I had some problems working out this recipe. Firstly, I misread grandmother’s handwriting as ‘Tim Kor’ instead of ‘Fun Kor’. Secondly, she wrote a second recipe on the same page in the same pen for ‘Chye Yean’. As there were no cooking instructions, and only partial ingredients for the Fun Kor, I failed to realise what dish was being written about.
Thanks to the fabulous readers here, I’ve got it all sorted out now. Please see the comments from Chris, Lily Ng and Claire below.
Fun Kor 粉果 is a steamed dumpling, originally a Teochew dish, but more commonly known by its Cantonese name. I surmise that this is because of the Teochew (Chiu chow) influence in Hong Kong. Fun Kor is commonly found in dim sum, a style of eating that developed in Hong Kong.
In the comments below, reader Claire also provides instructions on how her mother makes the Fun Kor skin, using similar basic ingredients to my grandmother, as well details of the meat filling. I’m sure you can find other recipes on the internet and in dim sum cookbooks. Claire refers to ‘jicama‘, which is known in Singapore/Malaysia as bangkuang.
So grandma’s notes here are only for the flour proportions for the Fun Kor skin. You’ll need to add water and cooking oil as well, not to mention making the filling of your choice.
Tung mean” flour refers to wheat starch, which goes by various Chinese names: 澄 麵粉/澄粉/澄麵, usually used in dim sum dishes to give a glossy sheen to the food. It’s easily available in Singapore supermarkets that have a good selection of Asian flours, such as NTUC, or baking suppliers like Phoon Huat.
Wondering if “Tim Kor”is actually “Fun Kor”which is made from wheat starch, usually mixing the flour with hot water to bring out the elasticity. I ain’t a cook but just a foodie, so that’s abt the level of expertise i can offer!
Hi Chris,
I think you are right. I had a closer look at grandmother’s handwriting and it does look more like and “F” than a “T” so you are probably right. I will amend the posting now :)! A million thanks!
i think grandmother had 3 reicpes in the same page.
fun kor aka chai kuih aka ???? is made with wheat starch and cornstarch or tapioca starch.
the other 2 recipes below are for agar agar recipes
Hi,
Fun Gor (Cantonese term) is a Chiu-Chow style steamed dumpling that is popular in Cantonese dim sum houses. Wikipedia has a good information about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fun_guo
My mom makes fun gor skin (which is what your grandmother’s recipe is like) with wheat starch, tapioca starch, salt, oil and water and she uses a tortilla press to make it thin and round.
The filling my mom uses is ground pork, dried shrimp, jicama, dried turnip (chung-choy in Cantonese), and some green onions and she seasons it with salt, soy sauce, sugar and oil. She then steams them in a steamer with parchment paper.
Wonderful!! Thanks Lily and Claire for your invaluable help! I will edit this posting, adding in the new information and separating the Fun Kor and Chye Yean recipes.
It is the first time I try to make fun gor skin. I have no clue about how to make it all all. Can you please help me for the complete procedure? thanks vm
Dear Rebecca,
I’ve never made Fun Gor skin before either! You’ll have to take my grandmother’s notes here ‘as is’. I’m sure you can find more detailed instructions somewhere else on the internet. Good luck!