Fun Gwor (Pork and Shrimp Dumpling)

Fun Gwor (Pork and Shrimp Dumpling)

This is another classic dim sum tidbit. One might want to refer to the recipe for Ha Gao, with its detailed description of wheat starch dough, as this dumpling uses the same wrapper. 

There can be confusion, even among native speakers, about the exact names of Chinese things, and food items are no exception.  The Cantonese “Fun” in the name is often mistakenly translated as “rice flour,” mistaken because there is no rice flour used in this recipe. The literal translation of “Fun (mandarin: Fen) can mean any number of things, but it most likely attaches to the meanings of powder and flour, especially bean and potato starch flours, which likely have been used in the past instead of wheat starch.  “Gwor” (guo) means fruit, and poetically alludes to its crescent shape, suggesting a section of fruit, or the delicacy of fruit.

8 oz Pork, minced 1/8” to 1/4”
4 oz peeled deveined shrimp, minced per pork
2 dried shitake mushrooms, minced per pork
7 peeled water chestnuts, minced per pork
1 heap tsp garlic, minced med fine
1 scallion, minced med.

Stir-fry this mixture just until pork has cooked through—turn off the heat, then immediately add mixture of:

1/4 cup chicken stock
1 Tab cornstarch
1 Tab wine
2 Tab oyster sauce
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp sugar
1 Tab soy sauce
1 scant teaspoon sesame oil

When the mixture has cooled, add:

1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 heap cup (loosely measured) chopped cilantro and stems

Mix and refrigerate, preferably overnight,.

To make dumplings, follow recipe and procedure for the wheat starch dough used for Ha Gau skins (1 cup wheat starch; 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour, 1 Tab oil, salt and 1 cup water.); place appx 1 rounded Tab of filling on the skin, fold over and press edge gently to seal and form a crescent.  Steam for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool for 2 or 3 minutes before serving or transferring to serving platter (serving in steamer tray is recommended, since the hot dumplings are very sticky and fragile).

Deep-frying this dumpling produces a nice variation.  Remembering that the filling is already cooked, the dumpling can be fried at 325° to 350° in peanut oil for 1 or 2 minutes until crisp.