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Shao Mai Dumplings

(recipe, Max Chan)


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Ingredients

  1. 1 lb. ground turkey or pork
  2. 6 dried Chinese black mushrooms, softened (see Note), stems removed, finely diced
  3. ½ cup chopped fresh or canned water chestnuts
  4. 1 cup raw prawns, shelled, deveined, and chopped
  5. 1 Tbsp. minced or grated fresh ginger
  6. 1 Tbsp. garlic
  7. 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  8. 2 Tbsp. Chinese rice wine (shaoxing wine) or dry Sherry
  9. 1½ tsp. sesame oil
  10. ½ tsp. sugar
  11. ¼ tsp. black pepper
  12. 2 egg whites
  13. 1½ tsp. cornstarch
  14. 30 to 40 shao mai or gyoza wrappers/skins (see Note)

Steps

  1. In a bowl, place the ground turkey or pork with the mushrooms, water chestnuts, and prawns. Mix well, then add all the remaining ingredients except the wrappers. Stir vigorously in one direction; this will keep the filling fluffy. (If the filling is mixed in various directions, the filling will flatten and toughen.)
  2. Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each wrapper and gather the edges of the skin around the filling; pinch the wrappers shut. Steam the dumplings over high heat in a bamboo steamer or double boiler for about 15 minutes, until done. Serve warm.

Note

To soften dried mushrooms, soak in warm water for 30 minutes. Shao mai skins and gyoza wrappers are often shelved near the tofu in supermarkets. Culinate editor's note: You'll need to moisten the edges of the gyoza wrappers with a wet fingertip in order to get the folded wrappers to stick together before steaming.