Okay, 1, 2, 3 Siu mai wrapping contest! ♪Laughter♪ Oh my god! My hand is cramping! ♪Laughter♪ Take your time, take your time Kat's almost finished wrapping it Take your time ♪Laughter♪ What's up everyone? Today we're making Siu Mai (shumai)! My name is Randy And we are the Laus We're on a mission to celebrate And pass down our Chinese heritage One meal at a time After 50 amazing years as a Chinese chef My dad's finally retired And he's here to teach you all of his secrets To make the perfect Siu Mai A dish he's made hundreds of times Hello, friends! Nice to meet you again Today we are going to teach you how to make Siu Mai The most important thing about siu mai is the meat filling If you put effort into it, you can wrap a beautiful siu mai It doesn't matter if it's ugly The most important thing is to get the filling right and it'll be delicious Originally from Northern China Siu mai spread across China and the rest of the world Taking on many different varieties to adapt to local tastes You've probably tried the extremely popular Cantonese version As it's a staple of dim sum restaurants everywhere Dim sum, or dím sām, roughly translates To a "touch of heart" A reference to the delectable snacks that 10th-century tea houses would serve To traveling merchants in Guangzhou One of the largest international ports along the Silk Road Even though dim sum is widely considered to belong To Cantonese cuisine, it evolved from a wide range of influences Largely because Guangzhou was and still is A critical hub for Chinese trade And a melting pot of different cultures Today, we're using 8 oz of pork shoulder Now we'll cut the pork first The meat filling for siu mai must be cut, not minced It's best not to use the pre-minced meat from the market Siu mai with minced meat as filling won't taste good We’ll cut the meat into 1/4 inch slices Just like the size of a peanut Slice it Then cut it into strips and then dice it Just a little strip, see? As thin as this strip Line them up and dice them So someone asked - She made it from scratch But the meat felt a little too tough Is it because of the fat content in the meat? It depends on the part of the pork used Using pork shoulder is better than pork chops Pork chops are harder Pork shoulder or pork belly won't be as hard It's best to massage the meat with your hands after cutting them Or put the meat in a bowl and stir with a spoon It's like you're massaging the meat Okay, we're done cutting the meat Put the meat into a bowl And soak the pork in water Why do you do this? Because the meat is freshly thawed This ensures the ice will melt completely Also, this will help remove the blood from the meat Soaking the pork will also help it taste better We'll let the pork soak in water for about 10 minutes A common misconception is that the red juice That leaks out from meat is blood, but it's not Most of the time, the blood has already Been drained by the time you buy it And the red juice is actually a result Of freezing the meat during transport When you freeze meat, which is about 75% water The water inside the muscles expands into ice crystals Which rupture the muscle cells, and when the ice thaws It carries some myoglobin with it Myoglobin is an iron-rich protein that turns Bright red when it's exposed to oxygen The purpose of myoglobin is to store extra oxygen In muscles that are used for extended periods of time Interestingly enough, this is why not all meats are red or dark Beef and pork meat are red because Cows and pigs stand and roam almost all-day In contrast, fish meat is mostly white With some red meat around the fins and tail Because fish float in water and they aren't Constantly using the bulk of their muscles These are peeled, deveined shrimp Prepare 4 oz of shrimp We'll use a cloth to absorb the water from the shrimp Why? Because if it's too wet, the siu mai's skin will get soggy So it's better to drain the water from the shrimp first A general theme you'll see throughout this recipe is Taking extra steps to make sure the meat or filling mixture is dry Because the wrappers will either get soggy Or become really hard to fold These 4 oz shrimp also need to be diced See, they don’t need to be big pieces For shrimp, buy the kind that's been deveined and peeled The texture will be more crispy Oh, the shelled ones won't be as tasty? Not that it's not delicious, just not as chewy But if you know how to cook them, they're still good. Peel the shrimp and add a small amount of baking soda and cornstarch Mix well and put them in the refrigerator The shrimp will become chewier after a while Some people use fish You