Indonesian food, especially from Central Java region, tend to be sweet. So does the shu mai variety. My mom always adds sugar into the mixture and I don't think this will apply to other culture. But that's just us--Semarangnese. We can't even live without kecap manis (Indonesian Sweet soy sauce). I can eat kecap manis with plain rice and tapioca crackers (krupuk terung) just like that! In fact, kecap manis and tapioca crackers were my childhood favorite food.
This evening we shopped around Milpitas, as we always do on weekend. My chubby hubby suddenly suggested, "Do you want to cook shu mai?" He's not someone with much ideas about cooking; so, when he says something like that, it means he wants it (and also means that I'm going to spend the whole night whipping the meal--with his help of course).
Okay, so off we went to Marina groceries and bought the ingredients. The rest of the evening was full of chopping, stirring, pleating, steaming, and not-to-be-missed: food tasting ^^
I like to prepare all the ingredients at once, while my mom does just the opposite. I remember when she cooked back then she always yelled, "Des...!! Get me the tomato sauce!! And also the nutmeg!" Then I would scramble around the kitchen and dining room to look for the things that she needed. It could happen many times in a single cooking process. Phew..
Well, that's just her habit. She might want us to get involved by purposely forgetting stuff, than to let us rested our butts in front of the TV.
But that could be a nuisance...and a mean interruption. Especially when you are watching Korean dramas...Ugh, can't get enough of Korean dramas. LOL
Anyway, I was pretty much traumatized, so I do my homework carefully. I don't want to bother my husband getting me this and that, and ended up being lectured for unpreparedness.
Ok, I'll stop mumbling. Here's the crew for today:
Oh, please don't be surprised if you see an apple there.
I know it's unconventional...some might call me irresponsible...
But I'm just curios. Cooking is my science lab experiement ^^
Next, put the ground pork in a deep container. Throw in a handful of finely diced carrot, apple, and chopped green onion. Try to stir the mixture.
Ughh...it's so hard. I think the mixture is just too dry...
Actually, the sauce and all liquid ingredients should get in. So pour the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, pepper, garlic+ginger paste, one egg, wine, honey, diced ham, and a little bit of water in. And try to stir and feel the difference. Oh yeah, the ham is already mixed in before, so can't see it below:
Yes, even hubby agreed that it was easier to stir with the liquid in. He's just an enthusiast sous chef. He even gave up his newspaper-reading time for this stirring job. Thanks honey...
I want the texture to be smooth, slightly chewy yet tender. It takes eggs and tapioca flour to make it that way...I have one egg in already, and I added another one. Place them in and blend evenly.
The next step would be to steam the shumai. You can pan-steam your shumai by doing the following trick. In a deep pan, pour in water and place a heat resistant bowl in the middle. Fill the bowl with water for double-heating function.
Then put a big heat-resistant plate on top of the bowl. They are perfect partner for an emergency steamer. Tested and proven!
Here comes the tricky part. Well, it's actually easy, but you must be patient and careful when making and handling these babies.
Just place 1/2 tbs of the mixture in the middle of a wrapper. Carefully pleats the side of the wrapper around, and lightly pinch the upper end of the shumai until it resembles a mini volcano. Topped it with finely diced carrot or capelin roe (thanks to Mae Han). Place them in the pre-heat steamer.
Close the lid, and steam each batch for fifteen minutes. For this recipe, I made in total three batches.
Here's the babies fifteen minutes later. They are too cute to end up in my tummy.
But...I must say that in tummies is where they belong :) They're edible shumais after all...;p
THE RECIPE (yields 55 small cuties)
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground pork
1/3 can of ham, minced (yum...)
2 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked 'til soft, then diced finely
5 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
1 medium-sized carrot, diced into very small pieces (honestly, it's troublesome)
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic+ginger paste (made from 1 big clove of garlic and 1,5 cm of ginger)
4 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
2 tbs honey
2 tbs wine (I use white zinfandel)
2 tbs sesame oil
1/4 cup of water
1 heap tbs of tapioca starch
1 package of shu mai wrapper
Capelin Roe
Optional:
1/4 apple diced thinly (I know...But my cooking is experimental, I hope you understand ;p)
Methods:
Put in meat in a big bowl/container, then thrown in all the ingredients at once, or in series, is really up to you. But I suggest that the sauces, eggs, and liquid get in first. It will make the stirring job easier.
Once all the ingredients is in perfect unity, put 1/2 tbs of the mixture into the wrapper and try your best to make it like an open money bag (by pinching/pleating the side of the wrapper around)
Steam in batches for fifteen minutes. Take out when ready, set aside to cool. Enjoy with chili sauce or dipping sauce. It's really good too on its own.
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