Siu Mai Open-Faced Dumplings Recipe

Shāomài (in Mandarin)

Reprinted with permission from Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosas, and More by Andrea Nguyen, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Penny De Los Santos © 2009

Makes 30 dumplings, serving 6 to 8 as a snack

Filling
2/3 pound coarsely ground pork, fattier kind preferred, coarsely chopped to loosen
4 large dried shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted (see page 13), stemmed, and chopped (1/2 cup)
Generous 1/4 cup finely diced water chestnuts (fresh preferred)
3 tablespoons finely chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Generous 1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon light (regular) soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
11/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 large egg white, beaten

30 small round siu mai skins (page 64)
11/2 tablespoons finely diced carrot, or 30 peas, for garnish
Light (regular) soy sauce
Chinese hot mustard or Colman’s English mustard

1. To make the filling, in a bowl, combine the pork, mushrooms, water chestnuts, and scallions. Use a fork or spatula to stir and lightly mash the ingredients together so they begin to blend.

2. Put the salt, sugar, white pepper, cornstarch, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, and egg white into a small bowl and stir to combine well. Pour over the meat mixture, and stir, fold, and mash everything together until they cohere into a compact mass. Cover the filling with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight, returning it to room temperature before assembling the dumplings. You should have a generous 2 cups of filling.

3. Before assembling the dumplings, line steamer trays and/or a baking sheet with parchment paper. For the baking sheet, lightly dust the paper with cornstarch to prevent sticking. Set aside. Hold a skin in one hand. Scoop up about 1 tablespoon of filling with a bamboo dumpling spatula, dinner knife, or fork and position it in the center of the skin, pressing down gently. Pick up the skin and gather and pinch it together to form an open bag (see page 74). Crown the dumpling with some finely diced carrot or a pea.

If steaming right away, place each finished dumpling in a steamer tray open side up, spacing them 1/2 inch apart, and 1 inch away from the edge if you are using a metal steamer. Otherwise, place the waiting dumplings on the baking sheet a good 1/2 inch apart.

Keeping the finished dumplings covered with a dry kitchen towel to prevent drying, form and fill wrappers from the remaining dough. Dumplings made several hours in advance of cooking should be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. For longer storage, freeze them on their baking sheet until hard (about 1 hour), transfer them to a plastic container, and keep them frozen for up to 1 month; partially thaw them before steaming.

5. To cook, steam the dumplings over boiling water (steaming guidelines are on page 17) for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dumplings have puffed slightly and their skins have become translucent. Remove each tray and place it atop a serving plate.

6. Serve immediately with the soy sauce and hot mustard. Invite guests to mix up their own dipping sauce.

Warm Maitake Pasta with Citrus Soy Dressing

By Jaden Hair,  Steamy Kitchen

serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal

16 ounces Hokto Maitake Mushrooms, ends trimmed and separated (or other Japanese mushrooms of your choice)
1/2 pound dried pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon minced fresh herbs of your choice (i.e. cilantro, parsley., green onion, chives)

For the dressing
1 lemon, zested
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
11/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions, then drain.

2. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients except for the extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Whisk for a few seconds, until all ingredients are combined. Then drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil and whisk briskly until emulsified.

3. Heat a fry pan or skillet over medium high heat. When hot, swirl in the cooking oil and add the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes until the mushrooms have softened. Turn off heat, toss in the cooked pasta, citrus soy sauce, sesame seeds and the fresh herbs.

Noodle Stir Fry with Shrimp Recipe

recipe from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen

6 ounces dried noodles (I used thin spaghetti noodles)
7 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, divided (or 3/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/4 cup snow peas, thinly sliced on diagonal
1/4 cup matchstick cut carrots
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Bring a stockpot of water to boil. Add 1 tsp of salt to water and cook the noodles, according to package directions. Drain. While pasta is cooking, place shrimp in a small bowl and add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the cornstarch. Mix well and let sit for 8 minutes. Rinse the shrimp well, washing off the salt and cornstarch. Pat very dry with paper towels. This step helps clean and make the shrimp more succulent.

2. In a wok or large saute pan, heat cooking oil on high until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates upon contact. Add the shrimp and fry until halfway cooked through, about 1 minute each side (you’ll add the shrimp back in at later step) Dish out the shrimp to a plate, keeping as much oil in wok as possible (you should have about 1 teaspoon of oil left and you may add an just a bit of oil into the pan if needed.)

3. In the same pan, turn heat down to medium and add the garlic. Fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds then add the snow peas and carrots. Fry for 1 minute, until the carrots and snow peas are just slightly cooked but still retain a nice crunch. Add the soy sauce and rice wine. Turn heat to high and when bubbling, add the drained  noodles and the partially cooked shrimp. Toss well to combine. Let cook for 2 minutes, until shrimp is cooked all the way through.

