Har Gow (Crystal Skin Shrimp Dumplings)

With plump shrimp wrapped in a thin, stretchy, translucent dough, har gow may well be the most popular dim sum classic of all.

By
Shao Z.
Shao Zhi Zhong is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Shao Z.
Shao Zhi Zhong is a Chinese-born and Philadelphia-raised food writer and recipe developer who specializes in Chinese home cooking. She's also a web designer.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated August 04, 2023
Overhead view of dumplings in steamer

Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

Why This Recipe Works

  • Marinating the shrimp with baking soda helps keep them plump and crisp as they steam.
  • Finely diced, par-boiled fatback adds plenty of moisture to the mix.
  • A hot water dough made with pure wheat starch is easily malleable and forms a translucent shell when steamed.

With bright pink chunks of plump shrimp veiled in thin, stretchy, translucent dough, har gow—crystal-skinned shrimp dumplings—may well be the most popular dim sum classic of all. You might think there's a lot of difficult technique involved in getting those shrimp so plump and the skins so delicate, but it's really much easier than it seems. This particular recipe is a combination of tricks and techniques I've learned watching my parents and uncle make har gow since I was a small child.

Let's start with the filling.

The filling for har gow is usually pretty straightforward—shrimp and pork fat at its most basic, with the occasional bamboo shoot or scallion thrown in for fancier versions.

A portion of fatback simmering in a small saucepan of water.
Boil the fatback to get rid of some excess salt and start rendering its fat.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

To start, I boil pork fatback in water to remove some of the excess moisture and to soften it a bit. Fatback is great because it releases its fat slowly, keeping things moist and flavorful instead of greasy the way, say, lard or excess oil would do. I then cut the fatback into very fine pieces so that they melt into the shrimp as the dumplings steam.

A raw, marinated shrimp on a cutting board, chopped into 5 pieces. A pile of whole, peeled shrimp are off in the right upper corner.
Cut the shrimp into small chunks after marinating.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

The secret to plump shrimp? A brief marinade in a baking soda solution. The higher pH helps the shrimp retain more moisture as it cooks. Check outKenji's post on shrimp wontonsfor a side-by-side look at how it works.

After marinating, I cut the shrimp into small chunks, and then combine them with the fatback, as well as ginger, garlic, Shaoxing rice wine, salt, sugar, and a pinch of white pepper, along with a dash of oil and cornstarch. The cornstarch helps thicken and retain any juices that escape during the steaming process.

The trickiest part of making this dumpling is getting the right texture for the skin. Unlike siu mai (open-topped pork and shrimp dumplings) andpan fried dumplings, the skin of a har gow—made from a combination of wheat and tapioca starches—is translucent and slightly chewy.

Classic har gow dough is made with the hot water method: boiling water is poured over a bowl containing the starches, and then the mixture is kneaded. The boiling water will help prevent the dough from getting too elastic, instead allowing it to form a smooth, malleable mass with an easy-to-roll texture similar to Play-Doh.

Author kneading dumpling dough on a floured cutting board.
Knead it until smooth.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

I knead it until smooth, then roll it into a long strip to make it easy to cut into even balls. Then, I roll out each evenly sliced piece with a pin, making sure to work on a lightly floured surface.

Author rolling out a piece of dough into a thin disk-shaped wrapper with a small roller.
Roll each ball of dough into a thin wrapper.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

If you are the kind of cook who likes to take on one task at a time, make sure to keep the finished rounds of dough stacked up underneath a sheet of plastic wrap so that they don't dry out before you can stuff them.

如果你不习惯打褶饺皮,包装材料pping these can be a little tricky. Check out somestep-by-step instructions in this post about making gyoza. Personally, my dumpling pleating skills are pretty sad, so I usually do a simple half-moon wrap and just crimp the edges with a fork.

A half moon-shaped, crimped dumpling laying on a cutting board next to the small dumpling skin roller.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

So long as your dumpling stays shut tightly enough to keep the filling and juices trapped inside, you've accomplished your goal.

Once formed, the dumplings can be frozen on a sheet tray, then placed in a zipper-lock bag for long-term storage. You can even cook them directly out of the freezer. That's why it's always nice toinvite friends over for a dumpling partyand get huge batches of them frozen ahead of time to feed you at moment's notice down the line.

When you're ready to cook, just place the dumplings in a parchment or cabbage-lined steamer over boiling water and a few minutes later you've got yourself one of the greatest dim sum treats around.

Author takes the lid off of a bamboo steamer to reveal a piping-hot batch of har gow dumplings.
Ready to rest.

Serious Eats / Shao Z.

No, one batch is NOT enough.

September 2014

This recipe was cross-tested in 2023 and lightly updated with more accurate measurements and cooking times to guarantee best results.

Recipe Details

Har Gow (Crystal Skin Shrimp Dumplings)

Prep30 mins
Cook30 mins
Active30 mins
Resting Time60 mins
Total2 hrs
Makes20 dumplings

With plump shrimp wrapped in a thin, stretchy, translucent dough, har gow may well be the most popular dim sum classic of all.