can also use fish But the fish will be wet, you have to dry it first Pork will absorb water, while fish has more water content It's possible to use fish, it just needs to be handled properly Siu mai mustn't have too much water We'll use 4 mushrooms It's been soaked. Now, we'll dry it out We're going to dice the mushrooms too If it's this thick, cut it first Cut through the middle Then cut into strips After that, cut into pieces How would you make this vegetarian? Don't use items with too much water Make sure to let the vermicelli absorb the water You can use vermicelli, mushrooms, eggs, carrots, corn You can also use glutinous rice Other ingredients that aren't too wet can also be used What if I use fresh mushrooms? You can use them but dried mushrooms will be more delicious The taste is different I think using dried mushrooms, soaked and chopped Tastes better than fresh mushrooms, depending on what you want to cook Okay, the mushrooms are chopped We'll need a small amount of carrot Cut the carrot into thin slices And cut them into really tiny pieces for garnish First cut into thin slices We only need a small amount Then, cut them into tiny bits Just like how I'm cutting, see? Okay, we're done cutting everything Next, we'll be creating our marinade with 1 tbsp light soy sauce 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar 2 tbsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 2 tbsp water 1/2 tsp white pepper, and 1 tsp of chicken bouillon The baking soda helps the meat become more tender And absorb more of the flavors of the sauce The chicken bouillon is optional But my dad prefers it because it adds a lot of umami flavor We have all of these ingredients listed on our blog at madewithlau.com Along with step-by-step instructions and video clips To guide you as you make the recipe at home Great. Next, we'll stir all the ingredients to make the marinade For the meat, we'll drain it dry Try to drain the water from the meat as much as possible There’s red water, see? Okay, we’re done here Now, we'll marinate the meat First, pour the marinade into the meat and stir it well Keep stirring to let the meat absorb the marinade faster Mix the sauce and pork thoroughly for about 2-3 minutes And set it aside for at least 10 minutes To let the pork absorb the sauces Then, we'll add in the minced shrimp and mushrooms Along with 1 tsp olive oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil Mix everything for another 1-2 minutes We'll cover the bowl with plastic wrap And let everything marinate in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours This will make the meat drier To ensure the skin won't get wet when wrapping the siu mai later While we wait I also wanted to make a special shoutout to thank all of our Wonderful Patreon supporters to help bring this video to life. If you enjoy our videos and are interested in supporting us directly, Head on over to patreon.com/madewithlau to learn more! After everything is done marinating, we can start wrapping our siu mai One important note is to not expose The wraps to air for extended periods of time Otherwise, they'll dry out and become hard to manipulate You should cover them with plastic wrap When you're not actively using them What shall we do now? Let's begin wrapping This is enough for us to prepare around 20 siu mai A siu mai weighs about 1 oz This is a siu mai wrapper First, lay the filling in the center and spread it out Then, hold your fingers in a C shape And put the siu mai in the center of your hand like this Then, push the siu mai down with the handle of the spoon Use your index finger to press and fold the skin up It's all rounded up down there, see? It's already in the shape of a siu mai, isn't it? Then we'll add a little filling and fill it up Next, we'll press the top of the siu mai with the spoon handle While squeezing the bottom at the same time This will make the filling more firm Just use your finger to press like this, very simple Use your index finger to turn and press at the same time Just like that Let's weigh this siu mai This weighs 1 oz All of these should weigh around the same This weighs 0.9 oz It'll be around 1 oz for each siu mai Do we have to weigh it? No, I'm just showing you all The weight is about 1 oz With 0.5 lb pork, 4 oz shrimp, 4 mushrooms We can prepare around 20 siu mai Okay, done The filling must extend past the wrapper a little bit Let me demonstrate how to wrap this again We'll place the filling in the middle with the handle of our spoon And spread it out Then, we'll place it in our hand just like how I'm doing it Use the spoon handle to