Recipe
Shumai/Siumai (Pork & Prawn Dumplings)
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
Dim sum (點心) is the name for a southern Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light and small portion of food, that comes in the form of steamed, baked, or fried. I will never say ‘no’ to Dim Sum and it will always be one of my favourites! Not too long ago, Ellie from Almost Bourdain shared with us one of the Dim Sum favourites, called Woo Kok/Yam Puff – this is something you should not missed and it is always on the Dim Sum menu.
Today, Shumai/Siumai (燒賣) or Pork & Prawns Dumpling, is another on the ‘must-order’ list – well flavoured pork and chunkily cubed succulent prawns; it’s always a good combo! Making Dim Sum at home may sound like a daunting task. The only time I ate (and not made!) homemade Dim Sum was when I visited my aunty in Penang, who is very passionate in cooking. She likes to make dishes that she has never made at home! She makes a lot of dishes that are delicious and I always ask for more! Shumai/Siumai is one her specialties too.
I know that I can easily walk into a Chinese restaurant in London that serves Shumai/Siumai. But, I thought I would give it a go! It wasn’t as bad as I thought but I probably need to brush up my skills in making them a bit more pretty! I know that Chinese New Year is just 2 days away. I saw a lot of my blogger friends were busy making some scrumptious cookies – here, here, here, here, here and here! Aren’t they making you salivating? Well, I didn’t bake anything but I made some Shumai, even though it’s not a typical Chinese New Year’s dish… :D. I hope you will like this and perhaps give it a try!
I would like to wish all the Chinese readers of my blog, Gong Xi Fa Cai & A Prosperous Year of Rabbit!
Shumai/Siumai (Pork & Prawn Dumplings)
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Yield:
Ingredients:
For the Shumai/Siumai (Pork & Prawn Dumplings):
180g lean pork (minced)
200g raw prawns, peeled, deveined (coarsely chopped)
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tsp white pepper
1 tsp corn starch
1½ tsp carrots (finely chopped)
20-25 sheets round wonton wrappers
a pinch of salt
Method:
1. Shell and devein the prawns. Transfer into a deep bowl, mix 1 tbsp of salt and use your hand to blend and lightly massage the prawns. Rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with kitchen towels.
2. In a food processor or by hand, coarsely chop the prawns. Transfer into a mixing bowl. Add in pork, soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, and corn starch. Mix it thoroughly.
3. To assemble the Shumai – put a sheet of wonton wrapper on your palm. Place 1 full tablespoon of filling in the center of the wrapper. Gather the edges of the wrapper around the filling and gently pleat so that it forms a basket shape, with the top of the filling exposed. Lightly tap the dumpling’s bottom to flatten so that it can stand upright. Garnish some chopped carrots on the top. Repeat for the rest.
4. Lay a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom of a bamboo steamer for easy removal of Shumai when cooked. Arrange Shumai, leaving some spaces in between to avoid sticking.
5. Bring water to a boil over high heat in a saucepan that is big enough for the bamboo steamer to sit on. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Note: Shao Mai can be prepared ahead and is suitable for freezing. Give an extra 2-3 minutes if steam frozen Shao Mai.
Leemei these photos are stunning! I really love the yellow of the wrappers against the reds and pinks! Before I stopped eating pork, I used to adore the siumai from the street vendors in my hometown in China. There was actually barely any meat, but the lard supplied a lot of the flavor. In addition, we had a variety that used sticky rice in the filling. If I could one day make a suitable vegetarian or seafood version, I could almost die happy :).
Thanks, Xiaolu! I have never tried or hear the sticky rice version.. that sounds very interesting. I think you can substitute the pork with, perhaps, spinach? It goes well with prawns… and add a bit of Goji Berry 枸杞?
I love dim sum… I allways order a lot of them when I go to a chinese restaurant… thank you for the recipe… I wish you a happy (rabbit) new year!!!
I love dim sum a lot too! 🙂
Thanks, Dominique!
Wow!! I’ve never thought of attempting siu mai at home. Now u ARE giving me plenty of ideas! *wink*
Methinks my other half would be very impressed if I were to churn these out one of these days for his breakfast, which I will!!
Here’s wishing you Gong Hei Fatt Choi, Nin Nin Fatt Dai Choi! 😀
Ps. Thanks for the mention babe!
Gong Hei Fatt Choi! 🙂
I am sure your hubby will be impressed if he will have his siumai for breakfast!
These look amazing! Never tried making my own siu mai, but your post might have just inspired me to do so. Lovely photos as always. And thanks for linking me! 🙂
Thanks Su-yin… it’s pretty easy and you can always freeze them for later 🙂
Oh! We always order shumai at the local dim sum restaurant…and my husband loves it…I never made them 🙁 Yours look delicious, and I am sure that they taste much better than the restaurant ones 🙂
It’s pretty easy.. thought I don’t have the best skill to wrap it… need to improve..
homemade ones are always more generous in ingredients … hehe
I made chicken Sui Mai at home before. It was not difficult to do. Yours look beautiful and yummy.
Chicken Sui Mai sounds good to me!!
I love going for yum cha but often, the good siu mai is hard to find. I’ve never attempted making my own, but yours really look beautiful!
Give it a try, it’s pretty simple 🙂
Yummy and cantik :)….
Kong Hee Fatt Choy… Have a Hoppy Chinese New Year
Thanks Lisa! Happy Rabbit Year to you too!
Leemei, you’ve got shumai there! Well, it’s better than nothing, right?
Hope you’re gonna enjoy this Chinese New Year! Gong hey fatt choy! Have a blessed journey ahead in the Year of the Rabbit!
Oh yeah.. at least I have some shumai! heehhehe..
Gong Hey Fatt Choy to you too 😉
That is the first thing I order when I go for dim sum beside Woo Kok. Wishing you and your family Gong Xi Fa Cai. May the year of Rabbit brings you health, wealth, peace and happiness.
My other favourite has to be Har Gau.. I never miss that one too.
Gong Xi Fa Cai to you and your family to 😉
Shiu Mai is definitely a must order as well for me…! Yours look just like the ones from yum cha restaurants :)!
Thank you 🙂
Those Shiu Mai look so pretty and tempting! That is a speciality I adore.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thanks! I love Shiu Mai too..
They are very beautiful… like little works of art. Happy CNY and Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Thank you! Gong xi Gong xi!
Leemei, those dumplings are so tempting ! I really want to grab some right now…
heheh.. wish that we could just grab food off the screen! Would be so nice..
i’ve never tried making shu mai before at home. but they look so yummy!! Happy Chinese New Year 🙂
It’s easy.. give it a try! Happy Chinese New Year!
awesome, awesome looking shiu mai!! gong xi fa cai & have a great year of the bunny!
Thank you! Gong xi fa cai to you too!
Your siu mai looks great, Happy Rabbit year to you too!
Thank you! Gong xi Gong xi!
hello! ur siumai looks delicious 🙂 I made a siumai but the outcome didn’t came out good because the wrapper and meat didn’t stickd together it fell apart.do u knw y? what kind of wrapper are you using? I couldn’t find it in any Asian store they only got the white one no yellow color 🙂 thanks! haVE a wonderful day 🙂
Hi, you slight press and mould the pastry which the minced meat should really stick, I don’t see why it wouldn’t. I used the wonton pastry. The white should just do fine, it’s the wrapper made without egg yolk.
I love siu mai. Today I tried it at home for the first time using your recipe and they turned out absolutely yummy!!!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi, thanks for dropping by! Great that you love the siu mai! 😉
Hi
The siu mai looks delicious n would like to try making it.
Can line the Tefel tray with parchment (greased) paper before steaming the siu mai?
The steamed siu mai can keep in the freezer for how many days?
Hi Lilyn,
Yes I believe you can use a tray and steam in a wok (if that’s what you plan to do).
I would say max 2 weeks. It’s always nicer to eat fresh. But if you make a big batch, I suggest you could freeze without cooking it. In that case you can keep longer in the freezer (max 1 month) and steam as and when you want to eat.
Hi,
Sorry, forgotten to thank you……
No worries! 🙂