Shumai (or Shao Mai, Steamed Dumpling)
弄库一额
Cook Time 10 mins
Total Time 35 mins
The Japanese version of steamed dumpling, shumai (シュウマイor 焼売), also called shao mai, is quite easy to make. See the video below the recipe to believe it. It tastes like the ones you get at restaurants and is certainly much better than the frozen shumai you can buy at Asian grocery stores. It only contains pork mince, onion and few typical Japanese seasonings, but it tastes so good.
Japanese took on quite few Chinese dishes and converted them to Japanese tastes. Some dishes transformed so much that they became the Japanese dishes with very little resemblance to the original Chinese dishes. The most iconic dish of those is “ramen” (ラーメン), I must say. It originated from Chinese noodles but now ramen = Japan.
Nagi posted Gyoza last year in January. Gyoza was also from China. It was my recipe and I wanted to include it on this blog site, RecipeTin Japan, but Nagi simply could not wait for me to launch my blog.
Well, Nagi has been impatient since she was a little kid. She was always the one who asked me, “Are we there yet?”, 10 minutes after we left home to go on a couple of hours’ road trip to the north coast of NSW. She was right this time, though. My blog was launched 7 months after her gyoza post and there is no way Nagi could wait for so long.
Shumai (シュウマイor 焼売) is also a dish that came from China and was modified to suit the Japanese palate. It still looks like the Chinese shumai you get at restaurants but the flavour is somewhat different. Japanese shumai is made with just pork mince (ground pork), unlike Chinese shumai which is usually made with mixture of prawns (shrimps) and pork.
My shumai uses pork mince (ground pork) and finely chopped onion, which is typical of the Japanese shumai. Sometimes, I add finely chopped rehydrated shiitake mushrooms for an extra texture and flavour. At the centre of each shumai, I place a green pea for a colour but this is optional.
用料
| 300 g (10.6oz) pork mince (ground pork) | |
| 1 tsp salt, sugar, ginger juice, sesame oil | 勺 |
| 2 tsp soy sauce | |
| Pepper | |
| 150 g (5.3oz) onion very finely chopped | 根 |
| 2½ tbsp cornflour/corn starch (cornstarch) | |
| Wrapping | |
| 24 shumai sheets (note 1) | |
| 24 frozen green peas (optional) | |
| Serving | |
| Soy sauce Vinegar (optional) Chilli oil or hot mustard (optional) |
Shumai (or Shao Mai, Steamed Dumpling)的做法
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Add shumai mixture, excluding onion and cornflour, to the bowl. Mix well until the mixture becomes almost like a paste.
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Then add onion and cornflour and mix well. Cover and leave for 1-2 hours in the fridge.
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Sprinkle small amount of cornflour (not in ingredients) over the tray where the shumai will be placed as you make them.
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Using your non-dominant hand, make a round hole by connecting the thumb and the index finger with the rest of fingers next each other. Place a shumai sheet onto the circle made with the thumb and the index finger.
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Scoop about a tablespoon heap of meat mixture (note 2) and place it in the centre of the shumai sheet.
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Using the back and tip of the spoon, press the meat down gently through the hole while holding the fingers firmly. Slide the meat with the sheet downwards until the surface of the meat levels with the circle of the fingers.
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Smooth out the surface of the shumai and place a green pea in the middle, if using.
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Repeat steps 4 – 7 to make 24 shumai in total or until either meat mixture or the wrapping sheets run out.
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*Steaming Shumai Using a Bamboo Steamer*
Make a round steaming paper liner with many holes (see the video) which will just fit inside the steamer. This is to prevent the shumai skin from sticking to the bamboo.
Place a wok with a cup of water over the high heat.
Place the paper liner inside the bamboo steamer, then place shumai in the steamer without touching each other. If the steamer cannot take 24 shumai at once, you will need to steam them in batches.
When the water starts boiling, place the bamboo steamer onto the wok and steam for 8-10 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
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Serving
If you are using a bamboo steamer, you could serve shumai in the bamboo steamer. If using a steamer pot/pan, transfer the shumai onto a plate. If steamed on a plate using a pot, serve the steaming plate with the shumai on.
Serve with soy sauce, vinegar, chilli oil/hot mustard.
小贴士
1. I used the Japanese shumai sheets which comes in a pack of 24 sheets. The size of the sheet is 6.5cm (2½") square. You could substitute it with the Chinese shumai or wonton sheets which are usually 9cm (3½") square. If the size of the sheet is larger, you will need more meat to fill up the sheet or reduce the number of sheets to make.
2. To use up the meat perfectly, I draw 4 lines on the surface of the meat crossing in the centre so that it will make 8 pieces like pizza. Then roughly divide each piece into 3 equal portions. This will make 24 lots of meat.
3. For more details on how to steam without a steamer, please visit Sakamushi Fish (Steamed Fish in Sake). You will even find out how to take the steamed hot plate out of the pot without burning your fingers.
4. It is unlikely that the shumai skin at the bottom will stick to the plate but I thought it would be pretty to have a paper liner anyway.
5. You can freeze before or after steaming them. When freezing, place each shumai without touching each other. Once frozen, you can pack them closely.
Frozen shumai can be steamed without thawing. It will take 10-12 minutes.
