CHINESE GAU RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, mix 150ml to 160ml water with rice flour. Combine well.
• In a small pot, melt sugar with the left water (350ml). Bring to boil over medium fire.
• Pour the hot sugar liquid directly to the rice mixture. Combine well and set aside to cool down until less than 40 degree C or room temperature.
• Mix yeast with 20ml and set aside for 5 minutes.
• Combine yeast water and rice mixture well, cover with plastic wrapper for proofing.
• Drop several drops of oil in the batter and combine well. Continue proofing until there is a thick layer of small bubbles on the surface.
• Prepare a plate (steel plate is highly recommended as they are usually quite thin) and brush some oil on surface (this can help the de-molding process).
• Bring the water to boil firstly and then pour the rice batter to hot steel plate around 80% full.
• Cover with lid and steam for 15 minutes over high fire. Wait for around 10 minutes after turning off the fire. Transfer the cake out, wait for minutes and move it from the plate. Set aside to cool down completely. Either cut into large wedges or small cubes. Serve cold with tea or as breakfast.

Steps:

• Briefly rinse the mushrooms, then put them in a bowl and add enough hot water to cover. Soak for about two hours, or until the mushrooms are soft and fully hydrated. Squeeze as much water as poss­ible from the mushrooms (save the soaking liquid), then remove and discard the stems. Finely chop the caps, then put them in a bowl.
• Add the minced pork to the chopped mushrooms. Finely mince the ginger. Peel the water chestnuts then rinse them thoroughly before cutting them into small dice. Add the ginger and water chestnuts to the mushroom and minced pork, then mix in the soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, cornstarch and white pepper. Combine thoroughly, then pan-fry a little of the mixture and taste it for seasonings; correct, if necessary. Finely chop the watercress, spring onions and coriander, then add them to the pork mixture and mix well. Refrigerate for about two hours.
• Make the sui gau. Line a baking tray with cling film or foil. Pour some water into a small bowl and stack some of the sui gau wrappers on a plate (keep the rest covered until needed so they don’t dry out). Use your forefinger to lightly dampen half of the perimeter of a wrapper. Put a heaped teaspoonful of the meat mixture slightly off-centre on the wrapper, then fold up the dry side of the wrapper to meet the dampened side, squeezing out as much air as possible from the dumpling. Press firmly on the edges to seal in the filling. Place the sui gau on the baking tray and repeat with the rest of the filling and wrappers. Once you have finished shaping the sui gau, they can be boiled imme­diately, or covered with cling film (so they don’t dry out) and refrigerated for a couple of hours.
• When it’s almost time to eat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer and mix in the mushroom soaking liquid, then season to taste with a little soy sauce and salt.
• Place a large pot of water over a high flame and bring to the boil. Add the sui gau in batches, leaving plenty of room for them to swim. When the water boils again and the sui gau float to the surface, let them simmer for one or two minutes, or until done.
• Use a large slotted ladle to scoop the sui gau out of the water and place them into serving bowls. Ladle the chicken broth over the dumplings. Chop the spring onions and scatter them over each portion, adding some coriander leaves and a drizzle of sesame oil. Serve the sui gau and let each diner mix a sauce using the soy sauce, chilli paste and vinegar.