Siew Mai (Shrimp and Pork Dumpling): This all-time favourite Dim Sum dish is healthy, tasty and easy to make at home! Wrap our versatile meat mix with wonton skin, and top with fresh shrimp roe and pop into the steamer for a quick snack!
Last week we blogged about ‘Dim Sum’ Cabbage Roll, using our versatile meat stuffing family recipe that my mum has been making for as long as I can remember. The delicious meat stuffing used for cabbage roll can also be used to make everyone’s favourite Dim Sum dish – Shrimp and Pork Dumpling (aka Siew Mai / Siu Mai / Shumai / Shaomai).
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How to Fold Siew Mai
These are the Siew Mai that I made yesterday. Its really easy to fold the wonton skin into Siew Mai. Just watch this video for a quick tutorial for folding Siew Mai AND Wanton!
If you don’t have time to watch the video, you can just follow the steps below (see the accompanying infographic below!):
- Form a circle with your thumb and index finger.
- Place the wonton skin over the circle and make a little depression in the centre.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of meat mixture onto the centre of the wonton skin.
- Shape the Siew Mai to give it a nice waist and flat base so it can stand.
- Use a spoon to press down on the meat filling firmly to get rid of air pockets.
- Add a little shrimp roe in the centre of the Siew Mai as decoration.
Once you have folded the Siew Mai, be sure to either store them in the fridge / freezer or put them into the steamer immediately, otherwise the skin will dry out and become hard. The whole process will take just under an hour to complete, but what I like to do is to make a whole batch of Siew Mai / Wonton and store them in the freezer. They are a handy stash whenever I want to fix a quick snack with minimal fuss!
Hope you enjoy this recipe, and please leave me a comment below if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback for me! If you prefer a gluten free version of Siew Mai, you can try our ‘Dim Sum’ Cabbage Roll recipe instead!
Suggested Modifications for Special Diets
- Baby/Toddler-Friendly: Cut into small pieces for older babies / toddlers.
- Child-Friendly: No modifications needed.
- Egg-Free: Skip the egg in the meat mixture – it should still be able to bind well together. Use water to seal the wonton skin instead of egg.
- Fish-Free: Use chicken stock instead of Ikan Bilis stock.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
Siew Mai (Shrimp and Pork Dumpling)
Ingredients
- 100 grams Wonton Skin
- 3 tbsp Shrimp Roe (Ebiko)
- 3 tbsp Chilli Oil (Optional)
PREPARATION METHOD FOR MEAT FILLING
- 350 grams Lean Pork
- 2-3 pieces Black Wooden Ear Fungus
- 15 Medium Size Prawns
- 7-8 Water Chestnuts
- 1 Egg
- 2 sprigs Spring Onion
MARINADE
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Oil
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Corn flour
- 2 1/2 tsp Light sauce
- A Dash White pepper
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD FOR MEAT FILLING (20 min active time; 50 min total time)
- Mince the pork coarsely.
- Marinate the pork with the marinade ingredients for about 15 minutes.
- Soak the wooden ear fungus for about 20 minutes until it expands and becomes soft.
- Wash the wooden ear fungus thoroughly to remove the sand in between the grooves and cut into small squares.
- Wash the water chestnut, using a brush to remove the mud. Remove the skin with a peeler. Then cut the water chestnut into small cubes.
- Wash, shell and devein the prawns. Then cut into 3-4 pieces each. See my video on how to devein prawns here.
- Wash and cut the spring onion into small pieces.
- In a big bowl add in the pork, wooden fungus, water chestnut, prawns and spring onion and mix well.
- Crack an egg into the mixture, then mix well until incorporated.
- Leave the meat mixture in the fridge for 1/2 hour.
PREPARATION METHOD FOR FOLDING SIEW MAI (20 min)
- Line the steaming plate with grease-proof paper.
- Using your non-dominant hand, form a circle with your thumb and index finger.
- Place a wonton skin over the circle and centralise it. Create a small depression in the middle.
- Then spoon a tbsp of meat mix into the middle of the wonton skin.
- Gently squeeze the siew mai all around to form a 'waist', while using your other hand to form the flat base of the siew mai.
- Use a spoon to press down firmly on the mixture to release any air bubbles, and to create a flat surface ensuring the meat covers till the top of the wanton skin. However do not over compact the meat.
- Add a small amount of shrimp roe in the centre of the siew mai.
- Place the completed siew mai on the lined steaming plate without touching each other.
COOKING METHOD FOR SIEW MAI (15 min)
- Add boiling water to a wok until it reaches the height of the steaming rack. Replace the lid and bring to a boil again.
- Once the water is boiling, remove the lid and wipe off any condensation on the lid with a clean cloth.
- Place the steaming plate into the wok and replace the cover. Steam over high heat for about 12 minutes (longer if you are use more meat filling).
- Best served steaming hot with chilli oil as a dipping sauce.
Notes
- Don't crush or smash the water chestnut, just cut it into tiny squares. Otherwise all the water will ooze out and it will lose its crunchy texture and become powdery.
- Do not cut the prawns too small either so to retain the crunchy texture. Buy the 'Swa Lor' prawns from the wet market for this type of prawns is very sweet and tasty and has a very crunchy texture . Most restaurants use this type of prawns for all the Dim Sum dishes.
- After mixing the meat with the rest of the ingredients, leave the filling in the fridge for 30 mins to firm up the meat for easy wrapping.
- Make sure you place the completed siew mai on greaseproof paper or a floured surface, to prevent it from sticking to the surface.
- For the less health conscious, you can use pork with some fats such as Wu Hua Rou ( pork shoulder) or Bu Jian Tian ( meat is taken from the arm pit of the pig) to replace the lean meat. The fats are the one that give it a very smooth texture
