Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I found won ton wrappers! Ground pork was on sale! A friend from Holland who loves Asian food will be visiting this week!

Discuss and advise.

Mary

I think you should make won tons.

That Pete, always hitting the nail on the head. Now then, who is going to provide me with the kick ass won ton soup recipe?

Mary

I would make potstickers.
Have fun!

I'd make pot stickers too. Or, dumplings.

Amy

Mmmm pot stickers for sure!

Shu Mai! Might be easier to do than the pleating for potstickers or a first time out. I like this recipe from Fine Cooking. I freeze them and steam as needed.

Pork Dumplings (Shiu Mai)

RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
1 lb. ground pork
1 cup thinly sliced napa cabbage, plus extra leaves for lining the steamer
1/2 cup chopped scallions (both white and green parts)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. finely chopped garlic
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
1 Tbs. cornstarch; more for dusting
2 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger
1-1/2 tsp. Asian sesame oil
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg white
55 to 60 shiu mai wrappers or wonton wrappers
Soy Dipping Sauce, for serving

HOW TO MAKE
In a large bowl, stir together the pork, sliced cabbage, scallions, cilantro, soy sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, 1 Tbs. cornstarch, ginger, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and egg white.
Assemble the shiu mai:
Sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet liberally with cornstarch. Set a small bowl of water on the work surface. If the wrappers are larger than 3 inches across in any direction, trim them with a cookie cutter to 3-inch rounds. Otherwise, leave as squares or rectangles.
Working with one wrapper at a time, and keeping the remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out, place a heaping teaspoon of the pork filling in the center of the wrapper. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, dab a bit of water around the edge of the wrapper to moisten. Crimp the wrapper up and around the filling, squeezing slightly with your fingers to bring the wrapper together like a beggar’s pouch.

Place on the cornstarch-coated baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling until you run out of one or the other. You can steam the shiu mai immediately or freeze and steam them later (see Make-Ahead Tips, below).

Steam the shiu mai:
Set up a steamer with 2 inches of water in the bottom. Line the basket with cabbage leaves to keep the shiu mai from sticking. Set over medium-high heat and cover. When steam begins to escape from the steamer, remove from the heat and carefully take off the lid. Arrange the shiu mai in the steamer so that they don’t touch, as they will stick together (you’ll have to cook them in batches). Cover the steamer and return to medium-high heat. Steam until the pork is cooked through (cut into one to check), 5 to 7 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce.

MAKE AHEAD TIPS
Freeze the uncooked shiu mai on the baking sheet. When frozen, transfer them to an airtight container, setting parchment or plastic wrap between layers, or seal them in a plastic bag. Store in the freezer, where they’ll keep for about a month. Do not thaw the shiu mai before steaming; cooking time will be 10 to 12 minutes.

VARIATIONS
Shrimp & Scallop Shiu Mai: Instead of the ground pork, you can use 1/2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp and 1/2 lb. dry-packed, fresh sea scallops (with the tough muscle removed). Pulse the shrimp and scallops in a food processor until almost smooth, about 12 pulses. Use this mixture instead of the ground pork in the shiu mai recipe.
From Fine Cooking 82, pp. 50
December 1, 2006

That looks great. Another question. After reading the fine print on my ground pork, I saw it was from some frozen and some fresh pork. It says not to referee but I am thinking it would be OK to freeze as per Carey's instructions above.

Mary

Who knew that frozen and fresh pork thrown together were off the referee list. Always learning something new from you Ms MG

:i In this corner...

Let's try "re-freeze". Spell check really wants me to use a hyphen and shamed me for my omission. Spell check is rather evangelical.