Minced Meat and Mung Bean Dumplings (Bak Kueh)

These bak kueh-inspired minced meat and mung bean dumplings feature a soft, chewy skin, savory pork and mung bean filling, and fragrant banana leaf wrapping.

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These steamed minced meat and mung bean dumplings are made with a soft, slightly chewy glutinous rice flour and potato skin wrapped around a savory filling of seasoned ground pork, mung beans, and crispy fried shallots. Each dumpling is wrapped in banana leaf and steamed until soft, chewy, and fragrant.
This recipe is a little different from many dumplings you may be familiar with because the filling isn’t simply meat. The combination of ground pork and mung beans gives the filling a soft, almost paste-like texture, while the fried shallots add a wonderful savory sweetness.

A recipe made from memories

A reader once reached out to me asking if I could recreate something their aunt used to make. Unfortunately, their aunt had passed away, and there were no written notes or recipes left behind. All they had were memories and descriptions of what the dumplings looked and tasted like. So I developed this recipe based on those descriptions. I’m so happy to say that the result came pretty close to what they remembered their aunt making.
She wasn’t entirely sure whether the recipe originated from Malaysia or Singapore, but in their family, these were called “bak kueh.” “Bak” generally refers to meat, while “kueh” is a broad term used for many types of cakes or snack foods and can refer to both sweet and savory preparations, many of which are steamed.
Since I couldn’t find a definitive traditional English name for this particular preparation, I call them minced meat and mung bean dumplings. The name describes exactly what they are, while “bak kueh” is the name I like to preserve from the family who inspired this recipe.

Ingredients and substitutions

1. Glutinous rice flour: This forms the chewy, soft outer skin of the dumplings. Glutinous rice flour is essential here because regular rice flour will not give you the same texture. No substitutions for this
2. Mashed potato: Mashed potato makes the skin softer and more pliable and helps keep it from becoming overly tough after steaming.
3. Hot boiling water: The hot water partially gelatinizes the glutinous rice flour, helping create a soft and workable dough.
4. Oil: A little oil makes the dough smoother and more supple and easier to wrap.
5. Split mung beans: These are cooked until tender and used partly mashed and partly whole, giving the filling some texture while also helping bind everything together.
6. Ground pork: Ground pork provides the savory, meaty component of the filling. Ground chicken or turkey can be used, although the flavor will be slightly different.
7. Dark soy sauce: This adds color and a deeper soy flavor to the pork.
8. Soy sauce: Regular soy sauce provides the main salty, savory seasoning.
9. Five-spice powder: Just a small amount gives the filling a warm, aromatic flavor without overpowering the mung beans and pork. You can skip if you don’t have it, but I don’t recommend it
10. Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds a nutty aroma to the filling.
11. Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps bind the meat mixture together and gives the filling a softer, cohesive texture.
12. Chicken powder: This adds extra savory depth. You can substitute with a little chicken bouillon powder if that is what you have.
13. Brown sugar: A small amount balances the savory seasoning and gives the filling a subtle sweetness.
14. Oil: Use this for frying the shallots and cooking the pork.
15. Shallots: Fried shallots are an important part of the filling. They add sweetness, fragrance, and little bits of texture throughout the dumpling. You can use red onion in a pinch
16. Banana leaves: Banana leaves are used to wrap the dumplings while steaming. They add a subtle fragrance and also make the dumplings easier to handle.

How to serve

1. These dumplings are best served warm or at room temperature.
2. You can leave them wrapped in the banana leaves until you’re ready to eat them. The banana leaves also make them convenient to pick up and serve.
3. I personally like to unwrap them just before eating so you get the aroma from the banana leaf as you open the parcel.

Storage and reheating

1. Refrigerator: Let the dumplings cool completely, then place them in an airtight container. They can be refrigerated for about 3–4 days.
2. Steamer: Reheat refrigerated dumplings in a steamer for about 5 minutes, or until heated through.
3. Microwave: You can also microwave them for 1–2 minutes, or until heated through. Covering them loosely with a damp paper towel helps keep the skin from drying out.
4. Freezer: For longer storage, freeze the cooled dumplings in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag for up to 1 month.
5. From frozen: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in the steamer or microwave until completely heated through.

Tips for making bak kueh

1. Don’t skip soaking the mung beans: The mung beans need to be properly hydrated before steaming so they cook evenly and become soft enough to mash.
2. Keep some mung beans whole: Mashing only half of the mung beans gives the filling a nicer texture. The mashed portion helps bind the filling while the whole beans provide little bites of texture.
3. Don’t make the filling too dry: The filling should be moist and somewhat mushy rather than crumbly. Add water a tablespoon at a time if necessary while cooking.
4. Cool the filling completely: Warm filling can make the dough soft and difficult to handle. Cooling it completely makes wrapping much easier.
5. Work quickly with the dough: Glutinous rice flour dough can develop a dry surface if left uncovered. Keep the unused dough balls covered while you wrap each dumpling.
6. Adjust the dough gradually: The exact amount of water needed can vary depending on how moist your mashed potatoes are. Add the water gradually rather than adding all of it at once.
7. Don’t skip the banana leaves: Besides being traditional-looking, the banana leaves make the dumplings easier to steam and handle and give them a lovely subtle fragrance.

What I love most about this recipe is that it came from someone’s memory of food made by a loved one. There was no old recipe card to work from and no written instructions to follow. Instead, there were descriptions of the dumplings, the filling, the banana leaf wrapping, and the memories of how they tasted. From those details, I worked on developing a recipe that could hopefully recreate something familiar. I’m always especially happy when a recipe like this works—not necessarily because it is the most traditional or definitive version, but because it gives someone a way to make something they thought they might never taste again. I hope this recipe can do the same for you.