Chinese
Pork & Shrimp Shu Mai
Open-topped steamed dumplings filled with pork, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and water chestnuts.
45 min 24 dumplingsFrom A Guide to Chinese Gastronomy
Published December 18, 2023 · 268 pages · CymanSayz
A Guide to Chinese Gastronomy
Iconic Regional Recipes — First Cookbook
★ 5 · 4 ratings · Kindle Edition · Paperback
About the book
China is not one cuisine but a continent of them. This guide travels the regional kitchens — Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Fujian, Zhejiang and Anhui — and lays out what makes each one taste the way it does: the fats, the aromatics, the heat, the order of operations.
Each chapter pairs cultural and historical context with iconic recipes written for a home kitchen and an ordinary stove, plus a pantry primer so the shopping list stops being a barrier.
“My family's line runs back to Taishan, Guangdong. This book is the long way of answering a short question: why does this taste like home?”
Table of contents
- Introduction: Eight Cuisines, One Table
- 1. The Chinese Pantry
- 2. Cantonese — Freshness and Restraint
- 3. Sichuan — Ma, La and the Wok
- 4. Hunan — Dry Heat and Smoke
- 5. Jiangsu & Zhejiang — Sweet, Delicate, Precise
- 6. Shandong — Broths and Braises
- 7. Fujian & Anhui — Coast and Mountain
- 8. Technique Notes and Substitutions
Sample recipe from this book
Pork & Shrimp Shu Mai
A Guide to Chinese Gastronomy pairs pork and shrimp with aromatic ginger, garlic, sesame oil, mushrooms, and water chestnuts in this dim sum favorite.
Ingredients
- ½ pound ground pork
- ½ pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- ¼ cup chopped water chestnuts
- ¼ cup chopped shiitake mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 24 round wonton wrappers
- Optional: extra green onions or sesame seeds for garnish
Method
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground pork, chopped shrimp, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger, minced garlic, green onions, water chestnuts, shiitake mushrooms, and cornstarch. Mix well until evenly distributed.
- Place a heaping teaspoon of the pork and shrimp mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper.
- Gently gather and pleat the wrapper edges around the filling, leaving the top open. Pinch the pleats to seal. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
- Arrange the dumplings in a steamer lined with parchment paper or cabbage leaves, leaving space between them.
- Bring the steamer water to a boil. Cover and steam the dumplings for 8–10 minutes, or until the filling is cooked through.
- Garnish with chopped green onions or sesame seeds, if desired, and serve hot.
What readers say
“Clear regional breakdowns and recipes I can actually cook on a weeknight.”
Recipes from this book
10 recipes from A Guide to Chinese Gastronomy are transcribed here.
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