An old time favorite and no.1 on the Indofood appetizer chart: Pangsit Goreng. This deep-fried dumpling with special meat mixture was a great starter at our restaurant Djokja in Amsterdam. One regular guest would always call ahead: “I am on my way, can you have 3 orders of Pangsit Goreng ready at my table?” Pangsit Goreng means ‘fried dumpling’ in Indonesian and is a gift from the Chinese-Indonesian community.
I grew up folding these little crispy surprises in the back room of our restaurant. It takes a certain technique and it took me several tries to get the hang of how to fold these. To me it is like a form of meditation and more fun if you do it with a friend.
Filling for about 64 Pangsit Goreng
14 oz ground beef or blend of 50% beef and 50% pork
3.5 oz. small precooked shrimp
1 tablespoon leek, chopped and crushed
1 teaspoon garlic, powder
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon pepper
Dipping sauce (for 4 persons)
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 teaspoons ginger syrup
1.5 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 sambal oelek
1 teaspoon salt
Prepare the filling:
In a bowl, combine the ground meat with the shrimp, leek, garlic ground, egg yolk, salt and pepper. I use a food processor to mix it up. Place 1 teaspoon of filling into the center of a wrapper. Fold one corner up and over the filling, almost to the top and press gently to close. Turn the package over pointing down. Take the 2 outer corners with thumbs and index fingers and fold these up, then stick them together into a triangle with a dab of beaten egg yolk or a slurry of flour and water. Repeat with all the pastry sheets. Heat the oil to 375F and fry the pangsit goreng until golden brown, then drain on paper towel.
Prepare the dipping sauce:
Melt the butter and sauté the garlic. Add the tomato ketchup, ginger syrup, sugar and 1/3 cup water; continue stirring until the sugar has dissolved. add the vinegar and salt, then taste the sauce: it should have a mild sweet and sour flavor. Add a little water if the consistency is too thick.
Now crunch away!
PS: If you have leftover meat mixture, you can keep folding and put the pangsit in the freezer. If you are out of wonton skins, use the meat to fry little meatballs.
Pangsit Goreng when it is ready to be deep fried.
