Category: Main Dish

While on our recent cruise we attended a cooking demonstration by America’s Test Kitchen. One of the dishes the chef prepared that day was Steamed Chinese Dumplings (Shu Mai). It looked easy enough, so we came home and purchased a bamboo steamer and all the ingredients to make these tasty little dumplings.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1⁄2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1⁄2 pound shrimp, peeled, tails removed and halved lengthwise (see note)
  • Use any size shrimp except popcorn shrimp; there’s no need to halve shrimp smaller than 26 to 30 per pound
• 1⁄4 cup water chestnuts, chopped
• 4 dried shiitake mushroom caps (about 3⁄4 ounce), soaked in hot water 30 minutes, squeezed dry, and cut into 1⁄4-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice cooking wine (Shaoxing) or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon table salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (1 pound) package 5 1⁄2 inch square egg roll wrappers (see note)
  • You can substitute square or round wonton skins for the egg roll wrappers.
• 1⁄4 cup carrot, finely grated (optional)

Preparation:

• Combine soy sauce and gelatin in small bowl. Set aside to allow gelatin to bloom, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place shrimp and pulse until coarsely chopped into approximate 1⁄4-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. Transfer shrimp to bowl with ground pork
• Stir in soy sauce mixture, water chestnuts, mushrooms, cornstarch, cilantro, sesame oil, wine, vinegar, sugar, ginger, salt, and pepper.
• Divide egg roll wrappers into 3 stacks (6 to 7 per stack). Using 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut two 3-inch rounds from each stack of egg roll wrappers (you should have 40 to 42 rounds). Cover rounds with moist paper towels to prevent drying.
• Working with 6 rounds at a time, brush edges of each round lightly with water. Place tablespoon of filling into center of each round.
• Form dumplings by pinching opposing sides of wrapper with your fingers until you have 8 equidistant pinches. Gather up sides of dumpling and squeeze gently to create “waist”; use butter knife to firmly pack filling.
• Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with damp kitchen towel, and repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
• Top center of each dumpling with pinch of grated carrot, if using.
• Poke about 20 small holes in parchment round slightly smaller than diameter of steamer basket. (You can buy round parchment with venting holes.)
• Place in basket and lightly coat with vegetable oil spray. Place batches of dumplings on parchment liner, making sure they are not touching.
• Set steamer over simmering water and cook, covered, until no longer pink, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Serve immediately with Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce.

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Makes about 40 dumplings, 6 to 8 appetizer servings. The dumplings may be frozen for up to 3 months; cook them straight from the freezer for an extra 5 minutes. Serve shu mai with Spicy Sweet Chili Sauce, recipe also posted on www.dishtoremember.com.