Chicken Shumai
Traditional Shumai are made with a mixture of pork and prawns. If you’d like to use prawns with the chicken to give the dumpling a pop of salinity, use half chicken and half prawn. Mince prawns finely before adding. Yield: 20 to 25 dumplings
Ingredients
- 4 medium dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes or fresh
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Shao Xing wine or Japanese mirin
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons sugar, optional
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 20-25 round shumai wrappers* or wonton wrappers trimmed into circle
- ¼ carrot cut into fine dices for garnish
Directions
1. Trim the stems from the mushrooms and finely dice. Discard stems.
2. Place the shiitake mushrooms, ground chicken, spring onions, and garlic in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the salt, soy sauce, Shao Xing wine, white pepper, sugar, corn starch, and sesame oil. Mix everything well until evenly combined and mixture is a thick sticky paste.
4. Make an “OK” sign with your left hand and turn your hand so the “O” is horizontal. Center the dumpling wrapper on the “O” with your index finger and thumb slightly apart to form a “U”.
5. Scoop about one heaping tablespoon of filling with a spoon and place it in the middle of the wrapper. Gently press down with the back of the spoon while gently squeezing the wrapper with your hand to form a cylinder shape.
6. While still squeezing the dumpling gently, flatten the top by using a butter knife then flatten the bottom by using your hand and fingers. It’s tricky at first but you will get the hang of it by the 25th dumpling.
7. Place the dumplings in a bamboo or vegetable steamer that has been lined with perforated parchment paper**. Garnish with carrots at the center of each dumpling. Leave enough space between each dumpling to prevent them from sticking to each other.
8. Repeat the process until the filling or wrappers run out.
9. To steam: fill a large pot/wok with water and bring it to a boil. Place the dumpling-filled bamboo steamer over the water. If you don’t have a bamboo steamer you can use a steamer insert. Close the lid and steam for 8-9 minutes over medium-high heat. (Do not overcrowd the steamer. Steam two to three batches if needed.)
10. Remove the steamer from the heat and serve Shumai immediately while warm. The dumplings are delicious on their own or served with dipping sauce.
*dumpling wrappers are usually found in the freezer section, however busy Asian markets will have them in the refrigerator section.
**Perforated parchment paper is a non-stick paper sheet that is used to line the steamer. It prevents the dumplings from sticking to the steamer. If you don’t have perforated parchment paper you can use non-stick baking paper and cut it into a round and cut small holes around the center of the circle.