Dumplings made simply — that’s what you get with this recipe for Giant Skillet Shumai. The classic bite-sized dumpling is streamlined into a large one-pan delight of a meal you can whip up even on a weeknight.
Siu mai has been known and associated with China for a long, long (I mean long) time. Yet here in the States, the traditional siu mai is known as the Japanese version called shumai. In the Japanese version, the minced pork is more ground and there’s no shrimp, only bits of garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and green peas as a topping. Even with a shortened ingredient list, prepping each and every dumpling by hand is, well, tiresome. That is where this Giant Skillet Shumai comes in handy. The filling is layered in the skillet with the wrappers layered on top. The soy sauce and fat from the pork act as the grease preventing the dumpling from sticking or drying out and steaming the top is successful due to the addition of the tiniest addition of water.
Start by prepping your meat filling. A finely diced onion gets mixed with ginger, mirin, cornstarch, soy sauce, and ground pork.
When the filling is thoroughly combined, go and spread the filling into a nonstick pan.
Next, evenly distribute the sliced wonton wrappers on top of the meat layer.
Use a rubber spatula (if you use a metal one, it might damage the pan) and press into the dumpling, creating a grid pattern.
Carefully place a green pea on top of each area of the grid, and transfer the pan to the stovetop.
Add a bit of water to the pan and let it simmer covered for several minutes. Remove the lid of the pan for the dumpling to cook uncovered.
Serve this immediately when it’s fresh and warm!
This dumpling’s meat layer is rich and has tons of flavor thanks to the additions of onion and ginger. Soy sauce enhances the meat but doesn’t overpower it. The dumpling layer absorbs some of the umami flavor from the meat and has a wonderful, delicate texture.
You can either dip it onto soy sauce with vinegar or have it with a spicy Chinese mustard.
It’s quick, easy, and has all of the flavor of the shumai dumplings you get in the restaurant.
Giant Skillet Shumai
Yield(s): Serves about 4
20m prep time
15m cook time
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 20 dumpling wrappers, sliced into thin strips
- 16 to 20 green peas
- 3 tablespoons water
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Preparation
- In a large bowl combine ground pork, onion, mirin, soy sauce, ginger, and cornstarch. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer the filling into a medium nonstick skillet, cover the filling with the strips of dumpling wrapper.
- Use a silicone (not metal or else it’ll damage the pan) spatula to make a line indentations into the dumpling, creating a grid pattern.
- Top each quadrant of the grid with a green pea.
- Place on a medium heat and add water. Cover pan and cook on medium until steam starts to appear.
- Once the steam appears, lower the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 8 to 9 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
- Tilt the pan and remove the excess water. Serve warm and enjoy.
Recipe adapted from Delish Kitchen.