Jau Gok Peanut Puff Dumpling 炸油角 / 炸角仔

Jau Gok, Peanut Puff, Dumpling, Tim Gok, Yau Kwok, Gok Jai, 炸油角, 油角, 炸角仔, 角仔, recipe, chinese new year, snack, food, how to wrap, yau gok

This post is inspired by the stories that have come in from our dear readers that spoke of their fond memories of the making and eating of the traditional Chinese New Year Treat, Jau Gok Peanut Puff Dumpling, 油角 or 角仔, also known as Tim Gok or Gok Jai. This sweet treat is especially made by grandmas and grandpas, mothers and fathers for the Chinese New Year festivities as snacks to munch on and to share with the many Chinese New Year guests expected.

Another good reason to make and serve these crunchy munchies is that the distinctive shape of the Jau Gok is evocative of the gold ingots that the Chinese used for centuries as money. So you could make and eat piles of golden ingots, what better way to start off the Year of the Monkey!?

Gold ingot used as currency in ancient China

Jau Gok gadget

The Jau Gok Peanut Puff Dumpling is not too hard to make, the one thing that is more of a challenge is the folding of the dumplings into its distinctive shape. A few months ago I happened upon an interesting gadget in an old kitchen store that I like to rumble through every once in a while. What was this funny wood gadget? The kitchen store lady told me that it was for making Jau Gok! How cool was this! I knew right away that I had to try making Jau Gok with this quaint and beautiful little gadget.

(We also wrapped Jau Gok the traditional way, see our How to Wrap Jau Gok post.)

Peanuts are the main filling for the Jau Gok. Get some nice fresh peanuts and give everything a rough chop.

The supporting characters for the Jau Gok filling are dried coconut and sesame seeds. Mixed together and roasted over a low heat until aromatic, this filling is crunchy and tasty.

Roll out your Jau Gok dough then use a glass of the right size as a cutter for the dough. Easy peasy. Apparently you can also use round Jiaozi dumpling skins if desired. I haven't tried using those but that would cut out the time needed to make the dough.

Now for the folding. Place your round of dough over the Jau Gok gadget. (I think that these more modern dumpling presses would work just as well.) Spoon a scant teaspoon of filling into the center.

So easy, just fold over the Jau Gok gadget, press down and then...

...open! TA-DA! Perfect Jau Gok with minimal effort! The dough sticks a bit so be sure to flour your gadget with a light dusting of flour first. (I forgot, obviously, so it stuck a bit but I was able to get it out okay...thank goodness!)

As you wrap the yau gok dumplings be sure to cover the finished ones with a towel or something to keep them from drying out. I used my trusty silicone baking sheet to throw over the dumplings (I love my silicone sheets, they're so useful!)

Hope you like our recipe for Jau Gok Peanut Puff Dumpling 炸油角 / 炸角仔! If you're looking for a fun and festive treat to make for the Chinese New Year this just might be the thing! Make lots and lots and share the golden luck with all your family and friends. (And don't forget to look at our How to Wrap Jau Gok post for in depth wrapping instructions!)

Until next time, Happy Chinese Monkey Year!

Jau Gok Peanut Puff Dumpling Recipe

炸油角 / 炸角仔

Prep time: 20 mins Dough rest time: 1 hour Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

2 nos 2 1/2 inch dumpling press

Skin Dough

2.4 cup cake flour, 300g
5 tbsp oil, melted butter or lard, 70g
2 eggs
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp caster sugar

Filling

1/2 cup chopped peanuts, 80g
4 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp shredded coconut
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp melted butter or lard

Directions:

Roast peanuts, sesame seeds and coconut in a pan over low heat, stirring until aromatic. Mix in sugar and melted butter or lard.

In separate bowl stir together oil, eggs, water and sugar. Add in flour and stir in a dough. Knead a few times, then cover and let rest for 1 hour.

On a silicon mat or a lightly floured surface roll out dough to 1/8" thickness. Use a 2"-2 1/2" cookie cutter (or a overturned glass) to cut out circular dough shapes.

If using dumpling press, lightly flour gadget, place dough round on gadget, add scant 1 tsp filling, close gadget and press firmly. Remove yau gok.

If wrapping manually, add scant 1 tsp filling onto each dough round, fold the wrap over and pinch shut, then crimp the edges together until well sealed. (See our detailed post on How to Wrap Yau Gok.)

Fill small pot with 1 1/2" oil. Deep fry yau gok at medium low heat 340F (170C) for approx 2 mins, or until just golden brown. Flip over and repeat. Remove immediately and let drain on kitchen towels. The yau gok will continue cooking and brown a bit more as it cools.

Serve fresh is best or keep in airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Chinese New Year at The Hong Kong Cookery: