For key visual process photos, refer to the body of the blog post.

Make the filling:

Cup of Yum
1. Over medium-high heat, fry the ground pork in a wok or large frying pan, until almost cooked through.
2. Add in mushrooms and continue to stir fry until aromatic.
3. Next, add in carrot and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add in garlic and shallot.
5. Add in seasonings: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and 5-spice powder into the mixture.
6. Next, add in shrimp.
7. In a bowl, combine the flour and broth to make the slurry. Add slurry into the meat mixture, and cook until thickened.
8. Transfer meat filling mixture to a bowl and cool completely.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.

Make the taro dough:

1. Place sliced taro in a stainless steel colander/steamer and steam on high heat for 30 minutes, until taro is soft and fork-tender.
2. While taro steams, boil water.
3. Place the wheat starch into a bowl.
4. Cook 40g wheat starch by pouring boiling hot water into the wheat starch.
5. Mix with a pair of chopsticks until all the flour comes together.
6. Knead with your hands to form a smooth dough. Set aside.
7. When the taro is done steaming, mash the piping hot taro with a fork or potato ricer right away, until there are no lumps.
8. Add the cooked wheat starch dough, remaining 30g wheat starch, salt, sugar, 5-spice powder, black pepper, butter, sesame oil and baking ammonia (if using).
9. Knead until well combined together.
10. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Form the taro dumplings:

1. Remove the dough out of the fridge and roll the dough into a long log.
2. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions, 38-39g each, and roll into balls.
3. Flatten the dough balls into a disc.
4. Place a portion of filling in the centre and enclose the filling by folding into a half-moon shape, and seal the edges.
5. Form the dumpling into a boat-shape.
6. Repeat with the remainder.
7. Cover and chill taro dumplings for at least 30 minutes. 

Fry the dumplings:

1. Prior to frying, remove taro dumplings from fridge and leave at room temperature for a few hours.
2. Heat 3 C of cooking oil in a pot.
3. Attach a thermometer to the pot to check the frying oil temperature, about 165-170°C/329-338°F.
4. Note: Too low of an oil temperature, dough skin will peel off and disintegrate and too high a temperature, the dough will be cooked before it can form the lacey texture.
5. Dip a small oil strainer into the hot oil and place a dumpling on it.
6. Lower strainer into the oil and fry by dipping it in and out of the oil 3 times, so the skin can start puffing.
7. Fry about 3 minutes, until dumpling is golden in colour and develops a crispy, lacy crust.
8. Fry one taro dumpling at a time.