Name: Ba wan (home recipe)
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Ingredients: Skin: 200g sweet-potato starch, 100g rice flour, 400ml hot water; Filling: 300g pork shoulder, diced fine; 60g bamboo shoots, diced; 30g dried shiitake, soaked and chopped; 30ml dark soy sauce; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine; 1 teaspoon five-spice; 30g fried shallots; Sweet sauce: 60ml ketchup, 30ml miso, 30g sugar, 60ml water, 1 teaspoon cornflour

History

Ba wan was invented in 1898 in Beidou, Changhua, by Fan Wan-Chu, after a flood washed away the family's other ingredients and left only sweet-potato flour and pork. The dumpling spread north to Taipei, where it became a Bib Gourmand-recognised dish at Shilin Night Market and Tonghua. Sometimes called 'big circle' for its shape, the skin is intentionally chewy and translucent, distinct from regular jiaozi.

Common allergens: Gluten, Pork

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

Skin: 200g sweet-potato starch, 100g rice flour, 400ml hot water
Filling: 300g pork shoulder, diced fine
60g bamboo shoots, diced
30g dried shiitake, soaked and chopped
30ml dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
1 teaspoon five-spice
30g fried shallots
Sweet sauce: 60ml ketchup, 30ml miso, 30g sugar, 60ml water, 1 teaspoon cornflour

Method

Make filling: stir-fry pork until browned, add shiitake, bamboo, soy sauce, Shaoxing and five-spice. Cool. Stir in fried shallots.
Make skin: whisk hot water into the starch and rice flour mix until it forms a translucent paste.
Brush oil into 8 small ramekins or dim sum cups. Spread a layer of paste in each, add filling in the centre, cover with more paste.
Steam in a bamboo basket 30 minutes until the skin is translucent.
Make sauce: bring all sauce ingredients to a boil, simmer 2 minutes until thick.
Unmould ba wan, deep-fry briefly in hot oil 30 seconds (or skip and serve straight from the steamer). Glaze with sweet sauce.

Tip from the editors. The translucent skin is the test; if it turns white it's overcooked, if cloudy the water was too cool. Sweet-potato starch is critical for the skin.