Cantonese-style Steamed Pork and Prawn Dumplings For A Hot Summers Day

Wine brand

Asian flavours are popular for beautifully balancing saltiness with sweetness, acidity, bitterness and even some heat. They are, however, tricky to partner with wine. The 2021 Pierneef Sauvignon Blanc from La Motte in Franschhoek, South Africa, is an excellent partner to the complexities of these pork and prawn dumplings.

Cantonese-style siu mai are the version that most people are familiar with. They’re round and the filling is wrapped in circular dumpling skins. The filling consists of pork and shrimp. Other additional ingredients may include ginger, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, wood ear, and water chestnuts.

Steamed Pork and Prawn Dumplings (Siu Mai)

Makes 14 – 16 dumplings

Ingredients

  • 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
  • 200 g coarsely chopped pork loin or skinless belly (or substitute with pork mince)
  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
  • 1 spring onion, the white part, thinly sliced
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Shaoxing rice wine (or dried sherry)
  • ½ tsp corn flour
  • 100 g raw prawns, peeled, deveined and coarsely chopped
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 small carrot, finely diced
  • 14 – 16 Gyoza wrappers

Dipping Sauce

  • 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp rice vinegar
  • dried chili flakes to taste

Instructions

  1. Squeeze the excess water from the mushrooms and chop finely.
  2. Place the mushrooms in a bowl with the pork, ginger, spring onion, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and corn flour.
  3. Mix for a few minutes until the mixture binds together.
  4. Add the prawns and sesame oil and give it a gentle mix.
  5. Place in the fridge for an hour to rest.
  6. From an O with your thumb and forefinger and place the pastry on top.
  7. Spoon 1 tsp of filling on the pastry and push into the O cavity with the filling, squeezing into shape as you fill.
  8. Smooth the filling on top with a knife and tap the bottom gently on a wooden board so the dumpling stands upright.
  9.  Put a pinch of diced carrots on top.
  10. Line a bamboo steamer with a perforated sheet of baking paper and steam the dumplings in batches until cooked through – about 8 minutes or so.