Ham Sui Gok (咸水角) are Cantonese fried dumplings made with a chewy glutinous rice dough and a savory pork filling. You may recognize them from dim sum carts or your favorite Chinese bakery!
A Classic Dim Sum Item
The term “glutinous rice dumpling” is one that we’ve used before to describe sticky rice zongzi (粽子), which involve stuffing sticky rice and other goodies inside reed leaves and boiling them until they’re gooey, molten, and fragrant.
Ham Sui Gok is quite different. They’re more like a classic dumpling in that you make a dough, roll it out, add a dollop of filling, and wrap it closed.
But Ham Sui Gok also aren’t like regular dumplings or jiǎozǐ (饺子). The key difference is in the dough and how we cook them. The dough is made of glutinous rice flour—a little bit like mochi. The Ham Sui Gok are deep-fried so that the dough cooks up perfectly translucent and chewy, and the outside has a satisfying crust when you bite into it. The filling is also pre-cooked, giving it a drier, more separate texture rather than an emulsified homogenous one.
In all likelihood, you’re here because you can’t find a good Ham Sui Gok near you, or you’re very particular about finding the best one!
These are crisp and light on the outside, chewy on the inside, and the filling has all the right flavors from pork, shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, and salted turnips. The result is even greater than the sum of its parts!
My Tips for Ham Sui Gok Success
This is one of those dishes we never dreamed we could make at home, but once you know what you’re doing, it’s actually very achievable!
The first tip is to use a kitchen scale. It’s a must for this recipe—at least for the dough.
Second, I’ve discovered that the dough, filling, and assembly are actually not the problem. The one tricky part is being diligent during the frying process. You have to control the oil temperature. Here’s how to do that:
- Keep the oil temperature between 290-310°F (143-155°C) at all times, and no higher than 325°F/162°C. As with Bill’s recipe for sesame balls, it’s ideal to fry these at a lower temperature to prevent them from bursting. This is why we actually have to turn off the heat during the frying process. We start higher to establish the crust, and then let them cook more slowly in the residual heat.
- Don’t turn them too often. They will float and turn themselves in the oil when they’re ready.
- There should be enough oil to submerge the ham sui gok, but to avoid using too much oil, we always use a small deep pot that allows us to fry 4-5 pieces each time (in about 3 batches).
Third, you can make the dough in your mixer or just knead it by hand, which is easy enough! The dough is quite forgiving. You can keep it chilled in the refrigerator for up to a week and fry fresh Ham Sui Gok as you like. But I do not recommend freezing uncooked ham sui gok—they do not freeze well.
I believe in you! Let’s make some Ham Sui Gok.
Ham Sui Gok Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Make the dough:
In a heatproof bowl, combine the wheat starch and boiling water. Mix with chopsticks or a spoon until all the wheat starch is moistened. Cover and set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the sticky rice flour, sugar and salt. Add the room temperature water, and stir until well-combined.
Next, add the wheat starch dough and lard to the large mixing bowl. Knead everything together for about 10 minutes until you have a soft dough ball. Use a little sticky rice flour if the dough gets too sticky during kneading, but try not to use too much or the dough will be dry. It should be pliable without cracking and stiff enough to hold its shape. If your dough cracks, you need a little bit more water. If the dough droops or sags, you need a bit more sticky rice flour.
Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
Step 2: Make the filling
Soak the shiitake mushrooms in cold water overnight or in boiling water for 2 hours. Squeeze them dry, finely chop, and set aside. (Save the mushroom water.) Prepare the remaining filling ingredients!
Heat your wok over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the oil, garlic, ginger and shallots. Stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the pork, and stir-fry until it’s opaque. Next, add the shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, and salted turnip. Stir-fry for a few minutes.
Add the water or mushroom soaking liquid, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and five spice powder. Stir and cook for a few minutes, then add salt to taste. Next, add the cornstarch slurry, stirring until the mixture thickens.
Remove from the wok and cool. Once cooled, mix in the cilantro, and the filling is ready.
Step 3: Assemble the ham sui gok
Once the dough is done chilling, divide it into 14 equal pieces, each weighing about 50g. Cover them with a kitchen towel to keep them from drying out.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a smooth ball between your palms, then create a crater, pressing around the “crater” walls to even them out. Add 1 tablespoon filling to the well you made in the middle, and seal the opening to create a half-moon shaped dumpling.
Repeat the process with how ever many you want to serve. Store in the refrigerator for later if you don’t need all 14 of them. It’s best to fry them fresh when needed, rather than re-heating cooked ones.
Step 4: Fry the ham sui gok:
Fill a small, deep pot about halfway with oil (i.e. deep enough to submerge the ham sui gok). Place over medium-high heat until the oil temperature reaches 325°F/163°C. Carefully lower 4-5 ham sui gok into the oil, stirring gently so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot or each other.
