taro puff

Learn how to make delicious woo kok without using shortening and still has that delicious crispy outer layer crust and soft savory filling.

Woo Kok (Fried Taro Puff)

700 gr taro (already peeled weight) (about 1 1/2 lbs)

Tbsp sugar

tsp salt

130 gr Wheat starch (about 1 cup 1 Tbsp. Only available at Asian grocery store)

ml water

200 gr shortening (or lard,

shiitake mushrooms (soaked,

Tbsp cooking oil

onion

garlic (finely minced)

180 gr pork or chicken (ground or finely chopped, preferably with some fat)

five-spice powder

tsp sugar

soy sauce

tsp dark soy sauce

Tbsp oyster sauce

tsp sesame oil

cornstarch (+ 1 Tbsp water)

Preheat some oil in a skillet. Add in the onion and saute until soft and fragrant. Add the pork and mushrooms and stir fry again until the meat turns color. Add the five-spice powder, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce. Have a taste and adjust to your liking. Mix cornstarch with water to make a cornstarch slurry and then pour in the meat mixture. Stir until it thickens. Set aside to cool down and pop into the refrigerator until the next day if you prepare ahead or let it cool down completely before wrapping if you prepare on the same day

Prepare the filling a day before if possible:

If you get the taro already peeled, then all you need to do is to cut it into smaller chunks or thin slices and steam on high heat until you can easily poke them with a fork, about 15 minutes. I pressure cook on high for 3 minutes. Mash the taro while it&#039;s hot with salt and sugar

Mix wheat starch with boiling water. This will precook the starch. Stir this into the taro mixture followed by shortening. Knead into a dough. The dough will still be somewhat sticky and very soft at this point. Continue to knead until the dough is smooth and shiny

Preparing the dough:

Cover with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator and let it rest for about 1 hour

The dough should be soft and pliable now. Give it a few kneads. Divide it into half and then half again until you get about 20 small dough, or more if you want them smaller. Work with one at a time and keep the rest cover to prevent it from drying. Flatten the dough with your palm to form a round shape. Spoon about 1/2-1 Tbsp of filling into the middle and then gather the edge and roll into an oval shape. Continue with the rest

Chill and shape the dough:

Place the shaped woo kok in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before frying. It helps to prevent the dough from falling apart during frying

Chill the shaped woo kok before frying:

The oil temperature is the most important part (and challenging) in frying woo kok. You want the oil to be hot before frying and lower the heat to medium-low or even low when you first fry the woo kok. This is the point where the crust forms

Preheat about 3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottom pot. Make sure the oil is really hot to start with. Then lower to medium-low and wait for about a minute before starting to fry. It is best if you can maintain the temperature between 320 - 330 F (160 - 170 C) when you start frying and fry one woo kok at a time until the spider web crust forms and then fry until they are crispy and golden brown. Don&#039;t fry on high heat, or the crispy layer will disperse all over the oil. Place on an absorbent paper towel and repeat with the rest

Deep frying:

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/MS1TOARI.mp4

Woo kok is a classic Cantonese dim sum dish that is favorited by many. Mashed Taro is formed into ovals and stuffed with meat and veggies and deep-fried and formed that spider web crust layer on the outside.

Crispy taro puffs, or 'wu gok' as they're known in Cantonese, are also sometimes referred to as 'phoenix tail crispy dumplings'. At traditional dim sum restaurants, the chef may sometimes cover the wu gok in phoenix tail shrimp, which is where this name comes from. Remember that it cannot be too crispy, so as to ensure its phoenix lifelike quality.

Wu Gok (Crispy Taro Puffs)

(600 grams) peeled taro

(150 grams) boiling water

(8 grams) chicken bouillon

flour

(150 grams) lard

(4 grams) salt

(150 grams) white mushroom,

(600 grams) diced chicken, blanched

(300 grams) diced shrimp, blanched

(150 grams) diced dried shiitake mushrooms, blanched

(19 grams) crushed garlic

(19 grams) dried crushed onion

eggs, beaten

(8 grams) salt

(15 grams) chicken bouillon

(23 grams) sugar

oyster sauce

½ cups (600 grams) stock

ground pepper

⅔ tablespoons (23 grams) sesame oil

potato

water, used

Heat oil in pot. Fry crushed garlic and dried crushed onion until fragrant. Add all filling ingredients (aside from the eggs), and fry until fragrant. Sprinkle a dash of cooking wine. Add seasoning ingredients and bring to a boil. Add potato starch and water until it achieves a thick consistency. Fry egg yolk. Scoop out and let cool.

How to make Wu Gok filling

Use boiling water to knead wheat flour into dough. Chop peeled taro into slices. Place into steamer basket and steam over high heat 20 minutes. Crush. Add salt, chicken bouillon, five-spice powder, and the wheat flour dough. Stir evenly. Then add salted hardboiled egg yolks and lard. Stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. This is the taro skin..

How to make Wu Gok skin

Separate taro skin into small circular wraps approximately 0.81 ounce (23 grams) each. Add about 0.81 ounce (23 grams) of filling to these and form into a dumpling shape, thus making the wu gok ready to be cooked.

Heat oil to 392 °F (200 °C). Add wu gok. Fry until golden brown and crispy. Remove from pot and strain away excess oil.

Put it all together

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Woo Kok (Fried Taro Puff)

Wu Gok (Crispy Taro Puffs)

Top 2 taro puff recipes from across the web

The most viewed taro puff recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Woo Kok (Fried Taro Puff)

Wu Gok (Crispy Taro Puffs)

The most viewed taro puff recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine