Siu Mai / 烧卖 / シュウマイ

We visit dim sum (yum cha) restaurant quite often when living in Sydney, let's say at least once a week. Our all-time favorite dishes are chives dumplings (韭菜饺), pan-fried rice rolls (煎肠粉), steamed BBQ pork rice rolls (叉烧肠), and yam croquettes (芋角). We hardly order siu mai (shumai) as I sometimes make it at home. I guess siu mai is the easiest dim sum to make at home.

Do you know that is very popular in Japan? There is a wide range of frozen shumai to choose from, and you can even find a shumai bento (lunch box) in the supermarket! In general, shumai in Japan are smaller in size compared to the usual shumai at the Chinese yum-cha restaurants. After living in Japan for a decade, I still can't figure out why Japanese eat shumai with mustard. You are right, shumai is Chinese food. 

Chili sauce or mustard?

Siu Mai / 烧卖 / シュウマイ

Ingredients (20 pcs):
500g pork or chicken, minced
100g prawn, lightly chopped
1 tbsp corn flour
2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

50 ml cold water
*20 sheets wanton/shumai wrappers

*or 30 pcs smaller size

An example of our dinner.

Methods:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the wontan/shumai wrappers.
2. Mix in the same direction until well combined or sticky. It helps to produce bouncy texture.
3. Marinate the filling for at least 30 minutes, keep refrigerator.
4. To make shumai, place a tablespoon full of the filling the middle of a wanton wrapper and wrap it up.
5. Line steamer with baking paper (punch some holes with hole puncher if possible), place the shumai in the steamer.
6. Steam with medium heat for 10-12 minutes.