Recipe: Baan Lao’s Chor Chompoo (Thai Flower Dumplings)

Delicate, pale pink steamed dumplings with a sweet and savoury chicken, preserved radish and peanut filling.

These traditional Thai flower-shaped dumplings are filled with a fragrant mixture of chicken, sweet preserved radish and roasted peanuts. Their delicate wrappers are tinted pale pink with natural beetroot extract, then carefully shaped by hand using tweezers to create intricate flower petals.

● A few drops of pure beetroot extract, enough to achieve a pale pink colour

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander root, garlic and white pepper. Sauté for about 1 minute, until fragrant.

2. Add the ground chicken, breaking it into small pieces with a spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.

3. Stir in the palm sugar, preserved radish and fish sauce. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes thick, sticky and cohesive.

4. Stir in the crushed peanuts. Remove from the heat and allow the filling to cool completely.

5. Once cooled, roll the filling into small, evenly sized balls, approximately the size of marbles. Set aside.

1. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the rice flour and tapioca flour. Stir in the coconut milk.

2. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add a few drops of beetroot extract, adjusting the amount to achieve a delicate pale pink colour.

3. Gradually pour the coloured boiling water into the flour mixture, stirring vigorously with a sturdy wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.

4. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, knead for 2–3 minutes until the dough becomes smooth, supple and no longer sticky.

5. Keep the dough tightly covered with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

1. Portion the dough. Pinch off a piece of dough slightly larger than one filling ball. Roll it into a smooth sphere.