dim sum · side dish · snacks

Hom Sui Gok

brett

Hom Sui Gok

A popular dim sum dish, hom sui gok’s savory interior is enveloped in a wrapper that is at once chewy and luscious on the inside, yet every so slightly crisped on the outside.

Hom sui gok’s paradoxical texture owes itself to glutinous rice flour. When fried, glutinous rice flour does not react the way most things do in hot oil; it does not get crispy and hard, but in fact softens and stays moist. The minor but important addition of corn starch provides the contrasting, every so slightly crisp exterior

Kind of sweet, kind of savory, hom sui gok is addictive. They are guaranteed to please and quickly disappear at any potluck.

To save time, marinade the filling two days ahead. A day before serving, cook the filling, make the dough, and refrigerate both. Finally, roll out the wrappers, assemble the dumplings, and fry them up the day you’re planning to serve these golden pockets of goodness.

Ingredients
Dough
(make twice to use up entire batch of filling)

  • 2 c glutinous rice flour
  • 7 oz cold water
  • 3/8 c corn starch
  • 3/8 c arrowroot starch
  • 7 oz boiling water
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 1/2 T sugar
  • 4 T canola oil or other mild-tasting oil suited for high temperature cooking oil

Marinade

  • 1/2 t sea salt
  • 2 1/2 t sugar
  • 1 t olive oil
  • 2 t gluten-free tamari
  • 1 1/2 T maple syrup, preferably grade B
  • 2 pinches white pepper

Filling

  • 3/4 lb chicken, minced or ground
  • 1/2 lb ground pork, minced ground twice
  • 1/4 lb shrimp, shelled, deveined, minced
  • 1 1/2 T canola oil or other mild-tasting oil suited for high temperature cooking
  • 1/2 c jicama and/or water chestnut, minced (peel jicama first)
  • 1/3 c black mushroom, minced
  • 1 T sake
  • 4 t tapioca starch
  • 4 T water

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix glutinous rice flour and cold water. Set aside.

In a large, metallic or glass bowl, add corn starch, arrowroot starch, and boiling water. Mix quickly and well; the water must be boiling hot in order to cook the starches. Add glutinous rice flour mixture, salt, sugar, oil. Mix. On surface floured with glutinous rice flour, knead 15 minutes. Cover with lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours to overnight.

In a medium bowl, mix marinade ingredients. Add chicken, pork, shrimp and mix. Marinade 1 hour to overnight.

Set skillet over high heat and add canola oil. Add meat mixture and stir fry about several minutes. Add jicama/water chestnuts, black mushrooms and mix. Add sake and mix.

In a small bowl, mix tapioca starch with a bit of cold water till well-blended. Create a well in center and add tapioca starch slurry into well. Mix till mixture thickens and becomes gooey. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate several hours to overnight.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Knead one minute. Divide into 4 parts. Roll one part into a 14″ log. Cut into 12 to 14 pieces. Using the floured palms of your hands, roll each part into a ball. Using a Chinese dumpling wrapper rolling pin, a tortilla press, a flat, heavy object covered with plastic wrap, or an oiled cleaver, flatten each ball to form 3″ circles. (If living in an arid climate, keep unused dough under an overturned bowl.)

Add 1 1/2 t filling to a wrapper. Form half moon and seal. Cover with overturned bowl. Repeat with remaining dough.

Heat four to five c oil heated 325 F to 350 F. Deep fry 2 to 3 minutes or till lightly brown. Drain on rack. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Notes
Larger dumplings are easier to form, but are not as visually attractive. To make larger dumplings, cut each 14″ log into 12, not 14, pieces.

Dumplings can be frozen after they’ve been fried, drained, and cooled. To reheat, defrost to room temperature and deep fry 2 to 3 minutes. Or you can try defrosting and baking; I haven’t tested baking to reheat, but I could see that working well.

Ingredient Sources – What I Use

  • glutinous rice flour – Erawan
  • corn starch- Kingsford, Argo, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free
  • arrowroot starch – Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free
  • sea salt – any minimally processed sea salt whose only ingredient is salt. (Some salt products contain non-salt ingredients.)
  • sugar – Florida Crystals, C&H Raw Sugar
  • canola oil – Mazola, Spectrum
  • extra virgin olive oil – Whole Foods 365, Costco Kirkland Signature Organic, Costco Kirkland Signature
  • gluten-free tamari – San-J Reduced Sodium Gluten Free Tamari
  • grade B maple syrup – Trader Joes, Whole Foods 365
  • ground white pepper – McCormick, Spicely
  • shrimp – Costco Kirkland (look for the bag that has no preservatives; ingredients are just shrimp and salt)
  • sake – Takara Sho Chiku Bai (Takara, USA is based in Berkeley, CA)
  • tapioca starch – Erawan, Pingo

Source
Self

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