Learn to make these deliciously crispy Indonesian fried dumplings filled with beef, and served with two homemade dipping sauces! This recipe for Pansit Goreng, (which means “Fried Dumpling” in Indonesian) is pretty straightforward to follow, and makes 50 beautiful crispy dumplings! Filled with beef, celery, and spices, the flavor of these dumplings almost doesn’t need any sauce. However, we make two sauces, one based on orange juice and tomato paste, and one based on ketjap manis.
In the Navy, when we would get Indonesian food on Wednesday, these were my favorite appetizer! We now serve them as a finger snack at parties, or as an appetizer with an Indonesian rijsttafel!
Pangsit Goreng: Indonesian Fried Dumplings Filled With Beef
Learn to make these deliciously crispy Indonesian fried dumplings filled with beef, and served with two homemade dipping sauces! This recipe for Pansit Goreng, (which means "Fried Dumpling" in Indonesian) is pretty straightforward to follow, and makes 50 beautiful crispy dumplings! Filled with beef, celery, and spices, the flavor of these dumplings almost doesn't need any sauce. However, we make two sauces, one based on orange juice and tomato paste, and one based on ketjap manis.
Chop the celery into small pieces. Watch the video to see a way to make this easier to do!
Grate the garlic and ginger into separate bowls.
Simply mix all the ingredients together, and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.NoteBecause everyone has different preferences (as the Dutch say: "Smaken verschillen.") I recommend that you scale back the seasonings in the meat mixture. Mix it, then fry up a teaspoon worth of filling, and taste it. Adjust the seasoning, fry up another teaspoon, taste. Repeat this until the flavor of the filling is to your liking.
When the meat is to your liking, cover it with clingfilm, and let it marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes
Sauce #1
Peel the garlic cloves, and cut the onion into pieces.
In a saucepan, over medium-high heat, heat up a tablespoon of oil.
Cook the garlic cloves for a little bit; you don't want to brown these.
Add the onions, and cook, while stirring, until the onions turn translucent.
Add the orange juice, tomato paste, salt, sugar, and sambal, and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a few minutes.
Taste, and adjust to your liking. Add more sugar if you think it's too spicy, or more sambal if you think it's too sweet. If it tastes a bit bland, add some salt. If you're going to add salt, add it first, then taste it, before adjusting sugar/sambal.
Create a slurry of corn starch and water. Add this to the sauce and stir it through really well. Bring it to a boil, and let it boil for a minute or so until the sauce thickens.
If the sauce gets too thick, you can add water or orange juice to thin it out a bit.
Strain the sauce into a container. I like to serve this sauce lukewarm. You can either heat it up in the microwave if it's too cold or in a small saucepan on the stove. If the sauce gets too thick when you reheat it, simply add some warm water.
Shaping the dumplings
This may seem daunting because oftentimes you see these beautifully folded dumplings that take years of practice. However, for these, you make a very straightforward fold that is easy to do.
Lay the wrapper on your board with one of the points towards you. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the diamond. Wet the two edges closest to you, and then fold the point furthest away from you towards you. Squeeze the edges together, and you're done!
A bit more elaborate is that, after you have created the triangle, is to take two corners on the same side and bring them together.
Repeat this for all the dumplings.
Cover them with a damp towel, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
Sauce #2
While the dumplings are sitting in the fridge, heat your oil in a deep fryer, or heavy-bottomed Dutch oven to 175ºC (350F).
Mix all the sauce ingredients really well, and taste. Season with salt if necessary, or add more sambal if you want it to be a bit spicier.
Frying the Dumplings
Fry the dumplings for approximately 4 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Do not overcrowd your pan/fryer. I fried 9-10 dumplings at a time in my 4qt deep fryer.
You can check the temperature of the beef after taking it out of the fryer, it should read at least 74ºC (165F)
