Teochew Png Kueh (Sticky Rice Dumplings 紅桃粿)

Aunty’s Teochew Png Kueh recipe is just the one you need for beautiful sticky rice dumplings! Making them is a fun way to get the family cooking together, with delicacies including dried shrimp used to make the filling ultra fragrant.

If you’re a sticky rice lover, enjoy it with Chinese sausages or in a dessert!

A Teochew treasure

I’m incredibly proud to share this recipe. Almost all of the recipes I’ve been writing on Wok & Kin have been either Cantonese or Vietnamese, but today is one I can dedicate to my Mum’s side of the family, who are Teochew!

Aside from our family’s Hokkien Pork Noodle Soup, Teochew Png Kueh is the only other dish that I recognize as Teochew. We call it ‘ang to gue’ at home, and I cherish it deeply as it holds a place in my heart that is taken by my maternal side of the family.

This dumpling recipe was taught to me by Aunty (the teacher behind dishes including Cantonese-Style Zongzi, Nian Gao, Smiling Sesame Cookie Balls, Chinese Almond Cookies and Vietnamese Coconut Jelly).

Much like all other dumpling projects, it brought the family together around the kitchen. Together, we worked to roll, knead, fill and shape. Then after a few hours of hard work, we were all rewarded with freshly steamed Teochew Png Kueh.

Keep reading so your family to enjoy this experience too!

What mold do I use to shape the dumplings?

Aunty bought her dumping molds from Vietnam when she went for a trip back home. They’re wooden and come in different sizes; some large and some bite-sized. There are also plastic versions of the larger ones, which can be found in Asian supermarkets or online.

The wooden molds are different to the ones we used to make mooncakes. There’s no spring mechanic where you press and push. Instead, they rely on a press and tap method to get everything out.

But as long as you have a tool to shape the Teochew Png Kueh (hands included!), you’ll be able to enjoy a delicious serving of handmade dumplings!

Why this recipe works

• Boiling the peanuts with garlic infuses an aromatic flavor into the Teochew Png Kueh.
• Steaming the rice first means less time is needed for steaming the dough, so the dumplings keep their structure and pattern.
• Pandan leaves add a fragrant aroma to the rice.

What you’ll need

For the dough

About the food coloring

For our Teochew Png Kueh, Aunty used pink food coloring in its liquid form. You can also use the powder if that’s what you have on hand, but I would suggest mixing that in with the dry flour.

For the filling

About the ingredients

Some families also include pork mince and cai po (perserved radish; the same one we use for Grandma’s Steamed Pork Belly with Salted Radish). If you want to use these extra ingredients, stir fry it into the glutinous rice.

How to make this recipe

Mix the pink food coloring with the hot water.

Combine the wheat starch, glutinous rice flour, salt and chicken bouillon powder in a large mixing bowl, then pour the pink hot water in slowly. As you pour, mix the liquid in and knead.

Once it starts to form a dough, add 1 tbsp oil in and knead until it forms a smooth yet slightly sticky dough.

Note: The mixture will be hot, so use a rubber spatula to help at first until it’s warm enough to touch.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. Alternatively, put the ball in a large bowl and cover it with a damp cloth, then let it rest.

Meanwhile, bring 4 US cup water to a boil. Add the crushed garlic cloves in along with the peanuts and let it cook for 1 hour on medium heat or until just cooked. Drain in a colander and let it cool while you work on the other ingredients.

Note: If you want to cook it on the stove for a shorter period of time, soak the peanuts for an hour beforehand. That way, you can boil them for just 30 minutes.

While the peanuts are cooking, rinse then soak the glutinous rice for 1 hour, then drain in a colander to drip dry.

Heat up a wok or pan on high heat and pour 3 tbsp oil in. Turn the heat to medium and add the pandan leaf, finely chopped garlic and red shallots in to stir fry for 20 seconds or until fragrant. Increase the heat to high and add the mushrooms and shrimp in to stir fry for 30 seconds.

Pour the mushroom water in and mix in for 40 seconds, then add the peanuts.

Transfer the sticky rice into the wok or pan. Season with the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, white pepper, chicken bouillon powder and sesame oil.

Stir well, then put a lid on and let it simmer on low-medium heat for 5 minutes. When ready, give it one more mix, then transfer into a steam-safe dish. Steam for 45 minutes on high heat or until cooked. Transfer the dish onto a cooling rack to let it come to room temperature.

To set up your wrapping station, fill a small bowl up with some glutinous rice flour. Unwrap the dough and let it sit in the middle of the station and have the dish of sticky rice to one side. Make sure the Teochew Png Kueh mold is within reach as well.

Give the dough ball one last knead to smooth out the surface, then you’re ready to go.

Section about 65g (0.14 lb) of dough and roll it into a ball. Using two hands, press both thumbs into the center of the ball while curving the outer dough towards you to form a cup.

Note: a 65g (0.14lb) dough ball will be enough for a large Teochew Png Kueh mold. For dumplings that are bite-sized, you can go for 30g (0.07 lb) using the smaller molds.

Rotate the cup as you press and thin out the dough with your thumbs and fingers. Keep rotating and pressing until the cup has thinned out to be approximately 5mm (0.2″) thick.

Place the cup in your hand, open part facing up.

Scoop 1-2 tbsp of the filling into the cup.

Bring the sides together, press the rice deeper into the cup and seal it up until the dough forms a ball around the sticky rice.

Roll it between your palms to smooth out the dough, then dip it into the glutinous rice flour to coat the entire surface. Dust off any excess flour.

Place the ball in the center of the dumpling mold and gently press it into the mold until it fills the entire shape.

Pro Tip: Don’t let any excess dough fall out of the mold’s shape, otherwise there will be a thin line on the outer edge when it steams.

When pressed in, turn the mold upside down and tap to release the dumpling. Set aside on a steam-safe dish lined with a banana leaf coated in a thin layer of oil.

Note: Depending on the size of your steaming dish, you may need to steam a few at a time. Leave the leftover ones under a sightly damp cloth so they don’t dry out.

Bring the steamer to a boil and place the dumplings in to steam on high heat for 10 minutes or until cooked with the lid on.

After 10 minutes, remove the lid and brush a thin layer of oil on the top.

Serve immediately as is or pan fry with oil for a crispy skin. For more flavor, you can also dip them in a Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm)!

Recipe FAQs

Tips for the best results

• Eat them fresh. The flavors will be at their most aromatic straight out of the steamer while the textures wonderfully chewy from the steaming.
• Avoid overstuffing. This increases the chance of the dough breaking apart when it’s being pressed into the mold, which means the dumplings will split open as they steam.
• Steam until just cooked. If you have the dough cooking for too long, they’ll start to lose their structure and become very soft.

More recipes for dumpling lovers!

• Ham Sui Gok (Fried Glutinous Rice Dumplings 咸水角) – These are a classic yum cha favorite. Fried chewy dumplings are filled with a juicy pork filling which makes them a scrumptious treat.
• Bánh Giò (Vietnamese Pork Pyramid Dumplings) – Enjoy a Northern Vietnamese style dumpling wrapped using banana leaf for extra fragrance.
• Bánh Bôt Loc (Vietnamese Shrimp and Pork Dumplings) – If you love a good chew, these are incredibly satisfying dumplings that are all about texture!

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