After frying for 1 minute, turn off the heat, and continue frying in the residual heat for another 7-8 minutes, or until they float to the surface. At this point, the dough is cooked through, and the oil temperature will have fallen to around 280°F/138°C. After 8 minutes, turn on the heat to medium-low and fry for another 7 minutes to crisp up the outside of the ham sui gok, adjusting the heat to keep the oil temperature around 310-325°F (154-163°C)—no higher.
If the oil temperature is too low, the ham sui gok may deflate once out of the fryer. If the oil temperature is too high, they will burst open.
I had these in Shenzhen recently (see pictures below). They also deflated a little, but if this happens to you, don’t worry. It does not affect the taste.
We hope you enjoy this Cantonese dim sum classic!
Looking for more authentic recipes? Subscribe to our email list and be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube!
Recipe
Ham Sui Gok (Cantonese Fried Glutinous Rice Dumplings)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- ½ cup wheat starch
- ½ cup boiling hot water
- 1¾ cup sticky (sweet) rice flour (plus more for dusting)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup room temperature water
- ¼ cup lard (softened, but not melted)
For the filling:
- ¼ cup finely diced rehydrated shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable, canola, or avocado oil, plus more for frying)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
- 4 ounces boneless pork (partially frozen and finely chopped into ¼-inch/6mm pieces; can use pork shoulder, pork butt, boneless country ribs, or coarsely ground pork)
- 2 tablespoons dried shrimp (soaked 20 minutes and finely minced)
- 2 tablespoons salted turnip (minced)
- ½ cup water/mushroom soaking water (or 1 cup/235ml if you like a more moist filling)
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
- ¼ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon oyster sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon five spice powder
- Salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 2 tablespoons/30ml water)
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro (may substitute chives or scallions)
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a heatproof bowl, combine the wheat starch and boiling water. Mix with chopsticks or a spoon until all the wheat starch is moistened. Cover and set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine the sticky rice flour, sugar and salt. Add the room temperature water, and stir until well-combined.
- Next, add the wheat starch dough and lard to the large mixing bowl. Knead everything together for about 10 minutes until you have a soft dough ball. Use a little sticky rice flour if the dough gets too sticky during kneading, but try not to use too much or the dough will be dry. It should be pliable without cracking and stiff enough to hold its shape. If your dough cracks, you need a little bit more water. If the dough droops or sags, you need a bit more sticky rice flour.
- Cover the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
Make the filling:
- Soak the shiitake mushrooms in cold water overnight or in boiling water for 2 hours. Squeeze them dry, finely chop, and set aside. (Save the mushroom water.)
- Heat your wok over medium-high heat until it starts to smoke. Add the oil, garlic, ginger and shallots. Stir-fry for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the pork, and stir-fry until it’s opaque. Next, add the shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, and salted turnip. Stir-fry for a few minutes.
- Add the water or mushroom soaking liquid, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and five spice powder. Stir and cook for a few minutes, then add salt to taste. Next, add the cornstarch slurry, stirring until the mixture thickens. Remove from the wok and cool. Once cooled, mix in the cilantro, and the filling is ready.
Assemble the ham sui gok:
- Once the dough is done chilling, divide it into 14 equal pieces, each weighing about 50g. Cover them with a kitchen towel to keep them from drying out.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a smooth ball between your palms, then create a crater, pressing around the “crater” walls to even them out. Add 1 tablespoon filling to the well you made in the middle, and seal the opening to create a half-moon shaped dumpling.
- Repeat the process with how ever many you want to serve. Store in the refrigerator for later if you don’t need all 14 of them. It’s best to fry them fresh when needed, rather than re-heating cooked ones.
Fry the ham sui gok:
- Fill a small, deep pot about halfway with oil (i.e. deep enough to submerge the ham sui gok). Place over medium-high heat until the oil temperature reaches 325°F/163°C. Carefully lower 4-5 ham sui gok into the oil, stirring gently so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot or each other.
- After frying for 1 minute, turn off the heat, and continue frying in the residual heat for another 7-8 minutes, or until they float to the surface. At this point, the dough is cooked through, and the oil temperature will have fallen to around 280°F/138°C. After 8 minutes, turn on the heat to medium-low and fry for another 7 minutes to crisp up the outside of the ham sui gok, adjusting the heat to keep the oil temperature around 310-325°F (154-163°C)—no higher.
- If the oil temperature is too low, the ham sui gok may deflate once out of the fryer. If the oil temperature is too high, they will burst open. I had these in Shenzhen recently (see pictures below). They also deflated a little, but if this happens to you, don’t worry. It does not affect the taste!
