Fun guo
🍖 With meat or fishFun guo is a steamed dumpling from the Chaoshan area on the eastern coast of Guangdong, in southern China. It is recognised by its thick, slightly translucent wrapper made from starches and its savoury filling of meat and dried vegetables.
History
Fun guo comes from Chaoshan, the Chaozhou-speaking area on the eastern coast of Guangdong. In Chaozhou it is written 潮州粉果 (cháozhōu fěnguǒ), and in the local Min Nan dialect the dumplings are called hung gue (粉餜). Over time they have become better known by their Cantonese name, reflecting the influence of Canton on how these dumplings spread.
The wrapper is what sets them apart. It is made by mixing boiling water with wheat starch (澄面), tapioca flour (菱粉) and corn or potato starch (生粉), which gives a thick, slightly translucent skin. The classic filling combines chopped peanuts, garlic chives, minced pork, dried shrimp, dried radish and shiitake, though coriander, jicama or dried daikon also appear.
Outside Chaoshan they are eaten elsewhere in Guangdong. In Hawaii they are called pepeiao, the Hawaiian word for 'ear', a name that refers to their shape.
Culture
In Chaoshan fun guo is part of everyday cooking and home tables, and it also appears on Cantonese-style dim sum menus. It is usually served with a small dish of chilli oil for dipping, a touch that complements its mild flavour.
Its appearance resembles har gaw, the Cantonese shrimp dumpling, so the two are often confused. The Chaozhou version differs in its thicker wrapper and in its filling of dried vegetables, peanuts and garlic chives. This variety of fillings explains why each local kitchen adapts the recipe.
Today it remains popular in Guangdong and in Chinese communities abroad, where it is found in specialist restaurants and in home cooking.