4. Toss with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Yields 2 auspicious servings

Sake-Miso Marinated Alaskan Butterfish

Wasabi Oil, Soy Syrup and Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi

recipe by Ming Tsai

Serves 4

Sake-Miso Marinated Alaskan Butterfish
1 cup light miso (shiro-miso)
1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
1/2 cup sake
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup sugar
4 5 x 3-inch Alaskan Butterfish (cut from fillet, about 7 ounces each) – or substitute any fish fillet of your choice)

In a medium nonreactive bowl, combine the miso, mirin, sake, ginger, grapeseed oil and sugar and stir to blend. Add the butterfish, turn to coat and marinate, covered and refrigerated, overnight, or at least 8-12 hours.

Prepare an outdoor grill or preheat the broiler. Wipe the marinade from the fish and season it with pepper to taste. Grill or broil the fish, turning it once, until just cooked through 10-12 minutes.

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Vegetarian Soba Noodle Sushi

recipe by Ming Tsai

Serves 4

1/2 pound dried soba noodles
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped scallions, green parts only
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Wasabi Oil *, plus additional for drizzling
4 tablespoons chopped pickled ginger (gari)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 sheets toasted nori
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
10 ounces Wakame (seaweed) salad
Bamboo Sushi rolling mat
Freshly ground black pepper
Soy Syrup* for drizzling
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

To make the sushi, bring a large quantity of salted water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with water and add ice. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until slightly softer than al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and transfer the noodles to the ice water. When cold, drain well. In a large bowl, combine the noodles, cilantro, scallions, soy sauce, chopped ginger, vinegar, wasabi oil and 2 tablespoons of the pickled ginger and toss to blend. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Have a small bowl of water handy. Place a sheet of nori shiny side down on the rolling mat with a long edge towards you. Evenly spread a 1/4-inch layer of the noodles mixture on the bottom half of the nori and top the upper third of the mixture with 3 to 4 strips of cucumber and 2 pieces of each of the peppers. To roll, lift the mat, compressing it against the filling as you roll the bottom edge in on itself. Continue rolling toward the top edge until only 1/4-inch of the nori remains unrolled. Moisten a finger and wet the edge of the nori. Press the mat to seal the roll. Allow the roll to rest, seam side down, for 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining nori and filling ingredients. Cover the rolls lightly with plastic wrap and set aside.

When ready to serve, cut each roll into 5 pieces, 3 straight across and 2 diagonally.

Divide the sushi pieces among 4 plates. Add a small mound of the salad, if using to each and top each with a piece of the Sake-Miso Fish. Drizzle over the soy syrup and wasabi oil (see recipes below), garnish with the sesame seeds and remaining pickled ginger.

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Wasabi Oil

recipe by Ming Tsai

Makes about 1 cup (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks)

1/2 cup wasabi powder
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet sake)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup grapeseed oil

In a small stainless-steel bowl, combine the wasabi powder, mirin and sugar and whisk to blend. Add a little less than 1/2 cup of water gradually, whisking, until a pancake batter-like puree is formed. Whisk in the oil. Let stand for 10 minutes before using.

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Soy Syrup

recipe by Ming Tsai

Makes 2 cups (keep remaining in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks – it’s great drizzled on steamed vegetables too!)

2 cups soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime

In a medium saucepan, combine the soy sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. Bring to a boil slowly over medium heat, turn down the heat and reduce the mixture by three-fourths or until syrupy, about 30 minutes. Strain, cool and use.

Vietnamese Coffee Fortune Cookies

By Pichet Ong, Author, The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts

Makes approximately 50 cookies

½ pound unsalted butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons condensed milk
1 ¾ ounce Vietnamese coffee powder
9 ounces all purpose flour
¾ ounce milk powder
7 ounces confectioner’s sugar
5 1/2 ounces egg whites

With the paddle attachment in an electric mixer, mix cream butter, condensed milk, salt and coffee powder just until combined, about 3 minutes. In the meantime, sift together confectioner’s sugar, flour and milk powder. Add sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to combine, scraping the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer at low speed, slowly add in egg whites and mix until incorporated. Scrape bottom of bowl again and mix well. Chill batter with plastic wrap covering directly on surface for at least 1 hour before use. Spread batter onto silpat using a stencil with 4” round circles. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until done with surface dry to the touch, about 5 minutes.

Place fortune paper in middle of each circle, fold in half and then bring the two points together with the seam on the broad side. Lay into a ridged tuile pan to cool. It is imperative that the cookie is folded when hot otherwise the cookie will break.

