Pork & Prawn Siu Mai

📝 Ingredients

• 18 gyoza wrappers (about 8 g each)
• 150 g minced pork
• 150 g raw peeled prawns
• 100 g button mushrooms (about 5)
• 1 small carrot (about 60 g)
• 15 g fresh ginger + 2 spring onions
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the filling, 1 for serving)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cornflour (10 g)
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• White pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Two-tier bamboo steamer
• Wok or large saucepan
• Baking paper
• Mixing bowl
• Chef's knife
• Fine grater

📖 Steps

1. Pat the prawns dry with kitchen paper, especially if they have been thawed, then chop them with a knife into small pieces without turning them into a paste: this way the filling keeps some bite. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper and cut them into very small dice.
2. Peel and finely grate the ginger. Finely slice the spring onions, both the white and green parts. Peel the carrot, grate it finely and set it aside separately: it will be used only to decorate the tops of the dumplings.
3. In the mixing bowl, combine the minced pork, prawns, mushrooms, ginger, spring onions, 1 tbsp soy sauce, sesame oil, cornflour, sugar and a pinch of white pepper.
4. Work the filling for 2 min with a spoon, always stirring in the same direction, until it becomes sticky and holds together in a ball: this is what gives siu mai their firm, juicy texture.
5. Make a circle with the thumb and index finger of one hand, lay a gyoza wrapper on top and place 1 heaped tbsp of filling on it. Gently push the filling down to form a small open cup: the wrapper pleats around it by itself.
6. Pack down the top with the back of a small wet spoon while gently squeezing the waist of the dumpling, then set it down on the work surface to flatten its base. Decorate with a pinch of grated carrot. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
7. Line each tier of the steamer with a disc of baking paper pierced with a few holes and arrange the siu mai 1 cm apart so they don't stick together. Bring 5 cm of water to the boil in the wok.
8. Set the steamer over the boiling water, without the water touching the bottom, cover and cook for 10 to 12 min over medium-high heat. The filling should be firm, with no trace of pink in the centre: cut one open to check. Serve immediately with the last tbsp of soy sauce as a dip.