Sew Mai Dumplings Recipes

SEW MAI DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• For the filling: Reconstitute the mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Rinse them, remove the stems and chop them into small dice.
• In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms with the pork, shrimp, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix until well combined. (You may also use a mixer with a paddle attachment.) Cover the mixture and let it rest for at least 1 hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator.
• To assemble the dumplings: Lay a dumpling skin on your work surface. Place about 2 tablespoons filling in the center. Hold the filling in place with your fingers and use the other hand to twist the skin around the filling. While twisting, make sure to flatten the top of the filling into the skin. Place the bottom of the dumpling on the work surface and flatten it out. Repeat this process until all the filling is gone.
• Steam the dumplings in a steamer basket on high heat until cooked through, about 7 minutes.
• I love eating these with soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and hot mustard.

SUI MAI (STEAMED DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Chop the shrimp very fine using a knife or the food processor. Just be careful not to grind too too fine.
• Mix together the pork, shrimp, scallions, cilantro, fish sauce, salt, cornstarch, egg,sesame oil, water chestnuts. and ginger (I use my hands).
• Form the mixture into 1-2 inch balls and place on wax papper, parchment or a platter.
• Put one ball in the middle of a wonton wrapper and gather the wrapper around the ball leaving the top open.
• Kind of give it a "waist".
• Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 5 to 6 minutes.
• May be frozen after steamed and cooled.
• To reheat I put them in a large skillet with some water or resteam.
• Some people boil these but I have never had much luck with that.
• I serve with several dipping sauces of varying heat.

CHICKEN SIU MAI (CHICKEN DUMPLINGS)

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine chicken, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, scallions, cornstarch, white peppercorn oil, oyster sauce, ginger, Shao Hsing, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and egg white. Stir to mix thoroughly. Transfer to a shallow dish, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours, or covered, overnight.
• Make the dumplings: Lightly oil a bamboo steamer basket, or line the bottom with a round metal steamer insert; set aside. Work with one wrapper at a time, and cover unused wrappers with a damp cloth. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling in center of each wrapper. Hold filling in place with the blade of a butter knife. Holding the dumpling in the other hand, gradually turn the knife and dumpling slowly in a clockwise direction so that the dumpling forms a basket shape.
• Remove knife, and pat filling with point of knife to smooth. Squeeze the dumpling slightly to adhere dough to filling, this will ensure that the dumpling and filling will remain intact during the steaming process. Tap the dumpling bottom lightly on work surface to flatten. Place into prepared steamer basket. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
• Bring 3 inches of water to a boil in a wok. Place steamer basket over water. Cover, and steam until dumplings are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove the steamer from the wok, and transfer to a platter. Serve dumplings directly from steamer with mustard dipping sauce on the side.

SIU MAI OPEN-FACED DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• To make the filling, in a bowl, combine the pork, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallions. Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients together so they begin to blend.
• Put the salt, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and egg white into a small bowl and stir to combine well. Pour over the meat mixture, and stir, fold, and mash everything together until they cohere into a compact mass. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight, returning it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings. You should have a generous 2 cups of filling.
• Before assembling the dumplings, line steamer trays and/or a baking sheet with parchment paper. For the baking sheet, lightly dust the paper with cornstarch to prevent sticking. Set aside. Hold a skin in one hand. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork and position it in the center of the skin, pressing down gently. Pick up the skin and gather and pinch it together to form an open bag (see page 74). Crown the dumpling with some finely diced carrot or a pea. If steaming right away, place each finished dumpling in a steamer tray open side up, spacing them 1/2 inch apart, and 1 inch away from the edge if you are using a metal steamer. Otherwise, place the waiting dumplings on the baking sheet a good 1/2 inch apart. Keeping the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel to prevent drying, form and fill wrappers from the remaining dough. Dumplings made several hours in advance of cooking should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. For longer storage, freeze them on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a plastic container, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month; partially thaw them before steaming.
• To cook, steam the dumplings over boiling water (steaming guidelines are on page 17) for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed slightly and their skins have become translucent. Remove each tray and place it a top a serving plate.
• Serve immediately with the soy sauce and hot mustard. Invite guests to mix up their own dipping sauce.