Recipe Adapted from “An Exotic Finish” By Pichet Ong (Morrow-Harper Collins, 2007)

Seaweed Salad

By Jason Ha and Sean An, Zip Fusion

Serves 2

¾ ounce (20 grams) dried seaweed (fureo wakame), soaked and finely shredded
½ cucumber, peeled
½ medium carrot, peeled
20 onion sprouts (may substitute alfalfa or other fine sprouts)
one 5 inch daikon radish, peeled
½ cup hiashi fresh seaweed, optional
2 round or square wonton skins
1/4 cup slivered nori seaweed
2 tablespoons norigoma furikake flakes
2 blocks soft tofu, sliced about 1/4 inch think by 2 inches long
2 tablespoons salad dressing, ZIP ginger dressing recommended
black sesame seeds, to taste

ZIP Ginger Dressing
2 cups Ponzu sauce
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
two 4 inch pieces orange pickled gobo, very finely minced
¼ medium white onion, grated or very finely minced

1. Stir the ingredients for the dressing together. Put into a squeeze bottle or small pitcher.

2. Use a Japanese rotary slicer to make fine threads of the cucumber and carrot in separate piles, or use a mandolin to slice very thin and then cut into very fine shreds. Slice daikon radish into thin strips by hand or with a mandolin and cut into very fine shreds.

3. Cut 2 wonton skins into very thin strips. Deep fry in corn oil until crispy but not very dark. Drain on paper towels. Form the shredded vegetables, sprouts and seaweed into individual balls about 2 inches in diameter by pressing them in the palms of your hands. Arrange the balls close together in the middle of a dinner plate.

4. In a layered ring around the vegetables, scatter the wonton strips, slivered nori and norigoma furikake flakes. Drizzle ZIP ginger dressing over the vegetable arrangement to taste. Place the tofu slices along the side of the plate in a domino fashion and drizzle the dressing on top. Sprinkle with the black sesame seeds. Present the dish with two forks or chopsticks and gently toss all the ingredients together before eating.

Chefs Quote: Although there are a number of ingredients in each of these easy-to-make recipes, the items are perfect Asian pantry builders because they store well and are used often in Asian cooking. All of the shredding, frying and dressing for the ZIP ginger dressing can be done several hours ahead, covered and refrigerated and assembled just before serving. We were taught from an early age in Korea that the sea is nature’s storehouse of beauty products and seaweed is one of the best. Our signature ZIP Seaweed Salad feeds all of the senses and has a crunchy texture added to it to make it really fun to eat.

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Chicken Satay Recipe

By Zak Pelaccio
Fatty Crab, New York

Makes 12 skewers; serves 4 people

For the marinade:
3 Tbs. palm sugar
4 cloves garlic
3 stalks lemongrass, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Thai chiles, stems removed
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 Tbs. cincalok (available at well-stocked Asian markets)
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
4 boneless skin-on chicken thighs

For the peanut sauce:
3 cups plus 2 Tbs. peanut oil
4 oz. peanuts, coarsely ground in mortar and pestle
1 Tbs. red chile flakes
3 cloves garlic
3 medium shallots, cut into chunks
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and sliced
1 Tbs. coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 Tbs. fennel seeds, toasted and ground
1 Tbs. cumin seeds, toasted and ground
4 oz. candlenut
1 Tbs. belacan, toasted (available at well-stocked Asian markets)
1/4 cup coconut milk
3 Tbs. palm sugar, broken
2 Tbs. tamarind pulp
Kosher salt

For the basting liquid:
1/4 cup dried whole cayenne chiles
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup coconut cream
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
3 Tbs. seasoned rendered chicken fat (such as schmaltz)
2 Tbs. cincalok
Kosher salt
12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
Fresh or pickled cucumbers, for garnish (optional)

Make the marinade:
Puree all marinade ingredients, except the chicken, in a food processor until smooth and pour over the chicken thighs. Marinate for 48 hours.

Make the sauce:
-Heat 3 cups of the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. Drop in the peanuts and fry until they just begin to take on color. Remove the peanuts with a slotted spoon and drain in a colander. When cool enough to handle, grind them in a mortar and pestle and set aside.
-Purée the chiles, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, coriander, fennel, cumin, candlenut, and belacan in a food processor until a very fine paste forms.
-Heat the remaining 2 Tbs. oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the paste and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and beginning to sizzle, 2 to 4 minutes. Pour in the peanuts, coconut milk, and palm sugar and bring to a simmer. Add tamarind and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. -Let cool, season to taste with salt, and pour into small dipping bowls.

Make the basting liquid:

-Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and toast until dark but not black. Transfer to a blender and blend them with the oil. Set aside.
-Combine all basting liquid ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm for basting.
-Separate the chicken skins from the thighs and cut the skins into 9 pieces. Cut the thighs into 12 pieces of the same size. Thread 4 pieces of chicken and 3 pieces of skin onto each skewer, leading with the chicken meat and alternating with the skin. Refrigerate until ready to cook and up to 2 days.
-Heat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat. Just before cooking, brush the chicken with the basting liquid. Grill the chicken skewers, flipping once and brushing once or twice with the basting liquid, until cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes.

Serve 3 skewers per person with the peanut sauce on the side for dipping and the cucumbers, if using.