Shrimp Dumplings

Courtesy of Flavor and Fortune Magazine, the Chinese food magazine

1 cup wheat starch, sifted three times
½ cup tapioca flour
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound shrimp, shell and veins removed, shrimp coarsely chopped
1 egg white
4 water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 scallion, white part only, minced
1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
1 tablespoon white Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper

1. Sift wheat starch and tapioca flour together, then add one cup very hot water and the peanut oil. Stir until it starts to cool.

2. Knead until this dough is smooth and soft; and when it is, roll half of it into a one-inch cigar-shaped piece, cutting this into one-inch pieces. Cover and repeat with the other half of the dough.

3. Roll each piece of dough into a three or four inch circle. Be sure to keep them covered after they are rolled out.

4. Mix shrimp, egg white, water chestnuts, and the scallion white parts. Then add soy sauce, rice wine, tapioca flour, and the salt and pepper, and mix gently.

5. Brush the dough circle with a mite of vegetable oil, and put a heaping tablespoon of the filling on this. Fold in half and pleat the edges. Continue until all are filled. Use any remaining oil to brush on the steamer basket before setting dumplings on it. Be sure they do not touch each other. Cover and steam over boiling water for four minutes. Serve.