Chor muang
ช่อม่วง · flower dumplings
Intricately pinched Thai flower dumplings historically associated with royal cuisine, filled with sweet-savory meat or vegetables. Its name means “purple bouquet,” describing its flower-like form.
About this dish
Intricately pinched Thai flower dumplings historically associated with royal cuisine, filled with sweet-savory meat or vegetables. The recipe here chooses one named variation from that wider tradition; household fillings, shapes and serving styles may differ.
Recipe
Thai purple flower chor muang
Dough
- 120 g plain rice flour
- 30 g tapioca starch
- 15 g glutinous rice flour
- 180 ml butterfly-pea tea (made from 1 tsp food-grade dried flowers)
- 60 ml coconut milk
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp oil
- 15 g plain rice flour and 10 g tapioca starch for dusting
Filling
- 150 g ground pork
- 1 small onion (80 g), minced
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 cilantro roots
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 30 g palm sugar
- 40 g roasted peanuts, ground
- 1
Filling: 150 g ground pork; 1 small onion (80 g), minced; 2 garlic cloves; plus the remaining ingredients listed for this component. Pound garlic, cilantro roots and pepper. Cook paste and onion in filling oil, add pork and cook through. Add fish sauce, sugar and peanuts; cook until fairly dry and cool. Pound aromatics finely, cook pork to 71°C/160°F and reduce until fairly dry; cool promptly.
- 2
Dough: 120 g plain rice flour; 30 g tapioca starch; 15 g glutinous rice flour; plus the remaining ingredients listed for this component. Mix the dusting flours separately. Whisk the remaining dough ingredients cold in a nonstick pan. Cook on low heat, stirring until it gathers into a soft dough; knead while warm. Whisk cold before heating and scrape over low heat. Knead once safe, keep dough warm and covered.
- 3
Divide into 24, flatten each portion and enclose an equal share of filling. Roll smooth. Use dusting-flour-coated chor muang tweezers to pinch staggered rings of petals without piercing the shell. Keep filling below rim, smooth cracks before pinching and dust tweezers lightly. Pinch surface only, never through the shell.
- 4
Steam on an oiled lining over boiling water 7-10 minutes, until dough is cooked. Serve warm. Leave gaps, time from steady steam and test a tender shell. Lift carefully and cool centers briefly before eating.
Note
Special food-safe chor muang tweezers make the flower petals. Use culinary butterfly-pea flowers; lime shifts their blue color toward purple. Dusting flour or starch is separate from the mixed dough; use only what is needed on the work surface.