Fried Peanut and Coconut Dumplings

the tiny sweet dumpling to celebrate the year of the snake!

Happy almost Lunar New Year! I just touched down in New York City and I’ll be on the East Coast for the whole week celebrating with The Today Show (I’m on tomorrow/Tuesday during the 9am hour), Yu & Me Books, NY Cookbook Club, and Momma Cho. I’m thankful that the stars aligned this year and my mom is able to come backstage with me for the Today Show because she has been a super fan for as long as I’ve been alive. Fingers-cross I’ll have some fun photos with her favorite anchor, Al Roker, tomorrow! In between book talks and live TV, we will be on the hunt for hand-pulled noodles and dim sum. We haven’t had a chance to venture into Chinatown yet but we’ll be there tomorrow night which is LNY eve and I have a feeling the vibes are going to be high!

Before I left San Francisco, I made a batch of these Sweet Peanut and Coconut Dumplings (Gok Zai) and packaged them up in a tin to bring to my mom as a little LNY gift. Thank you SFO TSA for not taking them from me. My mom told me how my pau pau used to make these in Hong Kong but never made them again once they moved to Cleveland. So it’s been over 50 years since a homemade version has made an appearance in our family. These kinds of recipes are some of my favorite to develop, ones that have been nearly forgotten and you’re sort of chasing a memory.

I would consider Gok Zai more like a fritter or fried pastry rather than a dumpling. The dough is enriched with egg and coconut oil (lard is typical) for a flaky shortcrust like texture. These are a very traditional Cantonese sweet that is most commonly made during the Lunar New Year. I stopped by San Francisco Chinatown right before I left town and the bakery windows are full of them. Even a few days before the new year, SF Chinatown was bustling and so festive! The best LNY window display always goes to Abacus Row.

Anyways, through a few rounds of recipe testing I’m so excited and happy about my version of Gok Zai. The filling is slightly gooier than a typical filling, which I would describe as crumbly and dry. Peanuts and coconut are a must, but instead of granulated sugar I added honey for sweetness. The honey plus the addition of peanut butter helps bind the mixture together, which makes the filling process 100 times easier and you get more filling per dumpling. When they are still warm after frying, the peanut butter is luscious and a little runny… so so good.

If you’re asking if you bake them, my answer is: I think so? But I didn’t test them baked. Frying seems to be the universal cooking method during yearly celebrations so that was one characteristic I didn’t want to stray from.

Now I have a new recipe to add to my Lunar New Year traditions and I hope you find the time to add it to yours too! I’m going to eat one of these in Central Park with Momma Cho ☺️

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Fried Peanut and Coconut Dumplings (Gok Zai)

Makes 25 small dumplings