Siu mai is one of the most popular dim sum dishes, and quite rightly so. The mixture of pork and prawn, mixed into a paste gives it a springy texture whilst the mushrooms gives them a good savoury depth. If you have access to Chinese ingredients, such as wonton skins, then siu mai is very easy to make and you should definitely give it a try. Wonton wrappers are made with a fine wheat dough and lye water. I don't bother making them myself - life is too short.
Makes about 24 dumplings
200gr minced pork
150gr chopped raw prawns
3 dried shiitake mushrooms, redydrated and chopped
2 spring onions, chopped finely
Soy sauce to taste
Sesame oil
Pinch of ground white pepper
Won ton skins
Mix all the filling ingredients well, until it becomes a paste. Leave for half an hour in the fridge. When it comes to making the dumplings, place a wonton wrapper on top of an O made by your thumb and index finger, like the picture above. Add a tablespoon of the mixture to the wrapper and push down to make the dumpling. You may have to trim some of the wrapper off (I did). Finish by topping with a dice of carrot, or a pea.
To cook the dumplings, steam on greaseproof paper in a steamer for roughly 10 - 12 minutes. Serve with black vinegar with matchsticks of ginger and/or chilli sauce.
2 comments:
I love Siu Mai, in fact I ate 8 of the things for lunch yesterday. Frozen dim sum is my emergency food of choice, when I have nothing in the fridge or can't be bothered to cook. I just pop a few in the bamboo steamer and it keeps the hunger at bay for a while.
I've been reading your blog (since you posted a link for me on HB yest) and am loving your recipes.
I've been wanting to make dim sum for ages but have been (stupidly) rather nervous. This looks so much easier than I thought. Will be trying this at the weekend.
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