Dim Sum Drum Dumpling (Sew Mai)
Dim sum literally translates to "fill the heart." I love filling my belly with this Cantonese breakfast! It originated in little tea houses in southern China that served steamed and fried bites with your choice of tea and is the modern version of a culinary swap meet. Masses of people all competing for fresh cooked bites of food auctioned off carts. These are my favorite type of dumpling. Shaped like drums, stuffed with shrimp and pork, they are the best. Pro Tip: I love eating these with my grandma's not-so-secret sauce, which is just equal parts soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and sugar.
🍽️ Makes 10
Ingredients
| 5 | dried Chinese black mushrooms | |
| 3/4 lb (340 g) | coarsely ground pork butt | |
| 1/2 lb (240 g) | shrimp, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | salt |
| 2 tsp (10 g) | sugar | |
| 1/2 tbsp (8 ml) | peanut oil | |
| 1 1/2 tbsp (22 ml) | oyster sauce | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | cornstarch |
| 1 tbsp (15 ml) | sesame oil | |
| 1 pinch | white pepper | |
| 1 package | Hong Kong-style round dumpling skins |
Instructions
- Reconstitute the mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Rinse them, remove the stems and chop them into small dice.
- In a large bowl, combine the remainder of the filling ingredients and mix until well combined. You may also use a mixer with a paddle attachment for this. Cover the mixture and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour to overnight.
- Lay a dumpling skin on your work surface. Place about 2 tablespoons (15 g) of filling in the center. Hold the filling in place with your fingers and use the other hand to twist the skin around the filling. While twisting, make sure to flatten the top of the filling into the skin. Place the bottom of the dumpling on the work surface and flatten it out. Repeat this process until all the filling is gone.
- Steam the dumplings in a steamer basket on high for about 7 minutes or until cooked through.