Har gow

Ingredients

• Shrimp
• Bamboo shoot or a little pork fat in some kitchens
• Wheat starch and tapioca in the wrapper
• Sesame oil
• A pinch of sugar and white pepper

How it is cooked

1. The wrapper dough is made with hot water and starch so it is stretchy and turns clear.
2. A plump piece of shrimp is pleated inside. You should see the pink through the skin.
3. They are steamed just until the wrapper is glossy.
4. They are a morning food. An afternoon har gow that has waited is a sad one.

Taste

Sweet shrimp, a slight bounce, and a wrapper that is tender rather than doughy. One of the tests of a dim-sum kitchen.

Possible allergens

• Shellfish, specifically shrimp.
• The wrapper is usually wheat starch, which is still wheat, plus tapioca. It is not a wheat-flour dough and it is not reliably gluten-free.
• Sesame oil or sesame paste.
• A shared wok or a house chili oil can add peanut, sesame, or shellfish even when the recipe does not.