CHICKEN SIU MAI RECIPE RECIPES

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a large bowl, combine chicken, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, scallions, cornstarch, white peppercorn oil, oyster sauce, ginger, Shao Hsing, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, pepper, and egg white. Stir to mix thoroughly. Transfer to a shallow dish, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours, or covered, overnight.
• Make the dumplings: Lightly oil a bamboo steamer basket, or line the bottom with a round metal steamer insert; set aside. Work with one wrapper at a time, and cover unused wrappers with a damp cloth. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons filling in center of each wrapper. Hold filling in place with the blade of a butter knife. Holding the dumpling in the other hand, gradually turn the knife and dumpling slowly in a clockwise direction so that the dumpling forms a basket shape.
• Remove knife, and pat filling with point of knife to smooth. Squeeze the dumpling slightly to adhere dough to filling, this will ensure that the dumpling and filling will remain intact during the steaming process. Tap the dumpling bottom lightly on work surface to flatten. Place into prepared steamer basket. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers.
• Bring 3 inches of water to a boil in a wok. Place steamer basket over water. Cover, and steam until dumplings are cooked through, about 6 minutes. Turn off heat. Remove the steamer from the wok, and transfer to a platter. Serve dumplings directly from steamer with mustard dipping sauce on the side.

Steps:

• Pour sufficient hot water over the mushrooms in a small bowl to cover them completely. Let soak till softened, about 20 min. Drain the mushrooms, throw away the stems and mince the caps. Make the filling: Stir the grnd chicken or possibly turkey, bamboo shoots, egg, green onion, soy sauce, salt, ginger, sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, pepper and mushrooms together in a bowl till thoroughly combined and spongy. Make the dumplings: Place a heaping tsp. of the filling in the center of a siu mai wrapper. (Keep the remaining wrappers covered with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out.) Bring the sides of the wrapper together, bunching them around the filling and smoothing out any pleats. (If desired, you can spend a little time making nice, even pleats on each dumpling.) Flatten the bottom of the dumpling by tapping it against a hard surface and squeeze the sides of the dumpling gently so the filling plumps out of the top. Place a few shreds of carrot and a pea over the filling. Set the dumpling on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Cover the formed dumplings with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Prepare a wok for steaming. Line a steaming basket with the lettuce or possibly cabbage leaves. Arrange half the dumplings without touching each other in the prepared basket. Steam over high heat till the filling is cooked through, about 15 min. Transfer the dumplings to a serving platter and cover with foil, shiny-side down, to keep them hot while you steam the remaining dumplings. Serve the dumplings hot. This recipe yields 25 to 30 dumplings for 12 servings.