Steamed Dumplings

While I was in a popular Supermarket in KL, I came across this Dumpling Wrappers which is suitable for making Steamed Dumplings.  Since this wrappers are not available in the place where I am from, so I grab hold of two packets, and here goes my homemade Steamed Dumplings.  

Ingredients:

200 g. minced pork

8 medium-sized prawns (peeled, deveined and cut into small pieces)

1 tsp. grated ginger

1 tsp. light soy sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. Shaoxing wine

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

3 dashes ground white pepper

1 stalk spring onion (chopped)

1 pack dumpling wrappers

Methods:

1. For the filling, in a large bowl, combine minced pork, prawns, ginger, light soy sauce, salt, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, ground white pepper and spring onion together.  Mix well and set aside.
2. To assemble the dumplings, put a small spoonful of the filling in the center of a wrapper.  Moisten the edge of the wrapper with water using your finger, then fold and pleat the dumpling.  Repeat this process for the remaining wrappers.
3. To steam the dumplings, arrange the dumplings in a steamer lined with parchment paper (punched with holes) at the bottom and steam for 8-10 minutes.
4. Remove the dumplings onto a serving dish and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Ready for steaming

I serve my Dumplings with this Ultimate Dipping Sauce.

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 minced garlic clove

A pinch of grated ginger

Some fresh chopped spring onions

In a medium bowl, mix all the above ingredients together until the sugar has dissolved.  Ready to serve!

This delicious Steamed Dumplings recipe is adapted from 'Rasa Malaysia' with a slight adjustment to suit my cooking preference.

Homemade Chee Cheong Fun with 2 Sauces

Ingredients:

5 tbsp. rice flour (sifted)

2 tbsp. wheat starch (sifted)

1/2 tsp. salt

180 ml. water

1 tbsp. cooking oil

Sweet Sauce:

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tbsp. dark soy sauce 

1 tbsp. sugar

2 to 3 tbsp. warm water

Topping:  Toasted white sesame seeds

Methods:

1. Add rice flour and wheat starch into a bowl, stir with a spoon to mix.  Add salt and water gradually as you stir until combined.  Add 1 tbsp. cooking oil, stir and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes.
2. Heat a steamer, getting it ready for steaming.
3. Prepare a wide plate, brush oil onto the center of the plate.  Preheat oiled plate for about 1 minute with steamer lid on.  Stir batter before using as flour have sank to the bottom.  Spoon batter to fill center part of the plate, about 2 ladles, make sure its not too thick.  Cover steamer and let it steam for 2 minutes using medium heat.  Batter is cooked when translucent with some bubbles on the surface.  Remove plate and let cool a bit.  Preheat another oiled plate and continue until all the batter is used up. Use a spatula to lift the edges and flip it over until a long log is formed.  Place on a serving plate.
4. Spoon the sweet sauce over the Chee Cheong Fun, follow by curry sauce (if using), top with toasted white sesame seeds, and enjoy warm.

Done steaming

With the sweet sauce

With 2 sauces

I adapted this recipe from Youtube 'Dapur 2020' with a slight adjustment to suit my cooking preference.

Crispy Pork Gyoza

I have made Pork Gyoza before, but for this crispy version it is the first time I am trying it out.  It is fun to try out something different.  I know that there is still rooms for improvements, and I always believe that 'practice makes perfect.'  

Front View

Back View

Ingredients: (makes 20)

20 wrappers

4 tbsp. cooking oil

2 tbsp. cornflour (sifted)

1 tbsp. plain flour (sifted)

3/4 cup water

Filling:

2/3 cup cabbage (finely sliced)

1/2 tsp. salt

250g. minced pork

2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

2 sprigs spring onion (finely chopped)

1 tbsp. ginger (grated)

1 garlic clove (grated)

Dipping Sauce: (combine in a small bowl)

3 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tbsp. black vinegar

Methods:

1. For the filling, place the cabbage in a medium bowl.  Stir in the salt.  Set aside for 5 minutes to soften slightly.  Add the minced pork, light soy sauce, sesame oil, spring onion, ginger and garlic.  Mix vigorously until the mixture is well combined and sticky.
2. Place 3 teaspoons of the filling into the centre of the wrapper.  Moisten the edges of the wrapper with a little water and then bring the sides up over the filling and pleat and seal.  Place on a tray lined with baking paper.  Repeat until all the wrappers are used up.
3. Combine the cornflour, plain flour and water in a jug.
4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 16cm./18cm. non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat.  Arrange 5 dumplings in the pan in radial pattern.  Cook until the bases are starting to brown.
5. Pour a quarter of the flour mixture in (3) over the gyoza.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 5 minutes or until the water has evaporated and the gyoza are cooked through.  Run a spatula under the pancake to loosen.  Cook, uncovered for a further 1-2 minutes or until the pancake is crisp.  Flip onto a plate.
6. Repeat with the remaining oil, gyoza and flour mixture in 3 more batches.
7. Serve dumplings with the dipping sauce.

I adapted this recipe from 'Marion's Kitchen' with slight adjustments to suit my cooking preference.

