Shumai V2 焼売再挑戦

When I tried to make shumai 焼売 the first time, things did not go well. The skin did not adhere to the meat filling. In an effort to salvage the situation, I ended up converting the shumai into wanton noodle soup. So, this is the second try at making shumai. This time I was more careful to wrap the filling and pinched the sides of the wonton skins. It was a qualified success. I made this as a lunch over the weekend.

The wonton skins adhered much better than in the previous version.

I should still try harder. The top portion was stuck together but toward the bottom was a bit loose.

I served it with rice vinegar with white pepper and soy sauce.

As a side, I served cucumber and tomato  (skinned and  cut Campari tomato) mixed with masago (small hatchlings - which was previously frozen) dressed with sweet vinegar.

I very quickly made the filling with ground pork, chopped ginger, and chopped scallion seasoned with sesame oil, salt and pepper. I just wanted to try making the shumai again; I was challenged to make the wonton skins stick better. I was more careful to press the side to the filling and also let it sit for 10 minutes before steaming hoping the moisture from the filling would permeate the wonton skin.

I also got a new bamboo steamer (#1) with a perforated parchment paper insert(#2) which prevents the steamed items from sticking to the bottom of the steaming tray. With this new contraption, I could space the shumai so that they did not touch and would not stick to each other (#3). I steamed the shumai for 10 minutes and they came out OK. They at least did not stick to the bottom of the tray or each other.

Although I still need to refine the way I form shumai, I'm getting there. Or maybe, I should stick to making gyouza.

Shumai with daikon 大根入り焼売

This was my first attempt to make shumai 焼売 and I am posting this as an example of how things don't always work out well in the cooking world. (I can only hope my next attempt may be better). I followed a recipe I saw in a Japanese newspaper on line (Asahi shinbun). Although the meat mixture was just fine, the wonton skin did not stick together or to the meat and the dish became "meatballs with wonton noodles". In any case, I served several examples with two sauces; on the left is rice vinegar with white pepper and the right is soy sauce.

As you can see the skin got loose and separated from the filling after steaming. In any case, it tasted great.

I followed the recipe closely. One unique item in this recipe was using pre-cooked small cubes of daikon in the filling.

Ingredients: (make 14-15 shumai)
Minced (or ground) pork 200 grams (I used my usual hand minced pork tenderloin trimming but meat from the fattier portion may work better).
Daikon 100 grams
Shiitake mushrooms; 1 dried (I used two fresh including the stems torn lengthwise and then chopped. I am sure the dried mushroom may have more umami flavor but I did not have time to rehydrate some).
Wonton skins

Seasoning:
Salt 2 grams (probably 1/2 tsp)
Soy sauce 1 tsp
Ginger juice 2 tsp
Sake 2 tbs
Dry shiitake soaking liquid 2 tbs (I used dashi instead).
Sugar 1/4 tsp
Sesame oil 1tsp
Potato starch (Katakuri-ko) 1/2 tsp

Directions:
1. Peel and cut the daikon into 7 mm cubes and cook in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and cool.
2. Mix the seasoning into the pork starting with the salt and mix well.
3. Add the daikon and mushrooms and mix (#1 and #2).
4. Prepare the steamer for continuous steam (#3).
5. Meanwhile, make the shumai by placing the filling in the middle of the wonton skin placed on a circle made from the index finger and thumb, push it in and add more filling to make a cylinder (#4).
6. Place them on the steamer (#5) and cook for 10 minutes (#6)

I think I made 2 mistakes. When I formed the shumai, I needed to pinch firmly so that the side of the wonton skin would adhere better to the filling. When steaming, I should have placed the shumai slightly apart so that they would not stick to each other.

In any case, despite this, they tasted really good. The addition of the daikon added a nice texture and taste. The dipping sauces were also nice. I ended up dipping the shumai in both. I also used some Japanese hot mustard. Later, based on the philosophy that when an unsuccessful attempt at something results in lemons make lemonade, I converted these shumai into another dish. Stay tuned more to follow.