Shrimp Dumplings

This tiny, pleated dumpling might well be the most familiar food of Canton. There is no other dim sum which is as popular. There is no teahouse which does not serve it. In fact, when I think of dim sum as a genre, what jumps into my mind is a picture of a woman pushing a cart full of steaming containers through a teahouse in Canton, intoning in a singsong voice, “Har gau, har gau.”

The dough for it and its filling are made in virtually the same way by every chef