Dimsum Recipe With or Without Shrimp

Hello! Welcome back to my blog, culinary schools. Today, we're making Chicken Shumai. You may know it as the Chicken DimSum recipe. I'm adding a bit of shrimp in it, but you can use 100% chicken. This is a good recipe, whether it's 100% chicken or chicken with shrimp.

DimSum recipe doesn't mean Shumai, but Shumai is a part of DimSum. DimSum symbolizes when we hang out for tea with friends, family, etc., and eating light snacks. When we're hanging out at a Chinese restaurant, there will be so many varieties of dishes DimSum is something lighter -- a light snack, like Shumai, steamed buns, or Har Gow. It can be sweet or savory. It can be something like Lo Mai Gai or Bakcang. There are so many varieties. If a fried noodle is served in a small portion, it can even be categorized as DimSum.

Prepping The Ingredients DimSum Recipe

Here are the ingredients. They're very fresh. I got them freshly handpicked from HappyFresh. HappyFresh is an app where we can do some online shopping, with a focus on groceries. It's very helpful, especially when we're mostly staying at home like now. You can download the app from the App Store or Google Play. You can also check the link in the description box below. For first-timers, you are eligible for free delivery using the shown voucher code.

For the chicken, I'm using the thigh. It's more juicy, fatty, savory, and fragrant. Also, here's the key: some additional chicken fat. Some DimSum recipe can taste very savory. This is why. Usually, it uses added fat -- chicken fat for the Halal version, and pork fat or lard for the non-Halal version. Next, some shrimps. It's optional, but it intensifies the fragrance. 

Chicken and Shrimp Dimsum Recipe (15-20 pcs)

Dimsum Filling ingredients:

200 g chicken thigh fillet

50 g chicken skin

50 g peeled shrimp (interchangeable with chicken)

2 clove garlic

1 pc egg whites

9 tbsp sago flour

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp mushroom stock powder

3 tbsp ice cubes

2 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp soy sauce

50 g shredded carrots

15-20 Shumai wrappers

Dipping Sauce ingredients:

2 clove garlic

1 pc shallots

3 bird's eye chili

1 pc medium-sized red chili

6 tbsp chili sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

150 ml water

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

Next, DimSum wrapper. To make it elastic, I'm using sago or tapioca flour. You can also use potato starch and anything that contains starch, just not regular flour. 

Next, egg white, garlic, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce. I'm using carrots for the toppings. You can also add them to the meat. The rest is standard: salt, sugar, pepper, and flavor enhancers. I'm using some ice cubes or water to make the dough lighter and not too chewy.

Steps Making The Dimsum Filling:

1. Add half of the chicken, garlic, sago flour, egg whites, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper, salt, sugar, mushroom stock powder, and ice cubes into the food processor. Blend into a smooth consistency.

2. Add the rest of the chicken and the shrimp in. Blend for a bit.

3. Transfer to a bowl. Add half of the shredded carrots. Mix well.

4. Grab a Dimsum wrapper. Add 2 tbsp of filling and wrap it. Add some shredded carrot on top.

5. Steam the Dimsum for 15 - 20 minutes.

6. For the dipping sauce, mince the garlic, bird's eye chili, and shallots. Sauté until fragrant, then add some water.

7. Add the chili sauce, vinegar, sugar, and mushroom stock powder in. Bring to a boil.

8. Dimsum is ready to serve.

Making The dimSum Filling

Let's start. I'm using a food processor. It's so practical. You can also use a blender or chop it manually. The grind is important. It depends on how smooth you want the Shumai texture to be. I'll blend some of the chicken and the shrimp later. I'm dividing this into two batches. The first is for the smooth texture. You want the chicken skin to be smooth, right? Add the chicken in. Pound the garlic so they're easier to mash.

Combine everything but the shrimp, some of the chicken thigh, and the carrots. We don't want those three to be too smooth. The reason I'm only using egg whites is that the texture tends to be firmer if we use the yolk. You can taste the eggs then. It's become bouncy and the texture is different. So, I prefer using just the whites. Now, we'll blend these until they're smooth.

Once they're smooth, it's time to add the rest of the chicken. And the shrimp. Blend it for a short time until the shrimp is roughly chopped. See? The shrimp is still chunky. That's what we want for a good Shumai. Now, transfer it to a bowl and add the carrots in. I'm adding some shredded carrots. You can just leave it plain, too. The smell is so good right now. One of the keys to making good Shumai is using fresh ingredients. That's why I got them from HappyFresh. They're fresh and will make the Shumai even better.

You can also add some leeks. I prefer to sauté the leeks first. If we use big slices of leeks or older leeks, when cooked, the fragrant might be disturbing instead. Chives might be the better alternative for Shumai. Again, you can sauté it first to make it more fragrant. Let's wrap the Shumai now. DimSum wrapper is very easy to make. Simply combine flour, salt, and hot water. Using hot water makes the dough more flexible.

Wrapping The Dimsum and Steaming The Dimsum

If you're selling these and want them to be more accurate and neat... ...you can weigh the filling. It's about 40 - 50 g each. You can gain some consistency then. But for personal consumption, it's not an issue. We'll steam them for 15 - 20 minutes, depending on the DimSum's size and the heat used. You need to try it to know the exact cooking time. As we wait, we'll make the dipping Sambal.

Making The Dipping Sambal For Dimsum

Add some oil for sautéing, here's a mixture of garlic, shallots, bird's eye chili, and red chili. You can do a rough chop or a fine chop. It's up to you. You can even make an extra-fine texture. I'm using red chili, too, because it will make the Sambal smells even fresher. Let's fry the Sambal. I made too many, so I won't be using all of it. Fry it until it's completely reduced to make it more fragrant and eliminate any raw chili smell. If you want it to be spicier, add the amount of bird's eye chili. If you don't want it to be spicy, skip the bird's eye chili. The chili has reduced. It's time to add some water. Add some vinegar. And chili sauce. Next, season the Sambal. I'm using mushroom stock powder. Give it a taste. If it's not sweet enough, add some sugar. If it's not salty enough, add some salt. I'm adding some sugar. For me, a good DimSum Sambal is sweet, spicy, savory, and a bit tart so it's fresh.

The consistency is up to you. Let's keep cooking. If you want an inexpensive option, you can add some cornstarch at this stage... ...to thicken the Sambal. The Sambal is done. So easy. Let's check the Shumai. They're cooked. Let's plate. Make them pretty.

The Dish Dimsum Recipe is Ready To Plate and Serve

Ta-da! Here they are, Chicken and Shrimp DimSum recipe or Shumai. For me, a good Shumai means you can taste the meat, but it's slightly bouncy, too. It's not like the super-meaty Hong Kong Shumai. It should be a bit bouncy, which is how I like it. Look, it's bouncy. The meat texture looks good, too. Let's try it with the Sambal. This is the Sambal texture I like. It's not too thick, so it'll coat the entire Shumai. This is the Sambal texture I like. It's not too thick, so it'll coat the entire Shumai. Aside from the Sambal earlier, we can add some Chili Oil, too. I make this Chili Oil myself. I've shared the recipe before. Check it out. You can keep this for months as it uses lots of oil so it's naturally preserved. Don't forget to download the HappyFresh app on Google Play or App Store. You can also check out the link in the description box. For new users, get free delivery with the displayed code. This is the type of snacks you'll never get bored of. Like I said, you can taste the meat. It's savory, a bit sweet, and fragrant from the garlic. Okay. So this is very easy. Thank you for reading. Don't forget to follow, like, etc. Stay tuned and see you in the next article.