The Siu Mai My Dad's Made 100,000X
Why this recipe
Most siu mai recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 50 years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 2.4M views, 40.3K likes on YouTube.
Siu mai (燒賣) is one of my all-time favorites!
If you've never had it, it's kind of like a juicy pork meatball held together by a soft and chewy dumpling wrapper. It's extremely popular for good reason!
Originally from Northern China, siu mai (also sometimes written as shu mai or shao mai) spread across China and the rest of the world, taking on many different varieties to adapt to local tastes. You’ve probably tried the extremely popular Cantonese version, as it’s a staple of dim sum restaurants everywhere.
Dim Sum: A touch of heart
The way most of us pronounce "dim sum" in English is very similar to its Cantonese pronunciation, "dím sām," which roughly translates to "a touch of heart."
It's a reference to the delectable snacks that 10th century teahouses would serve to traveling merchants in Guangzhou, one of the largest international ports along the Silk Road.
Even though dim sum is widely considered a classic part of Cantonese cuisine, it evolved from a wide range of influences, largely because Guangzhou was and still is a critical hub for Chinese trade and a melting pot of different cultures.
Preparing siu mai at home
Siu mai are steamed dumplings, so you'll need either a steamer or a steaming setup.
If you have a steamer, fill the bottom of the steamer, or the reservoir, with at least 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, then carefully set the siu mai in the steamer. Cover, and steam.
If you don't have a dedicated steamer or this kind of steamer rack, you can also use a wok/pan with a lid, a wire steamer rack, and a plate.
- Our steamer - https://amzn.to/36i6vah
- Our wok - https://amzn.to/365xFRX
An expert chef’s tip for making juicy, plump siu mai
Do your steamed dumplings always come out soggy? That’s a result of too much moisture in the filling. For plump and juicy (but not soggy!) siu mai, make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the meat.
Also, if your steaming setup causes water to spill or splash up to the plate holding your food, it'll get wet and soggy, so make sure that the water's not coming from the bottom, too.
On the flip side, dry steamed dumpling wrappers are a result of air exposure. It'll always start to dry out after you remove it from the steamer, so you can just leave it in the steamer and keep it in the humid air until you're ready to eat.
Ingredients
Instructions
Chop and prepare ingredients
We'll be mincing and preparing:
Pork shoulder butt: (8 oz)
Cut into slices, strips, then into fine bits. Soak in water and massage the pork for 1 to 2 minutes. Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Afterward, drain in a colander and squeeze out as much water as you can.
Shrimp: (4 oz)
Wrap in a paper towel and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Mince into fine bits.
Dried shiitake mushrooms (4 pieces):
Reconstitute in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, squeeze out as much water as you can. Slice the mushroom in half, lengthwise. Cut into strips, then mince into fine bits.
Carrot (0.50 oz):
Cut into slices, strips, then very fine bits.
Chef’s Tip: Similar to our Steamed Spare Rib recipe, we want to soak the pork in water to remove some of the redness and pork-y taste by getting rid of some of the myoglobin.
In general, with our meats, to avoid a soggy siu mai, we want to extract as much water as we can before we wrap them.
Make marinade
In a bowl, we'll mix:
- light soy sauce (1 tbsp)
- oyster sauce (2 tbsp)
- salt (0.50 tsp)
- sugar (2 tsp)
- cornstarch (2 tbsp)
- baking soda (0.50 tsp)
- chicken bouillon (1 tsp)
- water (2 tbsp)
- white pepper (0.50 tsp)
Marinate ingredients
We'll be creating our siu mai fillings in a few steps:
- Mix the sauce and pork in a bowl for about 2 to 3 minutes. This is important in helping the pork become more tender.
- Let the pork absorb the sauce for about 10 minutes.
- Then, add in the minced shrimp and mushrooms, along with olive oil (1 tsp) and sesame oil (1 tbsp). Mix again for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap, and let everything marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours.
Fold dumplings
This is a lot easier to conceptualize by watching our video (and also much easier with practice), but here are the steps to stuff and fold the dumplings:
- Lay out a wrapper in your palm (my dad prefers his left/non-dominant hand).
- Scoop about 1 oz of meat filling onto the wrapper, and loosely flatten it.
- Make a circle by pressing your index finger and thumb together, and place the wrapper over the circle. Make a funnel-like shape with your other fingers.
- With the opposite end of a spoon, push into the center of the wrapper, into the hole you made with your fingers.
- Compress the meat into the dumpling wrapper by pressing with your spoon, squeezing with your fingers on all sides. Rotate the dumpling with your fingers a few times.
- Squeeze the bottom half of the dumpling to force some of the meat to rise, and flatten that with your spoon.
- If there's not enough meat, you can add some more and repeat.
Freezing large batches for later
If you are planning on making a bunch of siu mai at once, you can freeze them to steam for later.
- Lay out the siu mai on a tray, making sure that they're not touching one another.
- Put them in the freezer for 1 tp 2 hours.
- This should dry them enough so that you can place all of them in an airtight ziptop bag.
Definitely DO NOT steam them and then freeze them.
You can freeze them for at least a month. When you're looking to cook them, just let them thaw completely before steaming.
Steam dumplings
Fill a steamer with about 2 cups of water. Lay out the siu mai on a steamer rack (with holes on the tray) so they're not touching.
Bring the water to a boil, then carefully set the siu mai in the steamer. Cover, and steam for 10 minutes.
If you don't have a dedicated steamer or this kind of steamer rack, you can also use a wok/pan with a lid, a wire steamer rack, and a plate. With this setup, steam for about 12 minutes.
Once they're done, carefully lift the steamer rack out (my dad used chopsticks). Garnish with the minced carrots, and you're ready to eat!
It's best if you eat it immediately at peak moistness and juiciness :)
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We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
