CHIVE CAKES

Chive Cakes image

The Chinese were in Vietnam for a long time and this is actually a dim sum dish. It's awfully good, so we put it on the menu at my restaurant. Reprinted with permission from The Slanted Door by Charles Phan, copyright (c) 2014. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Penguin Random House, Inc.

Provided by Charles Phan

Time 1h15m

Yield 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 22

Ingredients

3/4 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp Tapioca starch or corn starch
2 tbsps canola oil
1 tbsp Lard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound Chinese chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup diced, peeled, cooked water chestnut
1/2 cup dried shrimp
1/2 cup chopped green onions white and light green parts only
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 cups wheat starch
1 cup Tapioca starch
1 1/2 tbsps potato starch
1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 tbsp canola oil
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup Sriracha sauce
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 tbsp canola oil

Steps:

For the filling: In a large bowl, combine fresh shrimp, salt, fish sauce, tapioca starch. Set aside. Stir-fry the chives in half of the oil and half of the lard with garlic and water chestnuts until the chives are soft. Place chives on the center of a large piece of cheesecloth, wrap up the cloth, and squeeze the mixture until there is no liquid. Set aside.
In a small bowl soak the dried shrimp in warm water to cover for about 20 minutes. Drain, discard the liquid, and coarsely chop the shrimp. In a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the canola oil and remaining lard until shimmering. Add the dried shrimp and stir until the shrimp turns brown. Remove and set aside. In the same skillet add the fresh shrimp, pepper and green onions and saute until cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and combine shrimp-both fresh and dried-and chives.
For the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the starches, bread flour, sugar, salt, and oil. Mix on high speed, slowly adding the hot water until a sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and divide into 10 pieces. Using a small rolling pin, roll out the ball into circles about 1/8 inch thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. Holding the dough in your palm, add about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling in the middle of each circle and pinch the ends together. Lightly pat down to flatten the cake. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
Set up a steamer and steam the chive cakes until the dough is translucent, about 7-10 minutes.
Remove the dumplings from the steamer and set aside to cool. Just before serving, coat the bottom of the skillet with oil and pan fry the chive cakes until browned on both sides.
Serve with both hot Sriracha and soy sauce for dipping.