Cantonese Dim Sum style Siu Mai

Siumai, from scratch — How to Make Cantonese Dim Sum style Siu Mai (烧卖). This recipe makes 32 Siumai.

Ingredient notes: The 250g of shrimp is gonna be prepped, chopped, and tossed into the Siumai, and we'll also top each Siumai with an extra shrimp like most Dim Sum joints do. Try not to get shrimp that're too big as they'd be tough to top the Siumai with. The baking soda marinade (½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp baking soda) helps the shrimp keep its pop during cooking. For the pork, use 335g lean and 125g fat, diced; the cut we use is the hindleg (the 'ham') of the pig for its combination of lean and fat, but you could use whatever cut you like or a mix (loin plus pork fat would also work). The jianshui substitute (¼ tsp baking soda mixed with ¾ tsp water) subs for alkaline water; if you have real jianshui (枧水) use 2g. Salt (10g) helps break down the meat to the right filling texture. Reconstitute 6 dried shiitake mushrooms by soaking in hot water (2-3 hours) or cool water (6-8 hours), then dice. Seasoning: 1.5 tbsp sugar, ½ tbsp chicken bouillon, ½ tbsp white pepper powder, ½ tsp MSG (or swap for extra chicken bouillon), 2 tsp light soy sauce. Melt 40g lard to coat the filling near the end. Thinly sliced carrot is optional (steam the Siumai on it, or use holed parchment paper). Roe is optional (Japanese Tobiko / flying fish roe).

Wrappers: 250g all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, one and a half medium eggs whisked (75g whisked egg), 50g water, and 2 drops of 'egg yellow' food coloring mixed into the water for the traditional bright yellow color.

Process, Siumai Filling:

1. Rehydrate then dice the mushrooms (a couple hours in hot water, or overnight/from morning in cool water). If rendering your own lard, prep that in advance too.
2. Separate the lean and the fat, and finely dice both. Keep some texture in the lean — aim for cubes about 0.7cm thick.
3. Marinate the shrimp in the baking soda marinade for about 15 minutes (½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp baking soda) so they keep their pop.
4. Wash the 'slime' off the shrimp: continually rinse under cool water for about five minutes until they turn slightly white-ish and feel different, then roughly chop to the size of the diced pork and dry thoroughly. Set aside.
5. Rinse the 'blood' from the diced lean: soak in cool water about a minute, swap the water, and repeat about five times until the pork turns white-ish and the water runs clear.
6. Add the jianshui substitute (¼ tsp baking soda mixed with ¾ tsp water) to the lean, mix thoroughly, add the shrimp and the salt, and begin mixing/stirring by hand in one direction for about three minutes. The salt unravels the water-soluble proteins so the mixture restructures; it's finished when it becomes sticky and leaves slight white streaks on the side of the bowl.
7. 'Dat' the mixture about ten times: grab all the filling and slam it against the bowl to build springiness.
8. Add the seasoning (sugar, chicken bouillon, white pepper powder, MSG, soy sauce), the mushrooms, and the diced fat — combining well after each addition. Then add the 40g melted lard to coat and mix well. Fat and lard go in last so the oil doesn't inhibit the protein restructuring. Set aside until ready to wrap.

Process, Siumai Wrappers (or use store-bought wonton wrappers cut into rounds — get the thinnest available): 9. Combine the flour and salt, thoroughly whisk the egg, and dissolve the food coloring completely into the water. 10. Using the hook attachment on a stand mixer at speed 1, slowly add the eggs and water, then knead for eight minutes until a smooth, slightly sticky ball forms (or knead by hand). 11. Cover with a damp towel and let the dough relax for 30 minutes or longer. 12. Cut the dough into about six even logs and pass each through a pasta maker on the largest setting; fold and pass through again, repeating five times total to develop gluten. Split each log into three pieces and flour the dough. 13. Pass the dough through the pasta maker at a medium setting, then at the thinnest setting. 14. Cut the dough into rounds using a whisky/old-fashioned glass as a guide (don't press down, just guide the cut). Flour the wrappers well so they don't stick together.

Process, Making the Siumai: 15. If using, lay out about eight carrot slices in a bamboo steamer (or use holed parchment). Use a steaming set-up that lets steam circulate under the Siumai from the bottom — don't steam on a plate. 16. Grab roughly a heaping tablespoon of filling per Siumai and fold the wrapper up around the sides: make a ring/'ok sign' with thumb and index finger, set the wrapper on the ring, and press the filling in. Make sure the filling comes right up to the top of the wrapper so no wrapper dries out during steaming. 17. Place the extra shrimp and a small spoonful of roe on each Siumai, pressing the shrimp slightly into the filling. 18. Steam the Siumai for ten minutes with the water at a rolling boil, covering both the steamer and the wok. 19. Serve immediately — these aren't a potluck dish as they'll dry out.

Note on storing: This recipe makes 32 Siumai. They freeze well — when wrapping the ones to freeze, don't add the extra shrimp and roe on top; take the filling to the very top of the wrapper and set aside to freeze.