Bawan (Crystal Dumpling)

One of my favorite things about bawan is how easy it is to reheat. It’s a perfect batch food. Steam 40 or 50 one weekend, freeze them, and have bawan all year. Steam them to reheat from the freezer and dress with sauce.

Bawan (Crystal Dumpling)
肉圓

Yields 15-20 bawan (depending on the size of your bawan molds).

Ingredients

For Dough

• 300 g sweet potato starch
• 100 g long grain rice flour
• 525 ml water

For Filling

• 500 g ground pork
• Approximately 2 pieces of packaged bamboo shoots (you will need ~1 cup, diced)
• 6 whole Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked (overnight in cold water or 30 min in hot)
• 1 tbsp dried paper shrimp, soaked and drained
• 1 tbsp Peanut Oil (or neutral cooking oil)
• 2 tbsp Firewood Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cup fried shallots
• White pepper, to taste
  
• Salt, to taste

For Haishan Sauce

• 4 tbsp Miso Soy Paste
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tbsp tianlajiang 甜辣醬 (Taiwanese chili sauce)
• Water, to taste

For Garnish

• Nyonya Sauce, Spicy
• Dongquan chili sauce 東泉辣椒酱 (a Taichung-style chili sauce) (optional)
• Cilantro, chopped, to taste

Equipment

• Digital scale
• Heat proof mixing bowls (at least one large metal mixing bowl)
• Wooden or rubber spatula
• Stockpot (make sure your large mixing bowl fits on top of this)
• Wok
• Small heat proof sauce dishes (to use as molds for the bawan), 3-4” in diameter
• Tatung 11-Cup Steamer
• Bamboo Cypress Steamer Basket with Lid, 11-Cup
• Maestro Wu Vegetable Cleaver
• Small saucepan

Instructions

Make the Dough

1. Bring a big stockpot of water to boil over the stove.
2. While you wait for the water to boil, in a large heat proof mixing bowl, mix together the long grain rice flour and sweet potato starch.
3. Slowly pour in the 525 ml water, stirring to dissolve until no lumps remain.
4. Put the metal mixing bowl on top of the stockpot with boiling water, which will warm the mixing bowl indirectly.
5. Hold the metal mixing bowl with a potholder or towel, slowly stirring the starch slurry.
6. Stir frequently until the dough turns thicker, into paste with the texture of a soft cream cheese. Time will vary, but this should take around five minutes. Don’t leave this unattended and stir the whole time.
7. Set aside to cool.

Make the Filling

1. Dice the bamboo into ½” cubes and reserve about 1 cup of it.
2. Squeeze the liquid out of the shiitake mushrooms, reserve the soaking liquid, then chop the shiitake into pieces around the same size as the bamboo shoots.
3. Heat up a wok with peanut oil or your choice of neutral cooking oil.
4. Add the ground pork into the wok, and stir fry until its moisture evaporates.
5. Add the shiitake and paper shrimp. Stir to incorporate.
6. Add the chopped bamboo. Stir to incorporate.
7. Drizzle in the soy sauce, add sugar and a pinch of salt, then stir fry all together until the meat has browned. Turn off the heat.
8. Add the fried shallots and a dash of white pepper. Toss with the rest of the ingredients in the wok.
9. Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning with more salt or white pepper as needed. Set aside.

Shape the Bawan

1. Gather everything you will need for bawan assembly: the prepped dough paste and filling, a bowl of water for dipping hands and tools, and the dishes you will use as bawan molds.
2. Generously grease the dishes with peanut oil or your choice of neutral oil.
3. Using a wooden or rubber spatula, place a small amount of paste into one dish.
4. Wet your hands and use your fingers to pat down the paste, spreading it across the bottom of the dish with a shallow divot in the center for the filling. Leave a small perimeter of space around the edge of the dish for easy release from the mold later.
5. Spoon your desired amount of filling into the center of the bawan.
6. Top with more paste, wet your hands again, and pat down and spread the paste out like a mud pie. Make sure the edges are sealed and the filling is completely covered.
7. Repeat until all the dishes are filled.

Steam the Bawan

If using a Tatung:

1. Pour 1 rice cup of water (180 ml) into the outer pot of the Tatung. Place the bamboo steamer basket atop the Tatung.
2. Place your bawan dishes into the bamboo steamer basket. Cover with the lid, then push down the lever to steam for 15-20 minutes.
3. Later, when the steamer lever pops up, take the bawan out and set aside to cool—they’ll stick to the molds and be hard to remove if they’re still hot.
4. Repeat the steaming process as necessary until all bawan are steamed.
5. From here, you can serve immediately, or freeze for later use (steam to reheat).

If using a steamer on the stovetop:

1. Fill a wok with water. Place your bawan dishes into the bamboo steamer basket. Make sure the water line comes up higher than the edge where the bamboo steamer contacts the wok.
2. Turn the heat to high, and steam for 15-20 minutes. Check to ensure the water doesn’t run out, and replenish with hot water as needed.

Make the Haishan Sauce

1. While the bawan steam, make haishan sauce. In a saucepan, mix 2 parts miso soy paste to 0.5 part ketchup and 0.5 part tianlajiang.
2. Bring to a simmer to caramelize the sugars in the sauces, stirring frequently to incorporate.
3. Drizzle in water as necessary to thin out the texture to your desired consistency. The sauce should be able to coat the back of a spoon.

To Serve

1. Remove bawan by running a butter knife along the edge of the dish and gently peel the dumpling away from its mold.
2. Turn the bawan upside down and place into a serving bowl—a small rice bowl will usually do. Using kitchen scissors, cut an X shape into the top of the bawan.
3. Drizzle haishan sauce over the bawan, to taste.
4. Add Nyonya sauce and Dongquan chili sauce, to taste.
5. Garnish with cilantro.