Guyanese duff are light, fluffy steamed dumplings that make for the perfect side to soups, stews, and saucy entrees. Learn how to make Guyanese duff with helpful tips, multiple methods, and a gluten-free alternative.
Guyanese Duff
I love duff! If you’ve ever had a soup or stew and felt like it was missing something, it probably would have benefited from a hearty helping of these Guyanese steamed dumplings. Duff is soft, fluffy, and delicious, and pairs perfectly with metemgee.
My dad makes the most amazing duff and he calls them tigers (tigah in Guyanese creole). Although I am not quite sure why he calls them this. They taste great but making them is an art and I’m here to teach you how to make duff for soup, stew, and anything else your taste buds desire!
- Guyanese Duff
- Why You’ll Love This Guyanese Duff Recipe
- What is Duff in Guyana?
- Ingredients for Guyanese Duff
- How to make Guyanese Duff
- Different Ways to Cook Guyanese Duff
- Dough Variations
- How to Make Guyanese Dumplings for Soup
- How to make Gluten Free Guyanese Duff
- Tips for the Best Guyanese Duff
- How to Serve Duff
- Equipment
- Storage
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Guyanese Duff (Steamed Dumplings)
Why You’ll Love This Guyanese Duff Recipe
- Simple: These delicious dumplings are made with just a few pantry staples so you probably already have everything you need.
- Versatile: Although duff is simple to make, it’s also easy to mess it up and end up with heavy, undercooked dumplings. Luckily, there’s more than one way to make perfectly steamed duff, and I’ll show you each method!
- A Family Favorite: Most Guyanese people eat it with soup and stews but in my household, we eat it with different dishes and even on its own. I’m sure this will become a go-to recipe for you too!
What is Duff in Guyana?
Guyanese duff is a type of steamed dumpling that is very similar to Chinese steamed buns. It is mostly steamed on top of metemgee. Although in many families it is made independent of metemgee and served with salt fish or fish stew.
The best way I can describe them is that they are the steamed version of Guyanese bakes.
Ingredients for Guyanese Duff
These 5-ingredient dumplings are so satisfying.
- Flour: Use all purpose flour or gluten free all purpose flour.
- Brown sugar: This enhances the taste.
- Baking powder: This ensures a light, fluffy texture.
- Butter: Use room temperature butter.
- Water: You will need 3/4 cup warm water plus 4 cups of water for cooking.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Guyanese Duff
Mix the dough. In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Rub in the butter with a fork or your fingertips until it’s evenly mixed.
Knead lightly. Make a well in the center, pour in the warm water, and knead just until the dough comes together. You don’t need to knead for long.
Rest. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes. Keep it covered so the surface doesn’t dry out, and don’t let it go much longer.
Shape the duff. Divide the dough into 5 equal pieces. Lightly dust your hands (or your work surface) with flour, then roll each piece into a ball. Roll the ball between your palms, tapering the ends, to form an elongated oval. Keep it quick and gentle. The less you handle the dough, the rougher and craggier the tops.
Steam. Place the duff in the basket and cover tightly. Steam on high for 3 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 to 12 minutes more, until puffed and springy. Don’t lift the lid.
Different Ways to Cook Guyanese Duff
Duff is typically steamed on top of ground provision (starchy root vegetables) in metemgee or boil and fry. Since the ground provision provide a base that allows the duff to sit above the soupy liquid, it is perfect for steaming duff. Here are some other ways to steam duff, in case you want duff but are not making anything that requires ground provision:
1. Steamed in a shallow pot of water
Add about 2 cups of water to a deep pan or pot and bring it to a boil. Add the duff, cover tightly, and steam on high for 3 minutes, then lower to medium for 10 to 12 minutes more. You only need enough water to make steam. Too much and it boils up around the duff. When I used 4 cups in my pan, it boiled over and the duff stuck to the bottom.
