Siomai (Shumai)

Siomai (Shumai)

Siomai or Shumai is a traditional Chinese dumpling served in dim sum. In China there are two varieties of Siomai which are the Cantonese and Jinghan.  The difference between the two varieties is that the Cantonese is made out of pork, shrimp and black mushroom covered in a thin sheet of dough while the siomai in the Jiangnan region is quite different as the dough is larger and tougher than the Cantonese version and the filling is made out of marinated pork pieces in glutinous rice and steamed with some lard, the size is also bigger compared to the counterpart.

Shumai also exists in Japan but the ingredients is different as well as the preparation, in Japan they only use pork and is always minced unlike the Chinese version which is finely chopped hence it has that distinct texture compared to the Chinese variant.

The most common of them is the Cantonese version, and usually the siomai?s that are sold outside of China most probably have originated from it like the Philippine siomai. But the Philippine version has its own uniqueness added to it as it is usually dipped in a light soy sauce with chilli oil and spicy garlic mince squeezed with lemon or calamansi.  It?s so common in Philippines almost all food courts in malls have a siomai stall; I remembered my favourite was Henlin?s and Chowking?s siomai.

Ingredients

500g pork, finely chopped

7 pcs dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in 1 cup water then chopped

300 g shrimps, chopped

2 tbsp sesame oil

salt

3 tbsp cornstarch

siomai / wanton wrapper

Method

1. Mix pork, mushroom, shrimps, salt, cornstarch, and sesame oil thoroughly in a bowl.

2. Wrap a heaping spoonful of the mixture in a siomai wrapper leaving the top open/unwrapped.

3. Place in a steamer for at least 20-25 minutes or until cooked.