Crystal dumplings

In my last post I shared a recipe for pork, cabbage, and chive dumplings. Those were made with a flour-based homemade dough, which I'm assuming most people imagine when they hear the word dumpling. But if you've ever had dim sum, you know that the world of dumplings is vast, and also includes fillings wrapped in a crystal dough. 

Years ago I took a virtual dumpling making class hosted by food blogger Kristina Cho, where she walked us through the process of making these crystal dumplings. She also taught us a variety of methods for wrapping the dumplings, which was so much fun!

It was such an educational and entertaining lesson, it reminds me that I should take more cooking classes to learn new-to-me techniques! 

The zipper fold was my absolute favorite, and its not as hard as it looks! You can Google tutorials on the process, but here is one from Facebook where Kristina demonstrates multiple folder techniques. Here is another post/video from Red House Spice, with demonstrations showing how to fold all the shapes above, including a few others.

Har gow (shrimp dumplings) might be one of the most popular dim sum made of this opaque yet crystalline wrapper, though any filling consisting of seafood, meat, and/or veggies can be used. I made a pork filling for my crystal dumplings, but I really need to experiment again with the traditional shrimp filling for har gow. 

A fun fact about the crystal dumpling dough is that because its made with potato, tapioca, and wheat starches, it is naturally gluten free for those with gluten sensitivity. However, if you have celiac or are very sensitive to gluten cross-contamination, you'll want to check and make sure your ingredients are certified gluten free. The texture is also a bit different than a traditional flour-based dough, but as long as you follow the directions below you shouldn't have any issues.

In addition to the special starches (which you can easily find at your local Asian market), you'll need a way to steam your dumplings. You can use a steamer basket, but a bamboo steamer makes cooking these dumplings a breeze. Back when I first made these dumplings all I had was this tiny bamboo steamer, but I came across larger ones recently at a neighborhood garage sale and it was one of my favorite recent purchases.

Like all other dumpling recipes, these can be easily frozen. Just freeze them in a single layer on a lined cookie sheet, then place the dumplings in a large bag. You only need to add a few extra minutes to the cook time for frozen vs fresh dumplings.

The dumplings are great on their own, or you can make/buy other dim sum dishes for a delicious feast at home!

Yours in consuming all the dumplings,

Jacqueline

Crystal dumplings with pork and chive filling, adapted from Eat Cho Food 

Makes 32 dumplings

Notes: Folding techniques can be searched online, or you can check out the ones here and here.

Use absolutely any filling you want. Below I've included the simple pork and chive filling I made, but this crystal dumpling dough works particularly well with shrimp-based fillings. The Eat Cho Food link above uses a shrimp and chive filling.

A kitchen scale here is highly recommended because the texture of starch-based doughs can be very sensitive to hydration levels. The temperature of the water (must be boiling!) is also very important to ensure proper dough texture. If you want to change texture of the dough a bit, you can reduce the sweet potato starch (makes it softer) or increase the wheat starch (makes it firmer). But keep the total weight of the starches the same at 270 grams. 

While the starches are gluten free, if you're making these for someone with celiac or who is very sensitive to cross contamination, make sure to check labels and make sure all your ingredients are certified gluten free. The wheat starch could be replaced with cornstarch or sweet potato starch, but I haven't tried it before.

Ingredients

Dumpling dough

120 g (1 cup) sweet potato starch 

90 g (¾ cup) tapioca starch

60 g (½ cup) wheat starch 

1/4 tsp salt

200 g (slightly less than 1 cup) boiling water (boil more than you'll need, then measure out the water once its at a roaring boil)

2 TBSP (25 g) vegetable oil

Filling 

1 lb ground pork (or meat of choice)

3 green onions, chopped (I used 2 green onion + 30 g Chinese chives)

1 to 1 ½ cups of tender greens (I used the leaves from yu choy/choy sum, but you can use spinach or baby kale)

2 TBSP soy sauce (I used 1 TBSP light soy + 1 TBSP dark soy)

1 tsp sesame oil, optional

1 tsp sambal or sriracha, optional

½ tsp salt

½ white or black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare filling: In a large mixing bowl combine all the filling materials. Mix everything together until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes, or until ready to wrap dumplings.
2. Prepare dough (initial): Whisk together the starches and salt in a medium/large mixing bowl and set aside. Add the boiling water (200 g) directly into the bowl. Make sure the water is BOILING and right off the stove, otherwise the texture of your dough may not be correct. QUICKLY mix for 5 seconds (it will still look really dry), and immediately cover with plastic wrap. Allow the contents to steam for 10 minutes.
3. Prepare dough (final): After 10 minutes, uncover the bowl and add the canola oil. Using a flexible spatula, mix until a crumbly dough forms. Start kneading the dough with your hand until you have a smooth and consistent dough ball, about 4 minutes. (Start with fingertips to get the dough looking less dry. Then start kneading with your palm.) Cover dough with plastic wrap until ready to use.
4. Prepare workstation: Place parchment paper or silpat on a rimmed baking sheet and lightly dust with starch (this will be what you place your dumplings on after shaping).
5. Divide the dough (total 32 pieces): First, cut the dough in half. Roll each dough half into a 1-inch thick log. Cut each log into 16 equal-sized pieces. (The easiest way to do this is by continually dividing the portions in half until you have 16 pieces.) Keep all pieces covered with plastic wrap or clean towel while you aren’t using them.
6. Shape the dough (into ~3 ½" round): Working with one piece of a dough at a time, knead for a few seconds and then roll into a ball. Lightly dust your work surface with cornstarch, and use the palm of your hand to flatten the ball of dough. To shape, place a small rolling pin at the center of the dough and roll toward yourself. Rotate the dough 5 degrees and repeat, continuing to rotate the dough and rolling outward from the center. Final size of your dumpling round will be about 3 ½” (anywhere from 3" to 3 ¾", depending on your preference), with the edges slightly thinner than the center of the rounds. You can also use a tortilla press, which gets each dough round to ~3” (you can use rolling pin at that point to thin them out a bit more if you'd like).
7. Fill dough: Fill the dough with a tablespoon or so of filling. Pleat the dumpling per your folding preference (see links above), and place formed dumpling on the prepared rimmed baking sheet. Keep dumplings covered with a clean town while preparing the rest. Repeat steps 6 and 7 with all remaining dough and filling. 
8. Steam dumplings: Prepare your steamer set up, bringing a few inches of water to boil and lightly oiling the steamer (laying down a piece of parchment with holes cut through for ventilation). Arrange dumplings on steamer, spaced at least ½" apart. Steam for 7 to 8 minutes, or until meat is cooked through. If using frozen dumplings, cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove lid from steamer and allow the dumplings cool for 1 to 2 minutes before removing (so they are not as sticky). Transfer to plate and allow to cool for a few more minutes before serving.

Freezing directions: Place raw formed dumplings on a parchment- or silpat-lined baking tray dusted with starch. Place the dumplings, uncovered, in the freezer and freeze until solid. Once solid, place the dumplings in a ziplock bag and keep frozen for up to 3 months. DO NOT DEFROST frozen dumplings, simply cook them from frozen.