If you miss going out for a hearty dim sum breakfast and having a fresh basket of siew mai, this recipe is just for you. Of course, you could easily buy a frozen batch from the supermarket to satisfy your cravings, but taking the time to make your own siew mai really pays off.
If you prefer to stay safe and not to dine outside for now, get fresh siew mai by making your very own at home. We promise that it’s not as difficult as it seems.
Ingredients
Wrapper
- 250g all purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1 egg
- 150ml water
- 1 drop yellow egg colouring
Filling
- 5 pieces prawn
- 1/2 cup water chestnut
- 1/4 cup scallions
- 40g shiitake mushroom
- 10g ginger
- 250g ground pork
- 1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 large carrot
Steps
Add flour and salt to a bowl and mix together.
Add yellow egg colouring to 50ml water and mix.
Add egg to bowl. Pour in a bit of the coloured water and mix well. Continue adding coloured water while mixing and add the rest of the water in the same manner. The resulting dough should be soft and not sticky. Let dough sit for at least 30 mins.
Take the rested dough and separate into four equal portions. Dust a single portion with flour and roll it out with a rolling pin. Fold in the sides and roll out again. Repeat folding and rolling action for another 5 times.
Portion the dough into another three parts. Take one part and roll till dough is as thin as possible without tearing. Use a glass cup to cut out your round wrappers. Dust the wrappers with flour to prevent them from sticking to one another.
De-shell prawns and mince finely. Mince water chestnut, scallions, mushrooms and ginger.
Place minced pork in bowl and add cornstarch, water, and oils, and mix well. Add prawns, water chestnut, scallions, mushrooms and ginger, and mix well.
Add oyster sauce, salt, sugar and white pepper, and mix well to create your siew mai filling.
To wrap your siew mai, take a wrapper and place one teaspoon of filling in the centre of the wrapper. Enclose the meat with your wrapper and adjust till the open-topped package can stand on its own.
Add your wrapped siew mais to a bamboo steamer with sliced carrots as the base. Steam till they are cooked thoroughly.
Text: AsiaOne