Ingredients
Yields: 20 dumplings
Dough
- 150 g tapioca starch
- 150 g wheat starch
- 3 g salt
- 350 ml boiling water
- 30 ml vegetable oil - or any other neutral oil
Filling
- 15 ml vegetable oil - or any other neutral oil
- 5 cloves garlic - minced
- 30 g dried shrimp - roughly minced
- 250 g Chinese chives - chopped into 0.5cm (0.2 inches), square-ish pieces
- 3 g salt
- 1 g ground white pepper
Method
- In a large mixer bowl, sift the tapioca starch, wheat starch, and salt together. Then, pour the boiling water into the flour mixture, and mix it in the mixer on medium speed with a dough hook attachment for 30 seconds, or until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass. (You can do this manually with a spatula.) It’s perfectly normal for it to be lumpy. Then, leave the dough to cool down and properly hydrate for 10 minutes.
- After the 10-minute rest, add the vegetable oil to the dough, and knead it in the mixer on low speed for 6-8 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. (Again, this is totally doable by hand!) Let the dough rest and cool down for 30 minutes.
- As the dough is resting, let’s prep the filling! Pour the vegetable oil into a large pan or wok, and place it over a medium flame. When the oil is hot and shimmery, fry the minced garlic and dried shrimp until the garlic is golden brown and crispy. (Careful not to let it burn!) Then, take it off the flame and immediately add in the chopped chives, stirring and tossing it around to wilt the chives slightly while the wok is still hot. Then, season it with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly, and give it a little taste, adjusting the seasoning as needed.
- When both the dough and filling are done, we’re ready to wrap! Divide the dough into 28g balls, and roll them out with a small rolling pin (or a wine bottle works too) into a circle 10cm (4 inches) across. Then, add a tablespoon of the chive filling onto the dough, and wrap it up with a pleating motion. (It’s a little tricky to describe in words, so here’s
a visual tutorial for it. Orrr you could always just wrap it up in whatever fashion you like and call it modern art.) When you’re done with each dumpling, place it on a well-oiled tray so it doesn’t stick. - When you’re almost done wrapping all your dumplings, ready a steamer set-up (this can be done in a wok, or a pot-steamer), and bring up the water to a rolling boil. Then, arrange the chive dumplings in a steamer basket or well-oiled metal rack, and steam it for 8 minutes. The dumpling skin will turn chewy and translucent, and you’ll be able to see the verdant green filling inside!
- They’re best served and eaten warm! Though if you’re saving it for later, they keep well for 2-3 days in the fridge; just steam them for 3 minutes before eating.
5 thoughts on “Chive Dumplings (Ku Chai Kueh)”
Jun, I am so excited about this recipe! Thanks for posting. I’m gluten-free due to health reasons… any chance that the wheat starch can be subbed with cornstarch? Would appreciate your input, and I’ll share my findings once I get your blessing. Happy Lunar New Year!
I tried these the other night and they were delicious! I had such a difficult time working with the dough though. I measured very carefully, but I wonder if I was doing something wrong technique-wise?
Thank you so much! Hmm what was the issue with your dough? Was it too tight, or too sticky perhaps? The key is not to work it too much, but also, finessing the right texture of it takes some practice. A wetter dough will be more pliable, but you also want it to be easy to work with and not stick everywhere.
Yeah, it was ultra sticky and fragile. I couldn’t roll it thin enough without it tearing and oiling everything up was the only way I could work with it at all. I was mixing by hand though, maybe that made the difference?
Hmmm thanks for the feedback! But yeah if you mix it in a mixer it’s usually easier to control, so if it’s too sticky just add more flour to the mixer and it should solve the issue. Let me know if this works!