Pork and mushroom siu mai
Makes 16
Ready in 45 minutes
11⁄2 cups dried sliced shiitake mushrooms
350g pork mince (or chicken mince) 2 spring onions, very finely chopped 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 Tbsp sesame oil 1⁄2 tsp sugar 1⁄2 tsp salt 1⁄4 tsp fine white pepper
16 round or square won ton wrappers
To garnish
1 Tbsp black sesame seeds
Soy vinegar dipping sauce 1⁄2 cup soy sauce 1⁄4 cup black Chinese vinegar a couple of drops of chilli oil or
sesame oil
To garnish spring onion/scallion, thinly sliced and
sesame seeds
Method
Cover mushrooms with boiling water and allow to soak until softened (about 15 minutes). Drain and chop finely. Place in a bowl with chicken, spring onions, oyster sauce, cornflour, sesame oil, sugar, salt and fine white pepper and stir to combine.
Place 111⁄2 Tbsp of filling in the centre of a dumpling wrapper, ensuring at least a 1.5cm border of wrapper around the edges. Pull up the sides and squeeze around the filling, leaving top open. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Steam until cooked through and springy to the touch (10 minutes). Serve hot with dipping sauce. Garnish with spring onion and sesame seeds before serving.
To make dipping sauce
Place soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil or sesame oil in a jar or bowl and shake or stir to combine. Transfer to a serving bowl and put to one side.
Annabel says: Chinese black vinegar has a deeper flavour (more like balsamic vinegar) and is used in dipping sauces and stirfries. Thanks to my dear friend Maylene Lai for introducing me to the wonderful dipping sauce I’ve included in this recipe, which works well with any kind of dumpling.