Cantonese Har Gow Dumplings
Quick answer
- Total time
- 47 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Wheat starch and tapioca starch mixed with boiling water make a wrapper that steams to a pearly translucence, with the pink shrimp showing through.
Read more
It stretches and chews more than a flour wrapper. The filling is coarsely chopped shrimp with a little diced bamboo shoot, seasoned with nothing beyond salt, white pepper and sesame oil. At a Cantonese yum cha table, har gow is the dumpling the others are measured against.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Roughly chop 320g shrimp and finely dice 80g bamboo shoots, then toss with 0.5 tsp salt, 0.25 tsp white pepper, and 1 tsp sesame oil until evenly coated.
- 2
Combine 140g wheat starch and 40g tapioca starch in a bowl, pour in 170ml boiling water all at once, and stir quickly with chopsticks until the dough turns translucent.
- 3
Once the dough cools enough to handle, knead in 1 tbsp oil for about 5 minutes until the surface is smooth and glossy, then cover with a damp cloth and rest for 10 minutes.
- 4
Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll each into an 8cm thin circle.
Spoon filling into the center, fold into a half-moon, and pleat the edge firmly to seal.
- 5
Line the steamer basket with parchment paper, arrange har gow with space between them, and steam over vigorously boiling water for 6 to 7 minutes.
- 6
When the wrapper turns a pearlescent translucent color, turn off heat and rest for 1 minute to even out the internal temperature.
Serve immediately in the steamer while hot.
Official cooking and safety guidance
Public-agency cooking and food safety guidance that applies to this recipe.
Official cooking and safety guidance
-
Storage and reheating
Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours and use them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat the center to 74°C.
Source: USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety
Sources checked 2026-08-03
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