Although it uses almost the same ingredients as normal shumai (shao mai) and is cooked in the same way, Special Occasion Dumpling looks like a flower with a wow factor. It’s a perfect crowd pleaser. See the video.Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
Prep time: PT25M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT155M
dumpling recipe, shao mai, shumai
- Place a pile of shumai sheets and cut the pile into about 3mm/⅛" wide strips.
- Loosen up the strips of shumai sheets, separating each strand, and place them in a bowl or on a small tray.
- Make granular yolk by putting the boiled yolk through a sieve. Use a sieve that has larger holes than the sieve used to sift flour. Granular egg yolk is fluffy and easier to pinch to decorate the shumai (note 5).
- Put all the Shumai Mixture, excluding onion and corn flour/cornstarch, in a bowl. Mix well until the mixture becomes sticky and almost like a paste.
- Add onion and corn flour/cornstarch to the bowl and mix well. Cover and leave for 1-2 hours in the fridge to let the mixture rest.
- Wet your hands with water. Scoop about a tablespoon of meat mixture and make a ball around 3cm/1⅛" in diameter. Place the ball on a tray lined with baking paper (note 6 for speedy method).
- Taking one meatball at a time, place several strands of shumai sheet around the meatball, gently pressing so that the strips stick to the meatball.
- Remove excess strips so that the meatball is coated with no more than a couple of layers of the strips.
- I used bamboo steamers to steam the shumai dumplings, but there are other methods of steaming them.
- Please refer to Shumai Recipe Card for three different ways of steaming shumai. Please follow the instruction for one of the steaming methods.
- After steaming the dumplings, place a pinch of granular egg yolk on top of each flower shumai.
- If you are using a bamboo steamer, you could serve shumai in the bamboo steamer. If using a steamer pot/pan, transfer the shumai onto a plate. If steamed on a plate using a pot, serve the steaming plate with the shumai on.
- Serve with soy sauce and mustard.