Lobster Siu Mai Dumplings

Makes several dozen dumplings

When I came back from cooking school in China last Easter, I cooked a staff meal at Les Trois Garcons of dim sum. I made 3 kinds of dumplings and made and rolled all the dough out by hand with my tiny dim sum rolling pin. It took me about 6 hours to make enough to feed 13 people and it was pretty exhausting.

These siu mai are pretty atypical and have more of a Thai flavour than Chinese. We sometimes have them with leftover lobster or crab but they are also great made with minced fish, chicken or prawns. A simple dipping sauce of soy sauce and Chinese chili paste goes with them perfectly.

Ingredients

450 grams cooked lobster meat, finely chopped
65 mls coconut milk
1 medium-sized carrot, shredded
2 red chilies, seeded and minced
Small handful Thai or normal basil, shredded
1 small shallot, minced
a one inch chunk of ginger, minced finely
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
2 tbsp palm sugar, finely grated
Juice of half a lime
Pinch of sea salt
Freshly grated black pepper
Lettuce or cabbage leaves for steaming

a pack of wonton wrappers (available in Chinese or Asian shops)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the lobster with the coconut milk, carrot, chilies, basil, shallot, ginger, garlic, egg, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Take a dumpling wrapper and place it in the palm of your hand. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper and gather up the edges to form a little bundle that is open about 1 inch at the top.  Place the siu mai on a baking tray lined with parchment and press down slightly to flatten the bottom of the dumpling so that the siu mai sits flat. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers and filling.

Fill a wok or a very large skillet with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Line a double-tiered bamboo steamer with lettuce leaves and arrange the siu mai in the steamer baskets. Cover and steam over high heat until heated through, about 6-8 minutes.  Serve hot.

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Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

To learn more, classes at Eat Drink Talk are held in Jennifer's beautiful loft in Clerkenwell, packed with information and useful tips, and you'll get to sample all of the delicious dishes prepared during class.

by JK

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.