Perfect Crispy Gau Gee at Home: Hawaii’s Favorite Party Appetizer

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What is Crispy Gau Gee?

Let me tell you that Gau Gee is one of the ol’ gee recipes recognized in Hawaii. Crunchy is my favorite food texture, and this recipe hits that spot! 

Crispy Gau Gee is filled with ground pork and various veggies, chestnuts, and magical sauces. Wrapped in the simple form of a rectangle using a classic wonton wrapper and deep-fried to golden perfection. 

Where do you find Crispy Gau Gee?

Whoever brought that big pan of Crispy Gau Gee was always favored in my eyes! Either that aunty or uncle made it homemade or ordered a large pan from a local chop suey, they knew how to bring onolicious food to a party.

With that said, you typically will see Crispy Gau Gee in Chinese restaurants. They serve all sorts of delicious dishes, but by far Crispy Gau Gee is always a must-have. Here are some favorite local chop suey in Hawaii:

• Kin Wah Chop Suey (Kaneohe)
• Laie Chop Suey (Laie)
• Golden House Restaurant (Waianae)

If you have other local favorites, please comment below!

What are the ingredients for Crispy Gau Gee?

Every family or restaurant has their variations of Crispy Gau Gee, but here is my go-to recipe I’ve received from my aunty:

• Ground pork
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Green Onions
• Chinese Parsley
• Oyster Sauce
• Shoyu (soy sauce)
• Water Chestnuts
• Salt
• Cornstarch
• Wonton Wrappers
• Frying Oil

Suggested ingredients

Here are some typical ingredients also used in other Crispy Gau Gee recipes:

• Shrimp
• Sesame oil
• Tofu

How do you make Crispy Gau Gee?

Making Gau Gee is fairly simple and done in three parts:

• Make the gau gee filling:
  • Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Wrap the gau gee:
  • Use about 1 tbsp to fill the wonton wrapper. Lightly wet the edges of the wrapper and form it into a rectangle. Or other shapes if desired, like a triangle.
• Fry the gau gee:
  • Heat your frying oil to about 350°F. Fry your gau gee until golden brown. About 2 minutes on each side.

What kine of dipping sauce do you use?

Honestly you could eat gau gee plain but dipping it into a sauce will take it up a notch. Some dipping sauces are:

• Shoyu + Chinese Hot Mustard
• Duck Sauce
• Sweet Chili Sauce

Are there similar recipes for gau gee?

If you thoroughly enjoy Crispy Gau Gee, here are other popular local recipes similar to Gau Gee:

• Pork Hash – The pork filling is very similar to gau gee but the cooking and wrapping is different. Pork hash is wrapped in a circular wrapper and left open and steamed.
• Lumpia – Lumpia is slightly similar to gau gee with a pork filling. There are different ingredients used in lumpia and wrapped in a pastry wrapper, but it is deep fried.
• Gyoza – Gyoza is somewhat similar to gau gee using ground pork as it’s base but with different fillings. Gyoza is wrapped with pleatings and pan-fried.

Tips & FAQs

How long can you store Crispy Gau Gee?

You have leftovers?! Well, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

How do you reheat Crispy Gau Gee?

If you want the crisp Gau Gee, bake the Crispy Gau Gee in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F. Or if you can’t wait, nuke it in the microwave for about 30 seconds to a minute. Enough to warm up the filling.

Use a butter knife.

Whatcha mean? Use a butter knife to fill the wrapper and wet the edges wrapper. With the butter knife’s flat edge, it makes it faster to wrap those gau gee and less dishes to wash.

Is there another option to deep frying?

I prefer deep frying, but if you want a healthier option, you can bake or airfry the gau gee. If you’re not feeling the “crispy” gau gee, you can boil or steam it for a softer gau gee.

Leftover fillings and wrappers.

If you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the freezer for another use in the far future. Just defrost, then you are set to start making Gau Gee.

Give this onolicious recipe a try! If you did give it a try, please leave a comment with a star rating below. Mahalo!

Video Tutorial

Check out this video to help you gain more insight into how to make Crispy Gau Gee. Also, subscribe to my YouTube to help support me to continue making more of this content. Mahalo!