Crystal Shrimp Dumplings 水晶蝦餃 or 蝦餃, xiā jiǎo is a staple in Chinese dim sum. It all started in the early 1900's, a small restaurant in a fishing village called 伍鳳 (wǔ fèng) in Guangdong province created it. They used shrimp that was fresh off the boat, pork and bamboo shoots. These dumplings subsequently became a dish found in almost all restaurants in Guangdong within a short period of time.
In the mid 1900’s, the skin or wrapper of the shrimp dumpling evolved into being translucent, or “crystal” like. Consequently, shrimp dumpling skin is often compared to human skin. A good shrimp dumpling should have skin that is “as thin as (human) skin”. Thin yet sturdy, soft yet elastic pretty much sums it up. The filling should be 70% shrimp and 30% pork fat with the texture being tender but not soft…sort of al dente. They add bamboo shoots to give a bit of crunch and to balance the proteins. Unfortunately, some restaurants now substitute some of the shrimp with fish meat to lower production costs.
The skin is the most difficult part of making shrimp dumplings and why most people don’t even bother trying. However, after a dozen attempts, I believe I have found the perfect combination of starches. If you follow my Crystal Shrimp Dumplings 水晶蝦餃 recipe, the wrapper will no longer be a problem for anyone. It is pliable and will not easily crack or break apart when wrapping. You can use the crystal skin recipe to wrap anything you want, the filling just needs to be dry. Kids love the skin! You can also make a noodle from this skin called 銀針粉 (yín zhēn fěn) which literally translates to Silver Needle Noodles.
Want more dim sum ideas? Try my Crystal Scallop Dumplings 水晶帶子餃 recipe.
Crystal Shrimp Dumplings 水晶蝦餃
Ingredients
Filling:
- 380 g Shrimp or prawns if you will NOT be adding bamboo shoots. (Use 320g if you WILL be adding bamboo shoots)
I used extra jumbo size (16/19 in a pound), headless with shell. 19 prawns came to 472g and then after removing shell, I got 394g - 80 g Minced pork fat (optional)
I use an 80:20 ratio to shrimp. Traditionally, some recipes call for 50:50 ratio. You can substitute it with fish meat or paste - 60 g Bamboo shoots , chopped (optional)
I didn’t add this because my family doesn’t like them - 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Sugar
- 1/2 tsp White pepper powder
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 Egg white from large egg
- 2 tsp Corn starch
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
Wrapper
- 65 g Wheat starch (澄粉/澄面/小麦澄粉)
- 65 g Sweet potato starch
cassava starch can also be used - 200 ml Boiling hot water
- 2 g Salt
- 1 tsp Oil
- 30 g Corn starch
- 10 g Corn starch
for sprinkling on rolling pin and flat surface to prevent dough from sticking
Instructions
Instructions for filling
- Flatten prawns with the flat side of a cleaver by smashing down on it or use a meat pounder
- Cut prawns into 1 cm pieces and place in mixing bowl
- Chop pork fat into small pieces and then chop finely until it becomes pasty and glue-like. Add to prawns
- Add the 1 tsp salt to prawn mixture and use your fingers to stir the mixture in one direction to create elasticity and stickiness so that the mixture can bind together. Mix for 1 minute
- Gather mixture in the palm of your hand and throw it back in the bowl. Do this 10 times to create more elasticity
- Add bamboo shoots, ½ tsp sugar, ½ tsp white pepper, 1 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 egg white to the prawn mixture and mix well
- Add 2 tsp cornstarch to filling and mix well. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil and mix well again
Adding the oil last will help seal in the flavors and the cornstarch - Cover with plastic film and place in refrigerator until ready to use
Instructions for wrapper
- Combine 65g wheat starch, 65g sweet potato starch, and 2g salt in a mixing bowl and mix well
- Pour 200ml of water into a kettle and bring it to a boil
As soon as the water boils, pour into starch mixture and stir quickly it helps if someone can help you pour the water while you stir. If there is no one to help you, you can do 2 pours within10 seconds apart so that the water stays very hot. Your mixture should look lumpy and a bit translucent. If it’s runny, then your water wasn’t hot enough and you’ll need to redo it…yikes! - Pour in 1 tsp oil and mix with a spoon or chopsticks
*Don’t use your hand to mix! - Cover with a lid or plate for 5 minutes
After 5 minutes, touch the dough. If it’s still too hot for your hands to work with, then cover for another few minutes. But you shouldn’t wait for it to get too cool, it’ll be difficult to smooth out after it cools. - During your wait time, line a steamer with parchment paper with some small holes cut into it to let the steam through and set aside.
You can also use steamer paper that you can purchase at some Asian grocery stores - When the 5 minutes is up, add the 30g of cornstarch onto the mixture. Use your hands to incorporate the cornstarch into the dough. When the cornstarch has been incorporated, transfer the dough onto a flat surface
- Knead the dough until it’s smooth. It should take approx. 2 minutes.
Dough should still be warm, soft, malleable and non-sticky
Instructions for wrapping & steaming
- Form dough into a ball and cut into 4 portions. Put the other 3 portions back into covered bowl,
Your dough should be approx. 320g and each portion should weigh 80g - Using one portion, roll into a log shape, approx. 2.5-3 cm in diameter
- Form the piece of dough into round circle shape and press down with your palm. Keep the pieces of dough under a piece of plastic wrap until ready to use
- Roll the piece of dough to approx. 9-10 cm in diameter with the edges thinner than the center
the skin is traditionally pressed flat using the side of a cleaver, but I was not able to do it with my limited skills! - Place 15g of filling onto the wrapper
- Hold the bottom of the wrapper with your left hand if you’re right-handed and fold pleats with your right hand while pressing the pleats together. Keep folding pleats for half of the circumference of the wrapper
It is said that shrimp dumplings should optimally have 13 pleats, but I find 10 would be fine too - Bring the back non-pleated edge to the front pleated edge and press them together to seal the dumpling
- Put the finished dumpling into the steamer and continue with the next dumpling.
Do not crowd the dumplings, they will expand slightly and should not touch one another - Steam at high temperature for 6 minutes
These dumplings can also be frozen in its raw state. When you are ready to cook them, do not thaw. Steam them for 12 minutes from frozen. - Wait 2 minutes before trying to remove them from the steamer. The skin needs to dry a bit before they can be handled without breaking.
These are amazing! Better tasting than some of the best dim sum places! Your pictures were so helpful, I was able to compare as I was making mine! Although mine didn’t look as pretty they tasted awesome! Emily, if I wanted to make a big batch could I freeze these?
Hi Tammy! That’s wonderful! They look great! Yes, you can freeze them and then steam them directly from frozen state for 12 minutes. Thanks for trying out so many recipes!