Sui Mai

Dim Sum and Other Snack Foods

Sui Mai
Ingredients:
1 package of round dumpling wrappers (about 50 to 60)
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 teaspoon salt
8 dried Chinese black mushrooms, soaked, stems discarded
1 pound finely chopped or ground fatty pork
1/4 pound fresh shrimp, skins and veins removed, the shrimp chopped
8 water chestnuts, chopped coarsely
2 Tablespoons thin soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon Chinese rice wine, white or black
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 Tablespoon chicken broth or warm water
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon crab roe or 50 to 60 green peas, for decor
1 teaspoon oil, if using a metal steamer basket or small pieces of parchment paper, one for each siu mai
dipping sauce of choice
Preparation:
1. Unwrap the sui mai wrappers and cover with a damp cloth.
2. Mix cabbage and salt and let rest an hour, then squeeze well expelling and discarding any water.
3. Mince mushrooms and mix with the cabbage, shrimp, water chestnuts, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, ginger, chicken broth or water, and the sugar.
4. Put one scant tablespoon of this cabbage-meat mixture on one dumpling wrapper and gather the wrapper around the meat, but do not close the dough; just flatten the meat in the open center part, and put a very small amount of crab roe or the green pea in the open center on top.
5. Either oil metal steamer basket or put each dumpling parchment paper about size of the dumpling itself.
6. Steam over rapidly boiling water for fifteen minutes, remove and serve alone or with any garlic dipping sauce, some hot oil, or duck sauce.

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