sum there one day.
Shao
Thank you NYMY! Wish I could wrap it as fast as my mom. It took me forever to shape one in the beginning, but now I’m a little better at it. If you’re around Hong Kong it’s only about a 2hr train ride to Guangzhou.
momgateway
Thanks for this recipe specially for the dough!
lisaiscooking
Your dumplings look fantastic! I just recently made chiu chow dumplings for the first time and had a lot of fun with them. I’m looking forward to trying har gow sometime soon!
Kate
I love har gow, this looks so good. Yummy, thanks for this recipe from FriendWontons4u.