2. Steamed in a coconut milk broth
This is my favorite way, and the most delicious. Simmer coconut milk with onion, scallion, garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper (the same base I use for my metemgee), then set the duff on top, cover, and steam. The duff soak up all that flavor from below.
3. Steamed in a Steamer Basket
Line a steamer basket with parchment or a steamer liner and set it over about 4 cups of boiling water. This keeps the duff from sticking and makes them easy to lift out.
4. Steamed, then fried
Some Guyanese cooks steam their duff, then fry it for a crisp outside and soft, airy inside. It’s perfect with stews. Another option is to toss your duff in sautéed onions, garlic, wiri wiri pepper, thyme and some boiled ground provision, the way I make boil and fry cassava, then serve it with sautéed saltfish.
Dough Variations
Dough Variations
- Coconut milk dough: use coconut milk instead of water for a richer duff.
- Cornmeal duff: swap ½ cup of the flour for cornmeal.
- Corn duff: knead whole corn kernels into the dough.
How to Make Guyanese Dumplings for Soup
In Guyana, when this same dough goes into soup, we don’t call it duff. We call it dumplings. The ingredients are exactly the same; the difference is the size and how they cook. Most people drop them in and stir them around so they boil in the soup, but I like mine to float and steam on top so they stay light and fluffy. They swell as they cook, so I make them about a tablespoon of dough each. Make the dough while the soup cooks so it has time to rest.
- Roll tablespoon-size pieces of dough into balls, or roll them into strips like spinners.
- When the soup is nearly done and simmering, drop the dumplings on top. Don’t stir.
- Cover, reduce the heat to low, and steam for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.
- Gently stir them in and serve.
For dense, chewy dumplings, stir them into the broth as you drop them in so they sink and boil with the soup. Try them in my Caribbean Oxtail Soup, Caribbean Chicken Soup, or Chicken Split Pea Soup.
How to make Gluten Free Guyanese Duff
To make gluten free duff, simply swap out the all purpose wheat flour, for all purpose gluten free flour. There are two all purpose gluten free flours that I have tested with this recipe and both work really well: Caputo gluten free flour and King Arthur’s measure for measure gluten free flour.
With the Caputo flour the duff looks, feels and tastes exactly like the wheat version. With the King Arthur’s flour it is a bit more grainy in texture but the taste is spot on.
Tips for the Best Guyanese Duff
- Don’t overwork or over-rest the dough: Knead just until the dough comes together, and don’t let it rest longer than the recipe says. Too much of either and you lose duff’s signature rough, craggy exterior. It’ll still taste good, it’ll just look like it grew up in a nice home and went to Harvard.
- Form all the duff before adding them to the pot: Shape every piece first, then add them all at once so they cook evenly.
- Don’t open the pot while steaming: Lifting the lid lets the steam escape, and the duff can fall and turn dense.
- Remove the duff right away: Take them out as soon as they’re done. Leftover steam can make them stiff or soggy.
- Start on high heat: Steam on high for the first 3 minutes so the duff rise tall, then lower to medium to finish cooking without boiling over.
How to Serve Duff
Duff is usually served with metemgee, steamed right on top, or alongside boil and fry provisions. In my family, we also eat it with sautéed saltfish or a fish stew, and the same dough becomes dumplings for soups like oxtail soup. Leftover duff is great fried (see Steamed, Then Fried above)
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Shallow pan or pot with a tight-fitting lid
- Steamer basket and liner (optional)
- Bench scraper (optional, for dividing the dough)
Storage
Store cooled duff in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave in 30-second bursts, or re-steam for a few minutes. You can also freeze duff for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge, then steam until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. It is not the traditional Guyanese way of making duff but some people steam, then fry the dumplings and it is just as delicious! If you want to skip the steaming altogether, fried duff is very similar to Guyanese bakes. Check out the recipe here.
The dumplings were most likely sitting in the water. Keep the duff above the water and the pot covered until they’re fully cooked.
