Steamed Shao-Mai Dumplings with Young Ginger
Submitted by mrspike
Pork and ginger dumplings shaped into open-topped cups, topped with diced carrot for color, and steamed for 20 minutes. A classic Chinese shao mai dim sum recipe you can make at home in 30 minutes.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
20 minREADY
30 minShao mai are the open-topped dumplings you see at every dim sum cart, and they’re much easier to shape at home than you’d think.
Ground pork shoulder gets mixed with a generous amount of fresh young ginger, scallion, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and crunchy diced water chestnuts. A scant tablespoon goes in the center of each thin wrapper, then you gather the sides up and cinch them into a little cup shape with an exposed pork top.
Press a few diced carrot cubes into the filling for a pop of color and twenty minutes in the steamer turns them into juicy, ginger-spiked bites.
Kitchen Tips
- Use the food processor to mince the ginger and scallion fine before pulsing in the pork for even distribution
- Stir the filling in one direction only so the proteins bind together and hold their shape
- Cinch the wrapper gently around the middle to create the classic empire-waist shape without tearing
- Oil the steamer rack well so the dumplings release cleanly
Ingredients
Directions
Mince the ginger and scallion in a food processor until fine.
Add pork, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, salt and pepper and mix with several on-off pulses in the processor.
Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and add the water chestnuts.
Stir in one direction until mixed.
Put 1 scant tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper.
Form the wrapper into a loose four-cornered hat, then press each corner towards the filling.
The dumpling should now look like a cupcake.
Next, make a circle of your thumb and first finger around the middle of the dumpling and tighten the circle gently to press the wrapper to the filling and give the dumpling an empire “waist".
Dunk the exposed pork top into carrot cubes to decorate.
Steam the dumplings for 20 minutes on an oiled steamer rack and serve.
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