Fan Guo: Chinese dumplings (Chinese dumplings folding)

Yes, an actual recipe! I decided I need to post more actual recipes and less ramen reviews. Also eating that many instant ramen is not good for froggy stomach. Apparently there is a scary story about a man that only ate ramen for years and got stomach cancer... doesn't stop me from eating ramen three times a week though!

Chinese dumplings, they come in many many kinds. Some are sweet, some are salty and cooking methods range from boiling to frying. Fan guo in this case is a steamed savory dumplling with a semi translucent skin. The skin is made of wheat starch and which gives it its translucent look and it gives the skin a chewy bite. 

For this recipe I made a filling of minced pork belly and dried mustard, but you can use anything: minced chicken, minced beef, peas, crushed peanuts, green onions. Try to not use fillings with a lot of moisture, cause it will soak into the skin when they are steaming. Things to avoid are vegetables with high moisture content and fish. If you really want to use fillings that have a high moisture content (crazy idea: salmon with spinach), cook the filling first and drain out as much fluid as possible.

Ingredients:

Dough for skins:
200 grams wheat starch
Hot water (just off the boil)

Pinch of salt

1. Mix the starch with the salt in a bowl and make a crater in the middle of the bowl.

2. Add the hot water a little at a time till all the starch is moist
3. Turn the dough onto your worksurface and carefully knead it till the dough is smooth.

Filling

400 grams of minced pork belly
200 grams of dried mustard
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Soak the dried mustard in water till soft and clean away the salt and sand.
2. Cut the dried mustard as small as possible.
3. Mix the pork belly, dried mustard and seasonings.

Assembly:

There are several ways of folding these:

Wo tip folding method:

You roll out a skin and place some filling on one half of the circle.

You fold the skin double and pinch once at the side to start. Then you use your other hand to lift the loose edge over the pinch you just made.

Its the same technique used when making siu long bao. The difference is that you don't go in a circle and you pinch the plead you just made down on the edge that is behind, sealing the dumpling as you go.

Pinched/Pleated edges method:

Roll out a skin and place some filling on one half of the circle. Fold the skin double and pinch the edges close.

You can stop here or you can pleat the edges. To pleat the pinched edge hold the dumpling in one hand and use the thumb on your other hand to fold over the edge and pinch down between your thumb and index finger to make the plead hold.

Repeat the folding with the whole edge.


Saucers method

Roll out a skin and place some filling in one half of the circle, Fold the skin double and pinch the edges. Bring the two pointy ends together to form a circle with the pinched edges on the outside of the circle and pinch the pointy ends together.

When you're done folding, place the dumplings on a well oiled plate and steam them for 20 to 30 minutes or until the skins are translucent. If you are not steaming the dumplings right away, you will need to cover them with a wet towel to keep the skins from cracking. Serve with some soy sauce or soy sauce with some chili oil.