Perfecting Har Gow (shrimp dumplings), Part 2 | Experiment

Part 2 (and probably part 3 ;) ) of my quest for the perfect Har Gow focuses on perfecting the shrimp filling. I want to find out; how to perfect the shrimp filling.

Abstract

Check out my Perfecting Har Gow Part 1 Experiment to learn the secret to perfecting the har gow dumpling wrappers.

Part 2 of my journey focuses on determine three main things:

• Water chestnut or bamboo shoot yields a better flavor.
• Lard (pork fat) or vegetable oil yields a juicer and fattier filling.
• Potato starch or cornstarch is a better binding agent?

It turned out that water chestnut, lard, and potato starch produced the tastiest shrimp filling.

Introduction

Check out my Perfecting Har Gow Part 1 Experiment to learn more about har gow history.

Har gow filling is commonly made with shrimp and bamboo shoots or water chestnuts. Here is a brief intro on bamboo shoot and water chestnut.

Bamboo shoot, also known as bamboo sprout, is the shoot of the bamboo that grows near the root. This shoot emerges from the ground in Spring and varies in size depending on the diameter of the aboveground bamboo cane (i.e. the bamboo stalk diameter). The shoot is harvested as soon as it emerges because the younger it is, the tastier it is. The shoot exterior is not edible, but the soft white inner part is.¹ Bamboo shoot is slightly bitter and crunchy.

This is what water chestnuts look like. I usually buy them as a whole and chopped them into chunk size.

Chestnuts and water chestnuts are two different things, so don’t be confused. Chestnuts are the brown nuts sold in the store as roasted chestnuts. They are grown on trees and have a hard brownish shell that is not edible. On the other hand, water chestnuts are plants that live in boggy or aquatic places. They are underground stem enlargements known as corms or tubers that get dig up during harvest season.³ They have a paper thin brownish-black skin and white inner flesh. The flesh tastes crunchy and juicy with a hint of sweetness. You can find water chestnuts at local Asian groceries stores in the fresh produce and/or canned sections; though the canned ones are easier to find.

Fun Fact

• Fresh bamboo shoot contains a toxin, hydrocyanic acid, which can be removed by parboiling.²
• When not boil properly, the bamboo shoot has a bitter flavor.
• Water chestnut is not actually a nut. A nut is defined as a fruit that has a hard and tough shell. Water chestnut does not have a hard and tough shell. They are actually tubers, a thickened part of a stem, also known as ground swelling, that grow under water.
• Water chestnuts are very nutritious and low in calorie. They are made up of 74% water, 24% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contain very little fat.⁴

Hypothesis

I predicted that water chestnuts will taste better than bamboo shoots because water chestnuts are sweet, refreshing, and crunchy. Bamboo shoots, especially the canned ones have a slightly bitter flavor.

Base on my first Har Gow experiment, I predicted that the potato starch and lard will be the best binding agents.

Method

I based my original recipe from The Woks of Life and modified it for this experiment.

To compare bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, I made two batches using the original recipe. One batch was made with ¼ cup of bamboo and the other with ¼ cup of water chestnuts.

Next, I played with the binding agents. To simplify the process, I halved the original recipes and made 4 different batches. Refer to Table 1 for all of the four batches of ingredients and exact measurements.

Note: Based on my first Har Gow experiment results and the fact that potato and tapioca starch are very similar, I decided not to use tapioca starch to save time.

To make it easier to identify the batches, I dotted each dumpling with the appropriate food color listed in the table above. Each of the batches was made using the following steps.

1. Beat the shrimp for about 1 min using a KitchenAid with the whisk attachment.
2. Add in all of the seasonings.
3. Beat for 4 more minutes.
4. After 2 minutes, use a spatula to wipe down the side of the bowl.
5. Wrap filling with har gow dumpling wrappers.
6. Steam in a bamboo basket for 15 minutes.

Results

The winner for the battle between bamboo shoots and water chestnuts is water chestnuts. Water chestnuts produced a crunchier texture and sweeter flavor. They tasted more refreshing than the bamboo shoots. The bamboo shoots had a slightly bitter and strong preserved flavor. This was probably because I used canned bamboo shoots.

Table 2 shows the starches results, batches A-D.

After I got the results from Batches A-D, I made two more batches (Batch E and F) to confirm that lard and potato starch results in the best shrimp filling.

Table 3 shows the exact measurements of each ingredient used in Batch E and Batch F.

Note that Batches E and F were made on two different days because of timing. I was too tired doing it all in one day, haha.

Left is Batch E. Right is Batch F.

Batch E was the control (indicated by a green dot). Batch F was made with lard and potato starch. The results showed that Batch F was firmer and held its shape better.

Left is Batch E. Right is Batch F. Looks at how nice the Batch F is. The filling looks so firm.

Conclusion

Overall, water chestnuts, lard, and potato starch produced the best har gow filling. The water chestnuts gave the filling a crunchy texture and a sweet and refreshing flavor. Lard added a rich flavor and made the filling super juicy. Potato starch held the filling together perfectly.

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References

1. “How to Grow Edible Bamboo Shoots.” Modern Farmer, 18 Oct. 2018, modernfarmer.com/2018/07/how-to-grow-edible-bamboo-shoots/.

2 .“Identifying, Harvesting & Cooking Bamboo.” Eco-Farming Daily, 24 Oct. 2018, www.ecofarmingdaily.com/identifying-harvesting-cooking-bamboo/.

3. Chaney, Cathryn. “Are Tree Chestnuts the Same Family As Water Chestnuts?” Home Guides | SF Gate, 7 Oct. 2016, homeguides.sfgate.com/tree-chestnuts-same-family-water-chestnuts-67735.html.

4. “Eleocharis Dulcis.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleocharis_dulcis.