If your duff has already fallen, unfortunately it will stay dense. Don’t toss it, though: slice it and fry it, the way Jamaicans “fry ova” leftover dumplings. It’s a delicious way to save the batch.
Yes, and it’s how I always make mine. Swap the butter for the same amount of dairy-free butter or coconut oil. I’ve used plant-based butter, olive oil butter, and coconut oil, and they all make soft, fluffy duff.
Yes. You can cut the brown sugar down to 1 tablespoon and the duff still turns out great. I’ve also made it with maple syrup and honey, using the same amount as the sugar. Just dissolve it in the warm water before adding the water to the flour.
Guyanese Duff (Steamed Dumplings)
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Wide, shallow pan or pot with a tight-fitting lid
- Steamer Basket and liner (optional)
- Bench scraper (optional)
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (Plus more for dusting, use Gluten Free All Purpose Flour for gluten free option)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup warm water (plus 2 cups for steaming)
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar and baking powder to a mixing bowl, then mix together well. Then rub the butter into the dry ingredients using a fork or your finger tips.In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, and baking powder. Rub in the butter with a fork or your fingertips until evenly mixed.
- Make a well in the center, add the warm water, and knead lightly, just until the dough comes together. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 5 pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each into a ball, then roll between your palms, tapering the ends, into an elongated oval. Handle gently.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a shallow pan or pot.
- Add the duff, cover tightly, and steam on high for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 to 12 minutes more, until puffed and springy. Don’t lift the lid.
- Remove the duff right away and serve with metemgee, soup, or stew.
Notes
- For craggy tops: handle the dough as little as possible and don’t rest it longer than 30 minutes. Overworked or over-rested dough makes smooth duff.
- Steamer basket option: line a basket with parchment or a steamer liner and set it over about 4 cups of boiling water in a deeper pot, keeping the water below the basket.
- For soup: roll tablespoon-size dumplings, drop them on top of simmering soup, cover, and steam for 10 minutes.
- Gluten-free: use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Storage: refrigerate cooled duff in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat wrapped in a damp paper towel, or re-steam for a few minutes.
Nutrition
The information listed in the recipe card is an estimate provided by an online nutrition tool. The tool evaluates ingredient names and amounts then makes calculations based on the number of servings listed for the recipe. It is provided as a general guideline and not as a precise calculation. For precise nutrition information please feel free to add the ingredients to your preferred nutrition calculator or consult a doctor or licensed nutritionist.
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Paul Says
I guess you are using the term dumpling to help people out to explain stuff. Duff and dumplings are two different things.
Did you know a lot pf people copy you, and because of this a lot of Guyanese who dont know better is calling duff dumplings in their videos.
This is duff, and Guyanese dumplings are closer to what British and people in New England make as dumplings. So Guyanese dumpling are or closer to the original dumplings. Both Duff and Dumpling originated in England
Althea Brown Says
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I called it steamed dumplings to help people who are not Guyanese categorize it. What’s interesting is in my family, the difference between dumplings and duff has to do with the shape and size. Both of my parents use the same ingredients for duff and dumpling. For dumplings they make it a little softer and drop small portions into soups or stews. I’ll take a look at this recipe post and see how to make it clear that I am only using steamed dumplings as a reference.
Ngosi Says
I like the cornmeal duff. Do you have a recipe for that by any chance?
Althea Brown Says
Hi Ngosi, thank you for this! Your comment reminded me that cornmeal duff deserves a spot in the post, so I just added it as a variation. Swap ½ cup of the flour for ½ cup of cornmeal and follow the rest of the recipe as written. So sorry for the late reply, and happy cooking!
Joan Plummer Says
Excellent recipe love the dumplings all recipes are great
Lara Says
While I’ve had phenomenal results in the past, this year I’d like to try making it dairy and gluten-free. I understand the gluten-free part, but do you think that the recipe is compromised if either plant-based butter or 100% vegetable margarine is used?