华体会应用下载

For the Dough:

  • 1/2cup(120ml)water, boiling hot

  • 3/4cupwheat starch(3 1/2 ounces; 98g), see notes

  • 6tablespoonstapioca flour ortapioca starch(1 3/4 ounces; 50g)

  • 1/8teaspoonDiamond Crystal koshersalt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • 2teaspoons(30ml) vegetable orcanola oil, plus more for rolling dough

For the Shrimp Filling:

  • 1/2pound(227g)shrimp, shelled and deveined

  • 1teaspoonbaking soda

  • One 2- by 3-inch piecepork fatback(about2ounces)

  • 1(5ml)teaspoonvegetable or canolaoil

  • 1teaspooncornstarch

  • 3/4teaspoonShaoxing wine

  • 1/2teaspoonmincedginger

  • 1/2teaspoonminced garlic

  • 1/2teaspoonDiamond Crystal koshersalt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

  • 1/2teaspoongranulatedsugar

  • 1/4teaspoongroundwhite pepper

  • Black vinegar,for serving

Directions

  1. For the Dough:In a medium bowl, whisk together wheat starch, tapioca flour/starch, and salt. Add oil and boiling water. With a silicone spatula, mix until a shaggy dough is formed, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn dough out onto a table and knead until a smooth ball forms, about 1 minute. Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.

    Four image collage of making douhg

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  2. For the Filling:Fill a small pot halfway with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add fatback and boil for 10 minutes. Drain well and transfer fatback to a paper-towel lined plate and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.When the fatback is cool to the touch, remove and discard the skin (if the skin is attached) and mince and reserve the fat.

    Two image collage of cooking fat and chopping up

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cover shrimp with cold water (about 1 1/2 cups) and stir in baking soda. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

    Overhead view of shrimp in a bowl

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  4. Drain and rinse shrimp under cold running water, then pat dry with paper towels. Chop shrimp into 1/4- to 1/2- inch pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add minced fatback, oil, cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, ginger, garlic, salt, sugar, and ground white pepper. Mix well and refrigerate covered for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

    Overhead view of mixing shrimp mixture

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  5. To Assemble:把生面团切成两半。一半的塑料纸面团plastic wrap to prevent drying; set aside. Roll the other dough half into a 12-inch long rope. Cut the rope into 12 equal sized portions, about 1/4 ounce (7g) each. Lightly oil your hands, rolling pin, and work surface. Working with 1 cut dough piece at a time (keep remaining dough pieces covered with plastic wrap), roll dough into a circle about 3 1/4- to 3 1/2-inches in diameter. Repeat with the remaining cut dough portions and the other half of the dough, applying more oil to your hands, rolling pin, and work surface as needed. Lay the finished wrappers side-by-side on a baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap while shaping remaining wrappers.

    Four image collage of rolling, cutting and flattening douch

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  6. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, place 2 teaspoons of shrimp filling in center of wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half over the filling, and pinch to seal one of the bottom corners (it can be on the left or right, depending on what feels most natural to you). Holding the dumpling in your non-dominant hand, use your thumb and forefinger on the dominant hand to create pleats, one at a time, next to the sealed corner, pleating until you’ve reached the other end. Press along the top to reinforce pleating and ensure it is well sealed. Transfer shaped har gow to a parchment-lined sheet tray. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

    Four image collage of filling dumplings

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

  7. To steam, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch skillet. Lightly grease two parchment rounds that measure about 1-inch less in diameter than your steamer baskets. Place parchment rounds in two bamboo steamer baskets. (Alternatively, line bottom of steamer baskets with cabbage leaves). Arrange dumplings on prepared parchment so that they are not touching; stack baskets and cover. Adjust heat as needed to maintain simmer and set steamer in wok or skillet. Steam until har gow wrappers are translucent, about 7 minutes, or 9 minutes if steaming dumplings from frozen. Off heat, remove steamer from wok and let rest, covered, for 1 minute. Serve warm with black vinegar.

    Two image collage of dumplings before and after steaming

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

Special Equipment

Rolling pin,steamer

Notes

Wheat starch is available at Asian grocery stores and can also be ordered online.

Pleating dumplings can be a little tricky (seethis post for instructions on folding purse-shaped dumplings).

While this recipe is written for 2 steamer baskets to save in time, it will also work with one steamer basket.

Make-Ahead和存储

To freeze the dumplings, place the dumplings in a single layer and not touching on a sheet tray or a large plate lined with wax paper. Freeze until frozen, about 1 hour, then transfer har gow to a zip-lock bag or sealed container. Steam the dumplings straight from the freezer following directions in step 7.

Read More

Nutrition Facts(per serving)
1428 Calories
56g Fat
171g Carbs
54g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Amount per serving
Calories 1428
% Daily Value*
Total Fat56g 71%
Saturated Fat 15g 77%
Cholesterol330mg 110%
Sodium3365mg 146%
Total Carbohydrate171g 62%
Dietary Fiber 6g 21%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein54g
Vitamin C 1mg 3%
Calcium 179mg 14%
Iron 9mg 47%
Potassium 519mg 11%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)