Siu mai is one of my absolute favorite dishes for dim sum. Two of the cookbooks that I have purchased in the past year have recipes for siu mai - The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens and Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More. But I've never felt the need to make them at home when there are so many good Cantonese restaurants down in Chinatown where I can get them without having to go to the trouble to make them at home. I know. That's a pathetic reason for not making them at home, but sometimes I get a little lazy. But I promised a friend that I would do some posts on different dim sum recipes and this was one dish that I just couldn't imagine doing dim sum without. So I finally went ahead and made one of the two recipes that I had already marked (although I will post both recipes below).
I have to say that I probably won't be making siu mai at home again anytime soon. It was fine, but the versions I have had at every Chinatown restaurant were so much better. Somehow the filling on these got really dry and the dumpling skins we bought were really dry and hard to use. Asian Dumplings contains a recipe for the dumpling skins themselves, which would probably result in much better results, but goodness that's a lot of work. I think if I were to make the siu mai at home again, I would definitely add more liquid to the filling to keep it a little more moist and delicious. I think that the balance of pork, shrimp and vegetables was spot on, I just think that the filling needs a little more moisture. And I would probably steam the dumplings for less time - maybe 10 minutes instead of 15 because I think that contributed to the dryness. And the Andrea Nguyen recipe only called for steaming the dumplings for 6-8 minutes so I think 10 minutes should be more than sufficient. But my real problem with the siu mai (aside from the slightly dry filling) was the store-bought dumpling wrappers, which were dry, which caused them to be really fragile and difficult to work with.
Recipes after the jump!
Siu Mai (Pork and Shrimp Cups)
Adapted from The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens
By Patricia Tanumihardja
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground pork
6 medium dried black mushrooms (shiitakes), soaked in hot water for 30 minutes until rehydrated, and finely chopped
8 oz shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
1/3 cup finely chopped water chestnuts
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions, white and green parts
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
12 oz package round dumpling/wonton skins
1 carrot, cut into a fine brunoise for garnish (optional)
In a large bowl, combine pork, mushrooms, shrimp, water chestnuts, scallions, cornstarch, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vine, sugar, s&p.
Set dumpling skins in a floured work surface and cover with a damp towel. Make a circle with your left thumb and index finger. Place a dumpling skin over the circle and scoop 1 tbsp filling into the center. Gently squeeze dumpling to squeeze it into a cup, leaving the top of the dumpling open. Gather edges around the filling, gently pleating as necessary. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
Set up your steamer. Bring water to a rolling boil. Stand dumplings upright 1/2-inch apart on a greased plate that will fit in your steamer. If using carrots, top with diced carrots. Steam, covered, until pork is no longer pink, about 15 minutes (I would check dumpling at 10 minutes next time because I think 15 minutes is a little excessive). Carefully remove dumplings and set aside to cool slightly. Repeat as many times as necessary (we had to cook the dumplings in 3 batches).
When dumplings are cool enough to handle, transfer to a platter and serve immediately.
Siu Mai Open-Faced Dumplings
Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas and More
By Andrea Nguyen
INGREDIENTS:
2/3 lb coarsely ground fatty pork
4 large dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted, stemmed and chopped
generous 1/4 cup finely diced water chestnuts (fresh preferred)
3 tbsp finely chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/4 tsp salt
generous 1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp light (regular) soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 large egg white, beaten
30 small round siu mai skins
1 1/2 tbsp finely diced carrot, or 30 peas, for garnish
light (regular) soy sauce
Chinese hot mustard or Colman's English mustard
To make the filling, in a bowl combine the pork, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallions. Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients together so they begin to blend.
Out the salt, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and egg white into a small bowl and stir to combine well. Pour over the meat mixture, and stir, fold, and mash everything together until they cohere into a compact mass. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight, returning it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings. You should have a generous 2 cups of filling.
Before assembling the dumplings, line steamer strays and/or a baking sheet with parchment paper. For the baking sheet, lightly dust the paper with cornstarch to prevent sticking. Set aside. Hold a skin in one hand. Scoop up about 1 tbsp of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork and position it in the center of the skin, pressing down gently. Pick up the skin and gather and pinch it together to form an open bag. Crown the dumpling with some finely diced carrot or a pea.
If steaming right away, place each finished dumpling in a steamer tray open side up, spicing them 1/2 inch apart, and 1 inch away from the edge if you are using a metal steamer. Otherwise, place the waiting dumplings on the baking sheet a good 1/2 inch apart.
Keeping the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel to prevent drying, form and fill wrappers from the remaining dough. Dumplings made several hours in advance of cooking should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. For longer storage, freeze them on a baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a plastic container, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month; partially thaw them before steaming.
To cook, steam the dumplings over boiling water for 6-8 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed slightly and their skins have become translucent. Remove each tray and place it atop a serving plate.
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