Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai

A craving is a powerful thing, I tell ya. Dim Sum. It has been a while and it has taken it's toll. Back in L.A., if you wanted Dim Sum, it was 20 minutes away. Wherever you were.... there was a joint 20 minutes away and it was GOOD. Downtown L.A. or Alhambra/Monterey Park or Hacienda/Rowland Heights or Anaheim... well you get the point. Here? I haven't had any. I have been told about this "one place" in Orlando and it was "pretty good"... Look, there's just no way I was going to drive a ridiculous hour for this "one place" which was "pretty good". You're gonna have to do better than that. I want "this place is so *expletive* good that after driving an hour, you'll gladly have the grouchy waiter spill a whole pitcher of water all over your khakis because the Siu Mai is just THAT...DAMN...GOOD.

Maybe some other time...If i'm in the area we'll give it a try and with soaking khakis, tell you all about how great it was..... But not today. I'm going to knock this one out and then I'm going to teach my little girl how to ride her bike...without training wheels. Let's Rock.

A few notes before hand. For the sake of getting as close to authentic as possible, try not to use ground pork. Grab a pack of pork stewing meat, which is usually pork shoulder and mince it yourself. Don't worry if you have bigger pieces than others. That's the whole point of it. You'll end up with a better texture and a juicier dumpling because ground pork will tend to dry up on you. Another is MSG. Oh the evil MSG. If it makes you sick? Omit. If not.. well put it this way, if you ended up going to the Dim Sum place, you would have consumed much much more than your conscience would allow you if it was you putting it in your dish... either way it's up to you. Last thing, do not use wonton wrappers. Make sure it says Shu mai or Siu Mai and it has Hong Kong style and or thin wrappers. They are yellow and most of the time square. Trust me there is a huge difference and you will be much happier with the end product.

Siu Mai

1 lb pork, minced
1/4 lb shrimp peeled, deveined  and rough chopped
2 tbsp rough chopped reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp rough chopped water chestnuts
1 egg white
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Xiao Xing cooking wine
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp MSG
(carrot for topping) optional

Mix everything thoroughly then cover and keep in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Stuff the wrappers and should come out between 16-20 dumplings. Steam on high for 10 minutes.

Give the recipe a shot. Leave us a comment and let us know how you like the recipe! Thanks and see us again!