Ham Sui Gok
鹹水角·(haam seoi gok)
Chapter 3: The Pan-Fried, Deep-Fried & Crispy
The wire spider skimmer rests beside the wok. It waits for the first batch to puff into blistered, golden footballs yielding immediately to a sweet, mochi-like chew, all giving way to an intensely savory, deeply rendered pork center. Achieving those signature microscopic blisters demands strict discipline at the fryer: you respect the scalded wheat starch, you render the pork fat slowly over low heat until translucent, and you watch the 350-degree oil temperature like a hawk. Here is the progression: the glutinous rice dough, the diced char siu filling, and the exact window for the fry.
Before you start
Render and mix the filling on a Saturday.
The filling relies on a gelatinized cornstarch binder and chilled pork fat to hold its shape. Making it a day ahead and chilling it overnight makes it dense, spoonable, and infinitely easier to handle.
Ingredients
- ground pork belly7 oz
- dried shrimp1 tbsp
- dried shiitake mushrooms4 med
- jicama1/2 cup
- garlic1 tbsp
- ginger1 tsp
- shallot3 tbsp
- garlic chives1/4 cup
- light soy sauce1 tbsp
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- dark soy sauce1 tsp
- sugar1 tsp
- five-spice powder1/2 tsp
- ground white pepper1/4 tsp
- toasted sesame oil1 tsp
- Shaoxing rice wine1 tbsp
- cornstarch1 1/2 tbsp
- mushroom soaking liquid3 tbsp
- wheat starch1/2 cup
- boiling water6 tbsp
- glutinous rice flour1 1/2 cup
- granulated sugar1/4 cup
- water2/3 cup
- rendered pork lard1/4 cup
- neutral frying oil1 qt
Method
- 01
Render the pork belly.
Heat a wok over medium heat with a splash of oil, tossing the ground pork aggressively until it browns and renders its fat.
- 02
Build the savory aromatic base.
Push the pork aside and sizzle the shallots, garlic, ginger, and dried shrimp in the rendered fat until intensely fragrant, then stir in the diced shiitake and jicama.
- 03
Season and bind the filling.
Deglaze with Shaoxing wine, then add the soy sauces, oyster sauce, the teaspoon of sugar, five-spice, and white pepper. Whisk the cornstarch into the reserved mushroom liquid, pour it into the wok, and stir continuously until it forms a tight, glossy mass.
- 04
Chill the filling thoroughly.
Remove from heat, stir in the chives and sesame oil, and transfer to a shallow container. Refrigerate overnight so the fat and starches solidify, making the dumplings infinitely easier to wrap.
- 05
Hydrate the glutinous rice flour.
Whisk the granulated sugar into the room-temperature water until completely dissolved to prevent scorching in the fryer, then mix into the glutinous rice flour until a rough dough forms.
- 06
Scald the wheat starch to build the structural scaffolding.
Pour the actively boiling water directly over the wheat starch in a heat-proof bowl, stirring aggressively with chopsticks until it instantly gelatinizes into a translucent, sticky paste.
- 07
Marry the doughs and incorporate the fat.
Knead the warm wheat starch paste into the glutinous rice dough until unified, then work in the room-temperature lard. Knead vigorously for 5 to 8 minutes until it transforms into a smooth, profoundly shiny mass, then wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least two hours.
- 08
Shape the dumplings into tight footballs.
Divide the cold dough into 14 equal pieces, flatten each into a small nest with thinner edges, and drop a heaped teaspoon of the solid filling into the center. Pinch shut like a taco, roll gently to smooth the seam, and ensure no filling touches the edges.
- 09
Execute the low-temperature expansion fry.
Heat the frying oil to exactly 320°F (160°C)—a scrap of dough should sink, gather bubbles, and slowly float. Drop in four dumplings, cut the heat to low, and let them swell and develop their signature pearl bubbles over two to three minutes.
- 10
Blast with high heat to crisp the exterior.
Once fully puffed and pale, crank the heat to medium-high and fry for an additional two minutes until shatteringly crisp and deep golden brown. Drain on a wire rack and serve hot.
Notes
Minding the dough hydration.
Treat the wrapper with the strict precision of a pastry recipe. The wheat starch must be scalded with aggressively boiling water (above 190°F) to gelatinize properly, providing the mandatory scaffolding that prevents the dumpling from exploding in the fryer.
Substituting the fat.
Traditional Cantonese cart service demands rendered pork lard for optimal flakiness. If you lack the time or inclination to source it, refined coconut oil mimics the solid-at-room-temperature properties perfectly without adding coconut flavor.
From Cook Dim Sum at Home.