Recipe
Guest Post: Woo Kok 芋角 (Taro/Yam Puff) Recipe
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
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I have long been reading her blog. Like me, she is Malaysian-Chinese. She really has great skills and talent in cooking. What’s more, her baking usually blows my mind away! One day, I was checking her blog and saw Fried Egg, Sunny Side Up Dessert that really caught my attention! I thought that was a great idea! Today, I am very happy to have Ellie from Almost Bourdain sharing a delicious and popular Dim Sum recipe with us!
When Leemei from My Cooking Hut sent me an email asking me to do a guest post for her wonderful blog, I knew immediately what kind of food I wanted to make. I wanted to make something that is connected to “our roots”. We are both born in Malaysia, Chinese by ethnicity, married to a European (I am married to a Dutch and she has a French partner) and living in foreign countries.
My grandparents moved to Malaysia from China almost a century ago. They didn’t bring along a lot of luggage, but they did bring along a wealth of knowledge about the food they grew up with in China. They passed on the knowledge from generations to generations. I haven’t visited the province / city my grandparents came from, but I am connected to them via my knowledge of food.

Thanks to blogging, it makes it possible for me to be connected to so many wonderful Malaysian food bloggers. Regardless of where we are resided, we are all connect by one word – “food”. I am happy to share a popular Chinese yum cha (dim sum) recipe – Woo Kok 芋角(Taro / Yam Puffs). I have adapted the pastry recipe from ‘lobster taro pastries’ by one of the Australian leading chefs, Christine Mansfield. The taro pastry is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly how I like my taro pastry to be.


Guest Post: Woo Kok 芋角 (Taro/Yam Puff) Recipe
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
Ingredients:
For the Guest Post: Woo Kok 芋角 (Taro/Yam Puff) Recipe:
Taro Pastry:
500g taro root, peeled
1/3 cup wheat starch (澄麵粉)
130ml boiling water
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Chinese Five-spice powder
3 tbsp lard
Filling:
300g BBQ pork (Char Siu), diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tbsp sugar
Method:
1. To make filling: Add oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, corn flour and sugar in a small bowl and stir to mix well. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Stir fry onion for 3 minutes or until soft. Add BBQ pork and stir-fry for another minute. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, corn flour and sugar mixture. Stir well until heated and sauce thickened. Leave aside to cool.
2. To make pastry: Cut the peeled taro into big chunks. Sit on a flat plate or tray and steam in a covered bamboo steamer basket for about 1 hour until soft. Mash the soft taro in a large bowl while still warm.
3. Mix the wheat starch and water to make paste, add to the taro and mix until combined and smooth. Add the salt, five spice and lard and knead well to combine. The dough should be soft and pliable. Cover the dough with a cloth while you proceed to roll and assemble the pastries.
4. To make each pastry, break off a small amount of dough, roll to make a round think disk then flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Put a small spoonful of char siu filling in the centre with the edges lifted, like a small well. Then, press the edges together and smooth out, to make an oval shaped pastry with a flat bottom. Discard any excess pastry.
5. Line a tray with baking paper and dust with rice flour to prevent sticking. Sit the pastry in a single layer on the tray.
6. Heat the oil in a deep fryer or wok to 180C, add a few pastries at a time and fry for 5 minutes until crisp and flaky. Drain on paper towel and serve with a hot chilli sauce.
I want this :))
It looks yummy, isn't it?
Very nice post! I met Ellie this year when I was travelling in Australia, it's a very nice person and talented foodblogger, I love her recipes and photos. Nice idea Leemei to invite her to post on your blog!
Yummy woo kok!
Definitely!
Fantastic guest post by Ellie. Her yam puffs are perfect! Great collaboration between 2 of my favourite bloogers. 🙂
Thanks! 🙂
ooo looks delish! Though the pastry does look different to the wu kok you tend to see in HK with much flakier pastry. =)
Yeah, I think I know the one you were referring to..
I read Ellie's blog regularly and am glad that with guest posts like these they lead me to discover other wonderful blogs like yours. The yam puff is something I have always wanted to try and as usual, we can trust Ellie to turn this out beautifully!
Hi Shirley, thanks for dropping by! It definitely is something I want to try making at home.
Nice post… and yummy woo kok.
wanted to make some many many moons ago …but I am still searching for wheat starch :S
That looks amazing!
Thanks to Ellie for sharing with us! 🙂
This is one of my favorite dim sum foods and I cannot wait to try out this recipe! Ellie, I truly adore everything you make and now I've been introduced to a new blog to follow!
Glad to know you through Ellie 🙂
Woo Kok is my Mum's favorite. We never fail to order this whenever we go eat dim sum. Should I or should i not try making this? With you recipe, I think I should!
yes, I think you should 🙂
I love woo kok, and always order it when I'm having dim sum. I love Ellie's blog, and I love that's she guest posting over here! Great recipe, will bookmark it. Now all I need to do is to get over my fear of deep frying! 😛
I've never tried these…they look very crisp. Thanks for sharing another wonderful creation Ellie!
These look great — wonderful shots, Ellie! Thanks for having one of my other favorite bloggers as a guest, Leemei.
wow nice.. Thanks to Ellie, I've found another great blog to savour at 😛 Love eating woo kok at dim sum restaurants… yumm..
Great guest post! My hubs is a huge fan of this dim sum dish, bookmarked!
Give it a go!
Woo kok is my favourite dim sum. They look so tasty and crisp! I don't think I have the talent to make them from scratch. Well done, Ellie! 😉
I think Woo kok is someting that everyone loves 🙂
Delicious!! I've never had anything like this and am so intrigued. 🙂
I love this taro pastry, every time at dim sum I make sure that I get some…I love the crispy layer of this pastry…SO yummie!
Definitely one of my favs too 🙂
Does anyone know if you can replace the lard with anything? Maybe butter?
I was just thinking if to replace vegetable oil would work?
This is my favorite when dine out for dim sum. 🙂
Lovely contribution from Ellie!
This is a must order for us when we have dim sum, I never attempt making this myself. Maybe I should try it out once I get some nice yam/taro. Thanks for sharing Ellie.
I have never attempted too!
Mmmmm..one of my absolute favourites! A must have when we have dim sum….
This has been on my to do list for awhile..haven't got round to it….soon soon
looks nice & makes me wanna bite into one. i've been wanting to make this but like with so many other recipes, it remains in the 'to do' list for who knows how long more :). ellie's got a talent for sure!
Leemei, thanks again for inviting to be your guest blogger!
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Ellie is a great cook/baker! These taro puffs look to-die-for delicious 🙂
Totally agreed!
a great guest post and great fotography! This is my first time here. Glad I found you 🙂
Thanks for dropping by! Hope to see you stick around 😉
I'm so impressed you made this from scratch! Wow! My favourite dim sum dish!
Ellie is very talented!! I have never attempted this!
Hi Zico,
Well, I wouldn’t advise to use other kind of pastry as it will not be Tafo puff. Unless you don’t mind of making into a different pastry, then you can always use any other pastry sheet. But, it will not be of how it is look and taste.