Glutinous Rice Lor Mai Kai

Trying a hand on this popular Dim Sum dish 'Lor Mai Kai'.  This dish is available in Dim Sum stalls or restaurants all over Malaysia.  Before I say YES to making it, I go through quite a number of recipes, to compare the ingredients used, and the methods of making it.  Now, let's go on with the making of this yummylicious Lor Mai Kai.  This recipe is a keeper, and I am glad that I try a hand on it in my home kitchen, so whenever I feel like eating, I can just make them to enjoy.

Ingredients:
500g. Glutinous Rice (washed, rinsed, soaked, drained.  I soak mine for 7 hours)
Some dried small scallops (washed, soaked, drained and break it into small pieces)
4 pcs. shallots (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)

Rice Seasonings: (mix all the ingredients in a bowl)
2 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. salt (to taste - add 1/2 tsp. first then taste after mixing all the ingredients)
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
2 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
Dash of ground white pepper
Dash of five spiced powder
Dash of chicken stock granules
Drizzle of Fish Sauce
2 cups water (using rice cup to measure)

Ingredients for toppings:
2 pcs. big chicken thigh, deboned and skinless (cut into desired size)
6 pcs. dried shiitake mushrooms (washed, soaked till softened, cut into desired size)
2 pcs. Chinese sausage (soaked with hot water, remove skin and slice diagonally)

Marinade for chicken and mushroom: (mix all the ingredients in a bowl)
Thumb size ginger (washed, peeled and grated)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp. oyster sauce
1 tsp. light soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash of chicken stock granules
Dash of ground white pepper
1 tbsp. potato starch

Methods:
(A)  Marinate the chicken and mushroom

1. Mix chicken pieces and mushrooms pieces with all the marinade ingredients for at least 30 minutes.  I marinated mine few hours in the fridge.

(B)  Prepare the glutinous rice

1. In a heated wok add about 2 tbsp. cooking oil.  Saute the slice shallots until fragrant, remove or discard the shallots and leave the oil in the wok.
2. Saute scallops till fragrant, remove the scallop from wok and set aside.
3. Saute chopped garlic till fragrant.  Add in glutinous rice and give it a good stir to mix well.
4. Add in all the rice seasonings, stir and coat the sauce thoroughly with the rice.  Add in the dried scallops and mix well to combine.
5. Add in water, stir well to mix and cook till water has been absorbed by the rice.  Dish into a bowl and set aside.

(C)  Assemble the Lor Mai Kai:

1. Place each steaming tin/aluminium foil bowl with Chinese sausage, mushrooms slices and chicken pieces.
2. Top with glutinous rice till the brim.  Pour a Chinese soup spoon of water into each tin/bowl.  
3. When all is done, steam in a steaming pot over high heat for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.
4. Serve hot or warm.  Once cooled, wrap each tin/foil bowl with an aluminium foil and keep them in the fridge.

Ready to steam

Note:  500g. of glutinous rice makes 8 tin or aluminium foil bowl of Lor Mai Kai.

I adapted this recipe from 'MH Kitchen Memories' with a slight amendment.

Pork Gyoza with Ginger Dipping Sauce

I have been wanting to try out this Pork Gyoza, a kind of Chinese dumpling which are of different types, depending on how they are cooked : boiled, steamed or pan-fried.  Since I am not in to making my own dough for the skin or wrappers, I bought the 'round-shaped' wonton skin from the Supermarket.  Surprisingly when I unwrap the packaging, I found that the skin or wrappers are rather small in size, what should I do then since I have already prepared my filling??? Well, I will try to make small tiny Gyoza instead, just that more time and patience are needed to do those tiny pleats.

This is the outcome of my worthy efforts.....

Ingredients:
8 ounce ground pork
1 egg
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tsp grated garlic
1 spring onion (thinly sliced)
1 1/2 tsp light sauce
1 1/2 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
Round dumpling wrappers
Cooking oil
Water

Ginger dipping sauce:
1/4 cup light sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2" ginger (cut into thin strips)

Methods:

1. For the ginger dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients into a small bowl and set aside.
2. For the filling, in a bowl mix together ground pork, egg, sesame oil, chopped ginger, grated garlic, spring onion, light sauce, shaoxing wine, cornflour, sugar and salt and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. To make the gyoza, place a bowl of cool water at your work surface.  Working with one wrapper at a time, keeping the rest to prevent them from drying.  Place a wrapper on your right palm, brush the edges with water using your finger or a small pastry brush, put a teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper, fold over and press slightly to spread out the filling.  Seal the edges by making pleats on the side facing you and pressing the sides together.  Set aside, cover with a damp towel and repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling until all is done.
4. To cook the gyoza, heat 2 tbsp cooking oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat until it simmers.  Quickly arrange half the gyoza bottom-side down in the skillet, and cook until beginning to brown on the bottom, about 1 minute.  Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet (it will splatter), cover with lid and let gyoza cooked until the skin are tender.  Remove the lid and cook until the liquid has cooked off and the gyoza are slightly crisp and brown on the bottom.  The cooking time depends on the size of the gyoza. If the skin is still not fully cooked, add a bit more water and continue to cook with lid on.  Repeat with another batch until all is done.  Serve hot with the ginger dipping sauce.

This recipe is adapted from Cooking Channel with amendments.