Teochew Png Kueh (Sticky Rice Dumplings 紅桃粿)

Teochew Png Kueh on a banana leaf in a dish.

5 from 1 vote

Teochew Png Kueh (Sticky Rice Dumplings 紅桃粿)

Teochew Png Kueh is a beautiful Chinese sticky rice dumpling. They come filled with dried shrimp to make the filling ultra fragrant!

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time1 10

Dumpling Wrapping Time1

Total Time3 30

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Teochew

Servings:

Calories: 328kcal

Author: Jeannette

Equipment

Colanders
Steamer
brush
png kueh mold

Ingredients

For The Dough

1 US cup wheat starch
1 US cup glutinous rice flour (plus more to roll the wrapped balls in)
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
4 drops pink food coloring (or to preference)
1 US cup hot water
1 tbsp oil

For The Filling

100 g / 0.22 lb peanut
4 US cup water (for boiling the peanuts)
2 cloves garlic (crushed; for boiling with the peanuts)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
100 g / 0.22 lb dried shiitake mushrooms (rehydrated then roughly chopped)
100 g / 0.22 lb dried shrimp (rehydrated)
250 g / 0.55 lb glutinous rice
3 red shallot (finely chopped)
1 pandan leaf
3 tbsp oil (plus more for brushing over the dumplings)
2 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp chicken powder
1 US cup mushroom liquid (water reserved from soaking the mushrooms)
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
3/4 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

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.
Note: The mixture will be hot, so use a rubber spatula to help at first until it's warm enough to touch.
Once it starts to form a dough, add 1 tbsp oil in and knead until it forms a smooth yet slightly sticky dough.
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)!

Notes

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.
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.
Some families also include pork mince and cai po. If you want to use these extra ingredients, stir fry it into the glutinous rice.
Aunty bought her dumping molds from Vietnam. 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.

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