Hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re adding to our series on foods inspired by TV and film with some shumai, inspired by the dumpling scene from New Girl. I thought I’d use this as an opportunity to explore a dumpling that MANYYY folks have been requesting (basically since I started this series), which is a shumai. For those not familiar, shumai is classic dim sum dumpling most typically made of ground pork, shrimp, and veggies, then placed inside of a thin wonton wrapper and gently steamed in a bamboo basket. Its signature open face makes it one of the easiest dumplings to make since there are no intricate pleats or fold involved at all, and it’s basically just a ball of filling pressed into a wrapper.

I also thought this would be a great opportunity to explore the uses of MSG a bit more, which is my favorite part about this New Girl scene, cause that stuff is in literally all chinese food, even if a restaurant says they don’t cook with MSG, causeee they’re lying. Hope you try it.

 

YIELDS 24

INGREDIENTS

  • 8oz ground pork

  • 4oz (about 6) shrimp

  • 6 shiitake mushrooms

  • 2 carrots

  • 2 green onions

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1 tbsp (about 1 inch) ginger

  • round wonton wrappers

  • kosher salt

  • cabbage (or lettuce)

INGREDIENTS (pork marinade)

  • 4 tbsp soy sauce

  • 2 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

  • 1/2 tsp white pepper

  • 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon powder

  • 1 tbsp corn starch

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 4 tbsp soy sauce

  • 1 tbsp lao gan ma

  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

  • 1 tsp brown sugar

PREP

  • COMBINE all marinade ingredients with ground pork, and let marinate for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour

  • COMBINE all sauce ingredients

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside

  • SLICE the green onions, set aside

  • DICE the carrots, set aside

  • REHYDRATE the shiitake mushrooms in boiling water, then dice and set aside

  • PEEL and devein the shrimp, then dice, season with kosher salt, and set aside

  • COMBINE veggies, shrimp, and pork once the pork has marinated, set aside

  • PLACE the wonton wrapper between your thumb and forefinger, then press gently and turn into shape (use the back of a flat spoon if needed)

ON THE STOVE

  • LINE a steam basket with cabbage (or lettuce), then place the shumai on top

  • BOIL a pot of water, then place the steam baskets on top, and steam for 12 minutes

  • REMOVE from heat and serve with sauce

 

tagged with woo can cook, shumai, siumai, shu mai, steamed dumpling, dumplings, chinese dumplings, potstickers, new girl