SHU MEI
Steamed dumplings, or meatballs

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This recipe is an adaptation of one in The Frugal Gourmet by Jeff Smith.

The bigger the batch, the better. There are never leftovers.


Yield

Makes 35-40 dumplings.

Ingredients

Dumplings

* 2 lbs ground turkey, 1 kg
* 1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch, or cornflour, 25 ml
* 1 1/2 Tbsp dry sherry, 25 ml
* 3 Tbsp light soy sauce, 50 ml
* 1 Tbsp ginger, grated or finely chopped, 10 g
* 6 cloves garlic, crushed, minced, or pressed
* 6 green onions, chopped
* 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 15 ml
* 1 Tbsp sesame oil, 15 ml
* 1 package wonton wrappers
* Peanut oil

Dipping Sauce

* 1 1/2 cups fish sauce, 4 dl
You may want to dilute this with water, depending on its strength.
* 1 cup vinegar, 25 cl
* 1 cup sugar, 200 g
* 6 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
* 1 Tbsp ginger, finely minced or grated, 10 g
* 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper, 15 ml

Method

1. Make the dipping sauce by mixing together all of its ingredients.

2. Store the dipping sauce in the refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Stir together all of the dumpling ingredients except the wonton wrappers and peanut oil.

4. Mix vigorously by hand until the filling begins to bind together, about 1 minute.

5. Place 1 1/2-2 Tbsp, 25-30 ml, of filling in the middle of a wonton wrapper.

6. Fold the sides of the wrapper up around the meat so that you have a little bag or cup.

7. Press the bottom flat so that the dumpling will stand without falling over.

8. Oil the racks of the steamer with peanut oil.

9. Place the dumplings in the steamer racks.

10. Steam for 15-20 minutes in covered racks over boiling water.

11. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Notes

These dumplings would probably go well with a favorite hoisin or chili dipping sauce.

The recommended steamer racks are Chinese bamboo steamers. They stack nicely, with three racks working well, and they sit at the right height above boiling water in a wok.

The contributor notes that the real advantage of a bamboo steamer is that water will not condense on the food.

The dipping sauce is an adaptation of one served at the Phoenix Vietnamese restaurant in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was originally served with eggrolls, but works well with these dumplings.

The original recipe called for ground pork, but this version uses ground turkey. The contributor preferred turkey because the flavor is lighter and the calories are fewer. Pork is fine, though, and hamburger could be used in a pinch.

Verified Recipe Note: The Subject line gives the duplicate-check name as “Steamed Chinese dumplings,” while the recipe title in the source is “SHU MEI.”

Verified Recipe Note: The original ingredient markup uses forms such as “1(12” for 1 1/2 and “1(12-2” for 1 1/2-2. These have been converted here for readability.

Verified Recipe Note: The peanut oil is used to oil the steamer racks; it is not mixed into the dumpling filling.

Rating

* Difficulty: Easy, but tedious
* Time: 45 minutes preparation, 15-20 minutes cooking
* Precision: Approximate measurement OK

Contributor

Kathy Marschall
Submitted for her by David Messer
Lynx Data Systems
St. Paul, Minnesota USA
[dave@viper.UUCP](mailto:dave@viper.UUCP)
{amdahl, ihnp4,rutgers}!{dayton, meccts}!viper!dave

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Origin Note

This recipe comes from the USENET Cookbook project, a moderated electronic recipe collection distributed through early Internet newsgroups. The original was written in the project’s structured recipe markup, where SHU-MEI was the recipe key and M marked it as a main dish.

The preserved entry lists the recipe as last modified on 23 Feb 1987 and posted to alt.gourmand on 22 Aug 1987. It was submitted by David Messer for Kathy Marschall of Lynx Data Systems in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The recipe presents open-topped steamed dumplings made with seasoned ground turkey, wonton wrappers, and a fish-sauce-based dipping sauce, with notes recommending bamboo steamer racks.

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Path: decwrl!recipes
From: [dave@viper.uucp](mailto:dave@viper.uucp) (David Messer)
Newsgroups: alt.gourmand
Subject: RECIPE: Steamed Chinese dumplings
Message-ID: [11515@decwrl.DEC.COM](mailto:11515@decwrl.DEC.COM)
Date: 22 Aug 87 08:55:12 GMT
Sender: [recipes@decwrl.DEC.COM](mailto:recipes@decwrl.DEC.COM)
Distribution: alt
Organization: Lynx Data Systems, St. Paul, Minnesota USA
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Cooking - RECIPE: Shu Mei (Steamed Chinese Dumplings)