Pork Siomai (Shu-Mai)

This is a re-post from my old kusina.

I got this recipe from The Book of Chinese Cooking by Jasper Spencer-Smith.

(Karen also has a post on the basic recipe for siomai here, including the recipe for the wrapper.)

My sons and I love these. Also a good finger food to bring during Pinoy get-togethers.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound ground pork
1/4 pound raw shelled shrimp, ground
(Believe me, I used a scale to measure these, but of course, you can approximate.)
1-1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp sugar
Dash of pepper
1 egg white
1-1/2 tsbp cornstarch
won-ton skins (I buy Nasoya brand)
green peas or chopped hard-cooked egg yolks for garnish

(Note: I usually buy pork chops then grind them using my Kitchen Aid attachment, since I can't find ground pork for sale here. I grind other ingredients as well, like the shrimp. when making lumpia, I also grind the garlic, onions, and other veggies.)

Procedure (I revised according to how I made it):
To make filling: Mix together ground pork, ground shrimp, soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, sesame oil, sugar, pepper and egg white until mixture is well blended and smoth. Stir in cornstarch.

Place filling in a storage bag and cut one corner big enough for the content to squeeze through. Place about 1 tbsp or so of filling in the middle of wonton skin and gather the skin around the filling. Alternatively, you can use a cookie scoop. Dip a spoon in water and use to smooth the surface of the meat. Garnish by placing a green pea or chopped egg yolk on top of meat.

Repeat with the rest of the wonton/filling. Line a steamer (or bamboo steamer) with a damp cloth; place each siomai about 1/2 inch apart so they don't stick together; steam over high heat 5 minutes or until done (do not overcook). Serve with your fave dip (I use soy sauce/kalamansi juice as a dip. When I was in PI, I used to like it with chili paste.)

Mozarella Sticks

There is a family-friendly restaurant about 45 minutes away from our house that we visit often. Our favorite appetizers is the mozarella sticks.

From Mozarella Sticks

At home one attempt that I have made to come up with something close is to make them using lumpia wrappers instead of batter, then dip in homemade marinara sauce (I'd like to think that I made marinara sauce although I was not looking at a recipe when I cooked it. Basically sauteed lots of tomatoes with other ingredients we usually use. We like the outcome and that's all that matters!). For purposes of simplifying things, I suggest you use the recipe below for marinara sauce.

Then one day, my older son and I thought of trying to really copy those served in that restaurant. I looked up the ingredients and one weekend we tried. We were very satisfied with the outcome, and my son had fun making them. Recipe courtesy of foodnetwork.


Mozzarella SticksPrep Time: 30 min Inactive Prep Time: 2 hr 0 min Cook Time: 10 min Level:
Intermediate Serves:
6 to 8 servings (makes about 56 pieces) 1 1/2 cups Italian-style dried breadcrumbs
1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon salt
2 (16-ounce) blocks pasteurized mozzarella cut into 4 by 1/2-inch sticks
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 cups Marinara Sauce, recipe follows


Stir the bread crumbs, 1 cup of Parmesan and 1 teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl to blend. Dip the cheese in the eggs to coat completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Coat the cheese in the bread crumb mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet. Repeat dipping the cheese sticks in the egg and bread crumb mixture to coat a second time. Cover and freeze until frozen, about 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, fry the cheese until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer the fried cheese to plates. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and serve with the Marinara Sauce.



Marinara Sauce:


1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 (32 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

Yield: 2 quarts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes