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

Make the filling:

• Over medium-high heat, fry the ground pork in a wok or large frying pan, until almost cooked through.
• Add in mushrooms and continue to stir fry until aromatic.
• Next, add in carrot and cook for 1 minute.
• Add in garlic and shallot.
• Add in seasonings: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and 5-spice powder into the mixture.
• Next, add in shrimp.
• In a bowl, combine the flour and broth to make the slurry.

  Add slurry into the meat mixture, and cook until thickened.
• Transfer meat filling mixture to a bowl and cool completely.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight.

Make the taro dough:

• Place sliced taro in a stainless steel colander/steamer and steam on high heat for 30 minutes, until taro is soft and fork-tender.
• While taro steams, boil water.
• Place the wheat starch into a bowl.
• Cook 40g wheat starch by pouring boiling hot water into the wheat starch.
• Mix with a pair of chopsticks until all the flour comes together.
• Knead with your hands to form a smooth dough. Set aside.
• When the taro is done steaming, mash the piping hot taro with a fork or potato ricer right away, until there are no lumps.
• 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).
• Knead until well combined together.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Form the taro dumplings:

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

Fry the dumplings:

• Prior to frying, remove taro dumplings from fridge and leave at room temperature for a few hours.
• Heat 3 C of cooking oil in a pot.
• Attach a thermometer to the pot to check the frying oil temperature, about 165-170°C/329-338°F.
• 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.
• Dip a small oil strainer into the hot oil and place a dumpling on it.
• Lower strainer into the oil and fry by dipping it in and out of the oil 3 times, so the skin can start puffing.
• Fry about 3 minutes, until dumpling is golden in colour and develops a crispy, lacy crust.
• Fry one taro dumpling at a time.