Steamed Pork And Shrimp Dumplings - {Shao Mai}

By á-170456

Ingredients

• 4 large dried black mushrooms soaked in hot water
• to cover for 25 minutes and drained
• 1/2 pound fat pork, such as pork butt coarsely ground
• 6 ounces shrimp meat or crabmeat finely chopped
• 2 green onions, white and light green parts finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 4 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil (or 1 1/2 tspn each vegetable oil and sesame oil)
• 24 round wheat-flour dumpling wrappers
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil - (to 3)
• Light soy sauce, mild mustard or chili sauce for dipping

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms if necessary and very finely chop the caps. Place in a bowl, add the pork, shrimp and green onions and mix well. Mix in the sugar and oyster sauce, then stir in the cornstarch, white pepper and oil. Let the filling stand for 20 minutes.

To shape each dumpling, make a circle with the thumb and first finger of one hand and position a dumpling wrapper centrally over the circle. Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of the wrapper, and gently push the dumpling through the circle so that the wrapper becomes pleated around the sides of the dumpling filling. You should have a cup-shaped dumpling with the top of the filling exposed.

Brush the rack of a steamer basket with the vegetable oil and place the dumplings in the basket, leaving some space between them. Bring water to a simmer in a steamer base. Set the basket in the steamer, cover tightly and steam the dumplings until the filling is firm, 7 to 8 minutes.

Serve the dumplings in the steamer basket or transfer to a plate. Accompany with soy sauce, mustard or chili sauce in small dishes for dipping.

This recipe yields 24 dumplings.

Two of the restaurant's specialties are xia jiao, crisp-tender shrimp dumplings in elegant translucent wrappers, and shao mai, an international favorite. These "open-face" dumplings are the archetypal dim sum. The tender dumplings of moist pork and succulent shellfish, lightly seasoned with green onions and oyster sauce, are encased in a soft, parchment-thin wrapper that leaves the filling exposed, so the eyes can appreciate even before the first bite. Pork and shrimp are two ingredients the southern Chinese hold in particularly high regard, so much so that they use them together in many dishes. Tender, finely sliced marinated pork and whole shelled shrimp with crisp and colorful fresh vegetables feature in stir-fries and noodles, sweet-and-sour dishes and steamboats. Satiny-smooth minced pork helps to bind and enrich fillings for buns, pastry rolls and dumplings, as in this recipe.