This recipe is part of our collection of Fried & Baked Dim Sum Dishes. Sign up for our newsletter to get recipes, dining tips and restaurant reviews throughout the year!
Glutinous rice dumplings (aka hom sui gok) combine a savory pork and shrimp filling with a sweet glutinous rice shell. The key to this dish is the glutinous rice flour which creates a dumpling that is chewy and luscious on the inside, yet ever so slightly crispy on the outside.
This is one of the first dim sum recipes I made myself. Make sure to stuff these dumplings with care — the wrappers are so delicate that they can fall apart during assembly or rupture in the deep fryer. The trick is to get the wrapper dough soft enough to shape, but not so wet that it’s sticky.
Making glutinous rice dumplings is incredibly rewarding. Your dumplings will taste lighter and fresher than what you get at a restaurant, especially if you eat them as soon as they come out of the fryer. It’s a big payoff.
Can you share any expert tips from your experience making glutinous rice dumplings? Want to ask a question before you try making it yourself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
Glutinous Rice Dumplings Recipe
Makes: 20 | Prep Time: 1 Hour | Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Adapted From: SparkPeople
Ingredients
Filling:
6 dried black mushrooms
2 1/2 ounces ground pork
1 1/2 ounces raw medium shrimp
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster-flavoured sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly-ground white pepper
Wrapper:
3/4 pound glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup water
3 tablespoons gin
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Directions
1. Soften the dried mushrooms by soaking in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water, remove the stems and finely chop.
2. Remove the shrimp shells, de-vein and mince.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the mushrooms, pork, shrimp, green onion, sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster-flavored sauce, wine, sugar, salt and white pepper. Mix well.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, sugar and baking powder. Make a well in the center. Pour the water and gin into well, stirring with chopsticks or a fork until the dough forms a ball. Place dough onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Cut the dough in half and roll each half into a 10-inch cylinder. Cut each cylinder into ten 1-inch pieces. Roll each portion into a ball and cover with a damp towel.
6. With your finger tips flatten one portion of the dough into a 2-inch circle. Place a heaping teaspoon of the filling onto the circle and gather the edges together and pinch to seal. Roll into an oval shape. Continue until all the dumplings are prepared.
7. Fry dumplings in 2 inches of oil heated to 350 degrees about 3 minutes until they float to the top and turn golden brown. Remove with the strainer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.
Learn more about Glutinous Rice Dumplings from these Experts
Watch Pop and Wok turn out Glutinous Rice Dumplings (VIDEO)
Just Another Food Lover spends an afternoon making Glutinous Rice Dumplings
Another take on Glutinous Rice Dumplings from Wen’s Delight
HT: Photo by Timyuhoai via Wikimedia Commons.
Kyle
Thank you for linking my post on Hom Sui Gok! I also started a new blog and I have new recipes posted on Dinner4OneVancouver.tumblr.com. Please feel free to check it out!
Dim Sum Central
Very welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Sunny
Why gin? Can I sub sake?
Dim Sum Central
I can understand not wanting to use gin, but it does have a pretty distinctive flavor that’s hard to replicate…a bit like juniper berries. Star anise is a pretty good substitute or, alternatively, white wine would be OK, too. I haven’t tried sake, but that could work, too. If you do, reply back and let us know how it works!
shelby
I see you put lard in the video but didn’t say anything about it on the recipe?
shelby
The dough recipe in the video almost completely different…
Dim Sum Central
Hi Shelby, thanks for your note. Yes, the video recipe is different than the one provided on this page. I provided two, so that there would be different perspectives! ~Wes
shelby
Thanks for the quick reply! Have you ever try the dough recipe that used gin? How it turn out? texture same as the one in the video?
Dim Sum Central
These glutinous rice dumplings always have a subtle, distinctive flavor at the restaurant, a pine, kind of alkaline flavor that I could never place…that’s the gin, or Chinese equivalent at work. Same texture, regardless! ~Wes
Paul Golub
I have been going to dim sum restaurants for years now and am hooked on that food type. I also enjoy making my own dim sum but still cannot conquer hargo. No matter how much I read and investigate my dumplings are still faulty.
Wes Radez
Har how is definitely one of the most challenging dumplings to make, Paul. Keep at it! ~Wes
Kalena
I noticed your printed recipe doesn’t use the Wheat starch?(Tang flour). I’ve noticed some use baking powder is this in lieu of the wheat starch flour? Is it noticeable in the outcome? I’ve made Gin Dui without it was just wondering if outcome of the crispiness is affected without it? Mahalo!
Wes Radez
That should work fine, Kalena. The key ingredient is really the glutinous rice flour for the wrappers! ~Wes
Chef Kel
I just tried this recipe and here are my observations:
1) Ratios were off. The original mixture was too dry to form a dough, so I had to add extra water.
2) Not enough sugar. The dough was not as sweet as the restaurant versions I’ve had.
3) The final product was not as chewy as I expected, and that is likely due to both the reduced sugar and the omission of lard in the recipe.
4) Took some practice to get the form down for assembly. Lost about 5 dumplings to the learning curve.
5) I am a professional chef, and other than deep frying spinach leaves, this was the most explosive thing I have ever fried. Even with loads of experience frying, these dumplings popped as they puffed, and I was frequently dodging hot oil. I used a lot of expletives both while cooking and cleaning up.
Conclusion: If you live near a restaurant that serves these dumplings, just buy them. This recipe is not a restaurant equivalent and not an entry level foray into dim sum. Plus these dumplings do not keep for long (it’s not like you can make a big batch to save some for later) so all the specialty ingredients and time required are not worth it.
Wes Radez
Thank you for sharing your experience, Chef Kel. ~Wes
L Huang
This is my favorite sweet dim sum. I’m glad you included it. It’s a rare find in chinese bakeries and dim sum restaurants.
I can’t see the video you pinned. Perhaps you could replace it with Mama Cheung’s video for ham sui gok because her result looks perfect and her recipe is pretty traditional. My grandparents usually put some mashed yam in the dough and didn’t use the wheat starch.
Also, I saw you featured some of Dan Seto’s videos. He has this recipe also but he calls it gai loong, which means chicken coop or corner in toisan dialect of cantonese. His end result doesn’t look great but I liked the simplicity of his recipe.
Wes Radez
Great suggestions, thanks very much! It’s about time for a revision with a few more new resources, I think. ~Wes
Robert Adams
Does the filing get cooked first, cooled, and then put in to the glutinous dough?
Wes Radez
Yes!