Seafood Siomai #DumplingsWorldwide

Seafood Siomai

Siomai is a Chinese dumplings cooked in a steamer and eaten with a sauce or dip. Steamed or pan fried, partially or fully enveloped in dough, filled with everything from pork to seafood to glutinous rice. You can choose which one suits your taste and store in a freezer for later use. Steamed Chinese dumplings often served at dim sum, filled with a mixture of shrimp and squid, these siomai are juicy, flavorful and delicious.

Ingredients:

250 grams large shrimp (9 ounces)
2 tablespoons egg white (about 1 egg)
1 teaspoon potato starch
1/2 teaspoon salt
50 grams pork fat (2 ounces)
500 grams small shelled shrimp (18 ounces)
200 grams calamari steak (7 ounces)
4 scallions white part only, minced
3 tablespoons potato starch
2 tablespoons egg white (about 1 egg)
1 tablespoon ginger juice grated and juice squeezed out
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
32 shumai wrappers or 24 wonton wrappers
napa cabbage or lettuce, for lining steamer

Procedures:

1. Peel the large shrimp, then use a sharp knife to slice them in half from head to tail (center). If your shrimp are very large, you may need to cut them in half once again (far right). Remove the dark vein if present, then add the shrimp to a large bowl.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of egg white, 1 teaspoon of potato starch, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the halved shrimp, then use your fingers to vigorously "whisk" the shrimp together with the egg until the shrimp are evenly coated with a white froth.

3. If you're using a food processor, roughly chop the pork fat, and add it to the food processor. Process until finely minced. Add the small peeled shrimp and calamari, and pulse until there are no big chunks, but not to the point where it turns into a paste. If you are doing it by hand, finely mince the fat, small shrimp and calamari separately and add to a large bowl.

4. Add the scallions, potato starch, egg white, ginger juice, Shaoxing wine, sugar, sesame oil, oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper. Pulse the food processor until combined, or use your hand to "whisk" the mixture together thoroughly.

5. Prepare a large steamer and line the bottom with napa cabbage or lettuce (this prevents the dumplings from sticking to the steamer). Bring the water to a boil.

6. To wrap the siomai, form an "o" with your left hand (assuming you're right handed). Cover the "o" with a wrapper, then put a generous teaspoon of filling in the middle.

7. Add a half shrimp on top, pressing the dumping into the "o".

8. Add another teaspoon of filling, then use the thumb of your opposite hand to press the dumping all the way into the "o" shape in your hand, using your thumb to level off the top.

9. Top with one more half of shrimp. Make sure the colored side of the shrimp faces up so it turns red when cooked. Make sure the top and bottom of the dumpling are flat, then repeat until you have enough dumplings to fill the steamer.

10. Turn off the heat, then place the dumplings in the hot steamer, leaving enough space between the dumplings so they are not touching each other. Cover the steamer with a damp kitchen towel, then cover with the lid. Flip the corners of the towel back over the lid to keep them from catching on fire. The towel keeps the condensation from dripping on the dumplings.

11. Turn the heat back on and steam the siomai over high-heat for 8 minutes. Serve with vinegar and Chinese mustard.

12. Yield: 32 dumplings