Siu Mai (Shumai) – Chinese steamed dumplings
Siu Mai is the first thing you grab off the trolleys when you descend upon your favourite Yum Cha. And now you can get your Siu Mai fix on demand! These Chinese steamed dumplings are filled with a classic pork and prawn filling.
Ingredients
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked in boiling water, finely chopped
- 350 g pork mince ground pork , fatty
- ¾ tsp ▢ 3/4 tsp salt
- 2.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1.5 tsp Chinese cooking wine aka Shaoxing wine, sub Mirin or dry sherry
- 150 g prawns/shrimp peeled and deveined, chopped 0.5cm / 1/5"
- 2 tbsp white part of green onions finely minced
- 20-25 wonton wrappers / egg wrappers 8cm/3.5" squares or rounds
GARNISH
- ▢ 50g/1.5oz flying fish roe
Instructions
FILLING
- Place pork, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar with the pork meat/mince in a large mixing bowl. Mix vigorously with a spoon or use your hands until it becomes pasty (initially it will be crumbly) - about 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms, prawns and green onions, mix until just dispersed (don't crush the prawn meat).
MAKING SIU MAI
- Form an "O" with your forefinger and thumb.
- Place a wonton wrapper over the "O". Push in 1 heaped teaspoon of Filling and push down into the "O" hole.
- Use a butter knife to smear more Filling into until level with edge of wonton.
- Place on work surface and push down to flatten base and use fingers to shape into a round.
STEAMING DUMPLINGS:
- Line a 30cm/12" bamboo steamer (or stove steamer) with baking paper with holes in it (Note 9)
- Fill a wok big enough to hold steamer with about 2 cups of water (Note 10). Bring to rapid simmer over medium high heat.
- Place Siu Mai in steamer (20 - 25 fits). Place lid on, place on wok over simmering water.
- Steam 8 minutes, or until internal temperature of dumplings is 75°C/165°F. (If yours are bigger due to larger wonton wrappers are bigger, they will take longer).
- Remove steamer from wok. Remove lid and place a tiny bit of roe in the middle of each dumpling.
- Serve immediate with dipping sauce!
SIU MAI DIPPING SAUCE:
- Provide soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar or normal white vinegar, Chinese chilli paste (or Sriracha or other chilli). Let people mix their own to their taste (I do: 3 parts soy, 1 part vinegar, as much chilli as I think I can handle).
Notes
This recipe is sponsored by Mediterranean Supermarket