What is shu mai?
Siu Mai is a local traditional dim sum in the Guangdong Province.
There are lots of names for shumai such as sui mai, su mai, siew mai and siomai.
We call it Shao Mai in Chinese. It is definitely one of the most popular dim sum in the Cantonese-style tea market.
In the 1930s, Siu Mai had been popular in various parts of Guangdong.
However, in the past 20 years, it has spread to other cities in Guangxi province of China, becoming a must-have meal in southern China.
Every time I go to the restaurant with my friends, I will order a plate of Siu Mai.
I love it so much, that I started trying to make this for myself at home.
After a lot of practice, I finally made a delicious Siu Mai, which is consistently praised by colleagues and relatives.
Anyone who had eaten it said that I could open a store to sell Siu Mai!
You, too, can make a Siu Mai that will surpass your expectations!
Ingredients:
- 1) 0.75kg glutinous rice
- 2) 0.25kg of Minced pork belly
- 3) 20 small dried mushrooms
- 4) 10 wood jellyfish
- 5) 1 small carrot
- 6) 20 green onion
- 7) 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 8) 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 9) 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 10) Salt and sugar to taste
- 11) 2 tps Cooking wine
- 12) 300g of flour
- 13) 150g warm water
Many friends have told me that the weight of this filling can be a little dense.
You can reduce the amount of glutinous rice used.
And if you are going to use dumpling wrappers bought in the supermarket, please also reduce the amount of glutinous rice used as the wrappers are not as flexible as the homemade ones.
How to make shumai (siu mai):
Step 1: First clean the mushrooms, add some water to the mushrooms and heat them in a microwave for one minute.
After that, let them soak for 10 minutes and then strain the water.
Place the washed glutinous rice into the rice cooker and cook it with the shiitake mushrooms.
Make sure the water volume is higher than the rice by about an inch.
While the mushrooms soak, you can soak wood jellyfish, wash the carrots, green onions, and the glutinous rice.
Step 2: While cooking the rice, use about 300 grams of flour, plus 150 grams of warm water and knead into a dough.
(If you prefer a translucent skin, you can do this: 75g boiling water and 150g flour or 75g warm water and 150g flour)
Step 3: After kneading the dough, prepare other ingredients. Cut the carrots and green onions.
Next, separate the white part of the green onions from the green part, cut the mushrooms and dice the pork belly.
Step 4: Heat up the wok and brown the pork.
Step 5: Move the meat to one side, use the oil at the bottom of the pot to sauté the white part of the green onions, and stir evenly with the meat.
Step 6: Move the meat and green onions to one side, use the oil at the bottom of the pan to sauté the mushrooms and the wood jellyfish, and stir-fry with the minced pork.
Step 7: Move all those ingredients to one side once again. Use the oil at the bottom of the pan to sauté the carrots and stir well with the mixture of the minced meat.
Step 8: Then add light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce, stir-fry, then pour the oyster sauce and stir fry, then add the cooking wine, sugar, and finally add the salt. (make sure you count the amount of salt added because you will add the glutinous rice)
Step 9: Add the cooked glutinous rice and mix well. Taste to make sure the seasoning is correct.
Step 10: Wait for the glutinous rice to cool for a while, then mix it with the green part of the green onions.
Step 11: Siu Mai stuffing is ready!
Step 12: Divide the dough into a number of dumpling-sized pieces and knead them into wrappers.
Step 13: Add the Siu Mai stuffing.
Step 14: Make the dough into a pocket to hold the stuffing.
Step 15: Look, a Siu Mai is shaped! Repeated until all the dough is used.
Step 16: Put the prepared Siu Mai into the steamer, steam it for 5 minutes after water boiling, then turn off the heat and leave it for another five minutes.
Step 17: This savory dim sum is now ready to enjoy!
When my friends gather, we eat a lot of Siu Mai.
Enough that everyone wanted to pack and bring leftovers home, which shows how much people love this recipe!
Not only will it leave your guests satisfied, but you will also feel a great deal of accomplishment knowing that you could make everyone happy!
How to store Siu Mai:
Leftovers are best stored in a refrigerator, and it is best to finish it in a day or two.
If you don’t think that you can finish it all, please freeze it.
Of course, you can also directly freeze and store without steaming, and take out to thaw in the fridge and steam when you get hungry.
Tips
1. I cook glutinous rice with more water, because softer is more suitable for the elderly.
You can also soak the glutinous rice in water for two hours in advance, then drain the water and steam it in a steamer.
2. Siu Mai is generally eaten as a staple food, so the seasoning of Siu Mai stuffing should not be too salty, preferring it to be lighter.
After the stuffing is completed, you can taste it and season according to your preference.
3. Some of the pro-tested recipes use as much stuffing as the dough could possibly fit.
4. If you don’t want to make your own dough, you can buy ready-made dumpling wrappers.
Of course, the advantage of your own dough is that the finished wrappers will be fresher and flexible.
5. Reasons why Siu Mai may fall apart: The glutinous rice is too dry. When the pocket is not formed tightly enough.
Ready-made dumpling wrappers may not be as tightly formed as fresh home-made dough.
Authentic Pork Shui Mai (Shumai ) Recipe
Ingredients
- 0.75 kg glutinous rice
- 0.25 kg of Minced pork belly
- 20 small dried mushrooms
- 10 wood jellyfish
- 1 small carrot
- 20 green onion
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- Salt and sugar to taste
- 2 tps Cooking wine
- 300 g of flour
- 150 g warm water
Instructions
- First clean the mushrooms, add some water to the mushrooms and heat them in a microwave for one minute. After that, let them soak for 10 minutes and then strain the water.
- While cooking the rice, use about 300 grams of flour, plus 150 grams of warm water and knead into a dough. (If you prefer a translucent skin, you can do this: 75g boiling water and 150g flour or 75g warm water and 150g flour)
- After kneading the dough, prepare other ingredients. Cut the carrots and green onions. Next, separate the white part of the green onions from the green part, cut the mushrooms and dice the pork belly.
- Heat up the wok and brown the pork.
- Move the meat to one side, use the oil at the bottom of the pot to sauté the white part of the green onions, and stir evenly with the meat.
- Move the meat and green onions to one side, use the oil at the bottom of the pan to sauté the mushrooms and the wood jellyfish, and stir-fry with the minced pork.
- Then add light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce, stir-fry, then pour the oyster sauce and stir fry, then add the cooking wine, sugar, and finally add the salt. (make sure you count the amount of salt added because you will add the glutinous rice).
- Add the cooked glutinous rice and mix well. Taste to make sure the seasoning is correct.
- Wait for the glutinous rice to cool for a while, then mix it with the green part of the green onions.
- Siu Mai stuffing is ready!
- Divide the dough into a number of dumpling-sized pieces and knead them into wrappers.
- Add the Siu Mai stuffing.
- Make the dough into a pocket to hold the stuffing.
- Look, a Siu Mai is shaped! Repeated until all the dough is used.
- Put the prepared Siu Mai into the steamer, steam it for 5 minutes after water boiling, then turn off the heat and leave it for another five minutes.
- This savory dim sum is now ready to enjoy!