press it down, see? All you have to do is press down and there's the shape, right? Then, use your finger to turn and press it at the same time We'll also squeeze some filling from the bottom to the top And add some more to fill the top of the siu mai That's basically it, see? Use this finger to turn it slowly, you know? Press it with the handle of our spoon While the filling at the bottom is squeezed firmly with your hand Can you see? If the first try isn't beautiful, the next time will be better, right? Your skills will improve with experience Right? It's simple and quick! As we fold the rest of our siu mai Fill a wok or steamer with about 2 cups of water And bring it to a boil on high heat Once we're done folding and stuffing all of our siu mai Spread them out on a metal steamer tray, bamboo steamer, or plate Making sure that they're not touching Then, we'll garnish the tops with our minced carrots Carefully load the siu mai into your wok or steamer Cover, and steam for 10 minutes If you're using a plate instead of a bamboo steamer Or metal tray with holes You'll need to elevate it above the water with a steamer rack And steam for 12 minutes Whichever method you're using Make sure there's enough clearance above the water To prevent it from boiling and splashing onto the siu mai All right, it's done! Wow, can you see? Let's take it out And put it here Wow! It's done! Let's have some siu mai! Call Hong Doy to eat Siu mai! Mommy, come and have some siu mai! Okay, oh my god! (Laugh) Drink tea! Let's have tea first! Cheers! Teahouse at home! ♪Laughter♪ It's scented tea Pu'er Flower Tea Thank you Oh my gosh Hong Doy, let's eat Okay! Siu mai, let's eat! Cheers! It reminds me of when I'm at the… Peony Seafood Restaurant The dim sum restaurant that we go to all the time -You want to go Cam Cam? -So good! Really good Perfect This is better than dim sum Better than dim sum? Yeah, because the meat quality is so much better When did you work at a dim sum restaurant? In the 80s, 1981 San Francisco’s Chinatown Is it still open today? Yeah, it's still open, but it changed owners a lot What's it called? Now, it's called “Zhu Hoi" right? I don't remember the name, but the restaurant is still there It’s still a dim sum restaurant I've been there with your second uncle We lived in San Francisco Chinatown during our first year (in America) Do you know Walgreens in Chinatown? We were living above the Walgreens Oh! We only had one small room that only fits one bed And we had a public kitchen, public toilet You shared it with everyone? Yeah, we shared with everyone The rent was just $180 Wow! This was all other Chinese people that you shared with? Yeah How many people lived there? A lot (laugh) ♪Laughter♪ 4 Patrons asked - how do you choose the wrappers? The wrappers? Go to those big Chinese supermarkets, most of them will have them If you can't find the round wrappers, you can also use wonton wrappers Wonton wrappers are in a square shape, so you can just cut off the corners Siu mai wrappers need to be circular, right? You can use a cup to cut the wonton wrapper into a circle, like that Then it'll be a siu mai wrapper Do you have a brand that you prefer? It doesn't have a brand, it just depends on the factory it's produced in The one I used today also doesn't have a brand Just follow the brand of the factory What if you want to make these siu mai wrappers yourself? Make this wrapper yourself? It'll be more difficult, you'll need to make it into a thin slice Can you make it that thin? You'll need a machine for that, it's different How many different types of thickness are there? There are many kinds of wonton wrappers, both thick and thin For shrimp dumplings and siu mai, there's only one type The thickness is like the one used here Will the packaging state that it's for siu mai wrappers? Yeah, it'll be displayed on the package If you couldn't find one that’s for siu mai You just have wonton wraps What type of wonton wrappers do you need to get? Find the thinnest ones The thinnest, okay The thinnest wonton wrappers Okay Because for wonton wraps, there are thick and thin ones Buy the thinnest that you can find Okay Wonton sheets and siu mai sheets are the same? The same ingredients and procedures are used for making both wraps The only difference is the shape - square for wonton, circle for siu mai They'll have the same thickness Another question, how do you keep the wrapper from drying too fast? After steaming, store it inside the wok if you're not eating It'll get dry if it's exposed to air For storing, use a wok with a cover or wrap it with food wrap, you know? Got