Published September 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.
For moist and tender meat in our shu mai recipe, we used our food processor to grind boneless country-style ribs in two batches: one chunky and one fine. Once combined in the steamed dumplings’ filling, the smaller pieces helped hold the larger bits together and added a pleasant textural contrast. We used a mixture of powdered gelatin and cornstarch to keep our shu mai’s filling moist and tender, and flavored it with a liberal dose of traditional steamed Chinese dumpling recipe ingredients. For wrappers, we used square egg roll skins, which we cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter. Finally, we garnished each dumpling’s center with finely grated carrot and served our shu mai with a quick dash of chili oil.
Do not trim the excess fat from the ribs; it contributes flavor and moistness. Use any size shrimp except popcorn shrimp; there’s no need to halve shrimp smaller than 26 to 30 per pound before processing. The dumplings may be frozen for up to 3 months; cook them straight from the freezer for about an extra 5 minutes. Read about our favorite steamer basket in related testing. To jury-rig one, follow the instructions in related How to Cook. For more options on wrappers, see related How to Cook. Serve shu mai with store-bought chili oil or make your own (see related recipe).
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