Chive Dumplings /韭菜饺

First hands-on with crystal skin dumpling, compliment from Tak "why didn't you make them earlier?" He likes this type of dumpling very much, especially the chive dumpling (韭菜饺). Wanted to make chive dumplings but did not have enough chive so it became prawn and chicken dumplings.

Ingredients 36pcs):

Skin/Wrapper - suitable for assorted steamed dumplings

• *125g wheat starch
• *60g tapioca flour
• *1 cup boiling hot water
• 70g tapioca flour
• ½ cup icy cold water

Filling:

• #500g chives, chopped (about 1cm in length)
• #1 tbsp salt (Bring together chives and salt, mix well and set aside for 15 minutes to draw out extra moist. Rinse and squeeze out extra water.)
• 36 pcs medium size prawn, shelled
• 200g mince
• 5-6 pcs water chestnuts, peeled and finely chopped
• 2-3 cm ginger, minced
• ½ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn/tapioca flour
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste

Others:

• Tapioca Flour
• Cooking Oil

Directions:

1. Dough: In a large mixing bowl, bring together ingredients marked with * and stir well with a wooden spoon. Cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes.
2. Add in remaining ingredients and knead until soft dough is formed. At this stage, the dough may look like a thick and sticky batter but it will firm up when cooled. The purpose of adding icy cold water is to add elasticity and chewy texture to the dough.
3. Divide the dough into 36 equal potions and shape each portion into a small ball (extra tapioca flour may be needed if sticky). Set aside for later use.
4. Filling: Bring together all ingredients except prawn in a large mixing bowl. Stir to mix and marinate in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Add in prawn just before assembling the dumplings.
5. Assemble: Roll out a dough ball (approx. 10cm in diameter) on a lightly floured (tapioca flour) table top, and place a tablespoon full of filling in the center of the dough. Fold one side of the dough over to cover the filling and press the edges to seal.
6. Steam: Lightly brush the plate or steamer with cooking oil, place the dumplings in and brush dumplings with cooking oil too. Steam for 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Steam on high heat will cause rapid expansion of the skin.
7. Note: Freshly steamed dumplings are very delicate, they need extra care when transferring to serving plate. It is recommended to use serving plate for steaming to save all the trouble of transferring them. Best option is to steam in bamboo steamer lined with baking paper.