it Question about the skin as well How do you keep the skin from getting soggy? If it's soggy, maybe it's because the meat has too much water in it That's why I said remove as much water from the meat as possible If there's too much water, the skin won't stick to the meat Not like this where it wraps tightly around the meat Did you soak the meat first? Yeah, the meat is soaked So how do you dry it properly? Squeeze it dry So if you don't do that well enough, it'll be soggy? Yes When you're steaming, Like if maybe somebody puts too much water And the boiling water is touching the bottom That'll make it soggy too, does that happen a lot? Yeah If there's too much water The water will spill onto the siu mai and make it wet 3 Patreon members asked, what is the best way to store it? When do you store it, how long will it last? Definitely don't freeze them after they've been steamed If you make a lot of siu mai It's best to steam them according to the amount you want to eat For example, you just want to have 10 siu mai So you'll just take 10 out from the freezer and steam them The steamed siu mai will definitely get dry after some time Here are wontons that I've already prepared They’ve been stored in the freezer for some time, a few weeks When you've just finished wrapping a wonton, it's soft, right? Just place each one of them separately on a tray Totally separate So then they’re firm They'll get firm in maybe 2-3 hours Then, you can put everything in a closed bag When you're cooking them from the freezer What's the best way to reheat them? It's better to defrost them before steaming so that I know If they normally cook in 10 minutes, then I'll just cook them for 10 minutes Without defrosting, you don't know how long it'll take to cook them Not even for me But for wontons, I'm able to cook it straight away from the freezer Boiled wontons will float to the surface Siu mai isn't boiled, it's steamed Siu mai is always cooked by steaming It's called dry steamed siu mai, steamed separately from water Dry steaming means steaming separately from water When you steam fish, fish is wet, right? You'll clean the fish before steaming But for siu mai, you put it in the steam tray after wrapping Oh, the item itself is not wet? Yeah, because the whole thing is not wet Just the steam How do you stuff the siu mai? How do you like, make it pretty when you stuff it? Also so it doesn't fall apart? It won't fall apart when you stuff it Because the meat is sticky It'll stick tightly to the wrappers when you're wrapping it So the wrappers won't fall off Do you want to try one? Yea! Do you want to do it after? Or you want me to do it now? We can do it now Yeah, oh! Then, we need to have a… You and dad grade, who makes it better, me or Randy Randy, you wanna race? Oh god! Well, we need 2 spoons... Oh, we don't have 2 spoons in this house Yeah, so I don't… ♪Laughter♪ Okay, 1, 2, 3 Siu mai wrapping contest! ♪Laughter♪ Oh my god! My hand is cramping! ♪Laughter♪ Take your time, take your time Kat's almost finished wrapping it Take your time ♪Laughter♪ You should position it higher You can't help him, not this time -Almost there -So stressed right now -Don't worry -I think I need more Even you don't wrap it well For your first time, this is good enough Push the bottom part to the top, son The middle part too Randy, how are you doing? I feel like mine… Oh, we can't ask, huh? Oh gosh! Oh, baby's up Not now, baby! Shh, Cam Cam! Mommy and Daddy are busy Okay I think this is probably not a good one Okay I think you might… Which one is better? Maybe Randy's ♪Laughter♪ Look at mine, doesn't look so cute Kat's is more pretty, Randy's is more full Yeah, kiss! Muah! Yeah, how would dad fix it? Press the bottom and push up the filling to the opening Then, apply pressure at the opening to make the meat more firm Okay Both are good And how about Randy's, what do you need to do? For this, this is okay -Just the bottom part needs to be fixed like this -Good job Randy Push the filling from the bottom to the top Apply pressure on this point Use your thumb to push the meat up Yeah, good job Randy! Good teacher, good teacher Yay! I'll go get baby It's done, right? Yes, it's okay But wait, whose was better though...? ♪Laughter♪ He asked which is better? Both are good It'll get better as you wrap more and more I think Randy's is better I think they are about the same That's what you say to your wife ♪Laughter♪ Take notes, Cam Happy spouse, happy house! Hello, dear friends and audience I believe everyone can learn this siu mai recipe And bring lots of happiness to your friends and family Thank you!
