Makes 25-30
INGREDIENTS
120g plain flour
65g water
250g red bean paste*
DIRECTIONS
1 Combine the flour and water in a mixing bowl and knead into a smooth dough.
2 Transfer the dough onto a countertop lightly dusted with flour. Roll it into a long strip and break it into bite-sized pieces. Mould each piece into a ball.
3 Press down the centre of each ball and flatten it with a rolling pin. Rotate the skin as you roll it out so it becomes round and thin.
4 Hold the dumpling skin with its centre around your middle finger. Lower your middle finger slightly so that the dumpling skin makes a well to hold the red bean paste.
5 After adding the paste, hold the edge of the dumpling skin and make about 18 folds in it to close it. Pull and press each fold to the previous one.
6 Towards the end, twist the last fold into the very first fold to seal the dumpling. Repeat for the rest of the dumplings, then place them in a bamboo steamer basket lined with parchment paper (it prevents the dumplings from sticking to the steamer). Steam for 6min.
*Available at baking supply stores in Singapore like Phoon Huat, 171 Bencoolen Street, tel: 6338-1143. Check www.phoonhuat.com for a list of outlets.
Tip:
• Use a small and slim rolling pin (meant for making xiao long bao), which is easier to work with than a regular one.
• A bamboo steamer basket lets steam through all the slits. This cooks the dumplings better than if you’d steamed them on plates.
**Rolling pins and steamer baskets are available at cookware stores in Singapore like Sia Huat, 11 Temple Street, tel: 6223-1732.
Recipe courtesy of Din Tai Fung, which has several branches in Singapore.
This article was originally published in Simply Her March 2014.