Althea Brown Says
Hi Lara! Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for asking. Plant-based butter works great here. I’ve made this with Melt, Country Crock plant butter, and Earth Balance, and they all work without compromising the duff. Olive oil butter or coconut oil work too. Pair it with gluten-free all-purpose flour and you’ll have a dairy-free, gluten-free duff. I added this to the FAQs so others can find it. Let me know how it turns out!
Leena Says
I’m not against the recipe, but this website is horrible with way to many ads for you to process and not flipping over to other pages.
Maxine Says
Great recipe. So easy to follow and they came out great. However I would like to leave out the sugar next time. How would this affect the recipe? Any suggestions for substituting something else? Thank you.
Althea Brown Says
Hi Maxine! Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for asking. You can cut the sugar down to just 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, or use the same amount of maple syrup or honey. The duff will be a little less sweet but still soft and fluffy. I added this to the FAQs too. Enjoy!
Chrissy Says
Great recipe! However, what should I do if the dumplings fall? Is there a way to save them? ????
Althea Brown Says
Hi Chrissy! Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for asking. Once duff falls, it won’t puff back up, but it’s still delicious. My favorite fix is to slice it and fry it, or toss it with sautéed onions, garlic, and thyme and serve it with saltfish. To keep it from falling next time, don’t lift the lid while it steams (my mom always warned me about this!), and start on high heat for the first 3 minutes so it rises tall. I’ve added these tips to the post. Happy cooking!
Radha Says
Amazing recipe. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sophie Says
@Patricia This is how she makes them which is fine, if your mum makes them differently that’s fine too. No need whatsoever for you to leave a negative comment and only 2 starts just because your mum makes them in less time.
Maybe try them? The “over complicated” recipe might actually taste better than your mums recipe.
Ramo Says
Agreed some people are just bitter
Carren Says
Agreed. To each its own. No need for negatively.
My mom always made these when I was a kid. I wanted to make it and your recipe was extremely helpful. Thank you.
Patricia Says
What a load of old tosh, my mum makes this on less than 5 mins. I don’t understand why we have to over complicate everything. I will stick to my mum’s traditional recipe.
Carren Says
To each its own. No need for negatively.
Scha Says
Rude
Scha Says
I love all your recipes. Tonight I felt like making duff. My mom had taught me but she passed away and I don’t remember the recipe. As always, your website /pinterest pins are my saving grace. My duff/dumpling came out great. Had it with chicken and Kareli/Bitter Gourd stew. Bomb.
Ps: don’t mind the haters. Keep doing what you do.
Althea Brown Says
Yay for a great duff. I’m side eyeing the Kareli cause it’s my least favorite veggie hahaha
Shamica Says
Just curious have you tried steaming in an instant pot? Would love to know how to (length of time, amount of water etc)
Althea Brown Says
Hi Shamica! Sorry for the late reply, and thank you for asking. I haven’t tested duff in the Instant Pot yet, so I can’t give you a time I trust. For now, I’d stick with the stovetop method, which takes about 15 minutes of steaming. If I test an Instant Pot version, I’ll add it to the post!
LaShaka Says
I found this recipe one day as I was craving metem & tried it. It was perfect! It gave me such good nostalgia and I’ve come back to it so many times, I’ve definitely mastered making it. Thank you!
Lehana Says
Happy birthday! Awesome recipes as per usual.
Savitrie Says
I just wonder Upon your blog because I wanted to check online what metemgee recipies are like. this metemgee is epic! When you call the duff Tiger exactly what my dad would call it. Yesterday he told me he feel like eating tiger so I am going to make it . Like your blog Great recipes, exactly what I grew up with.
Carol-Ann Says
Love thi receipe, very easy a accurate to follow. My dumplins came out sofT and nice. Thanks.
Althea Brown Says
So happy you tried it and thanks for sharing.
Patty P Says
Wonderful receipe, and easy to follow, thank you!