Cantonese Pork & Shrimp Shumai 燒賣

By    :      Mymy Suajico - Santiago 蔡马安

Shumai, a type of Chinese dumpling which literally means ‘to cook & sell.’ The oldest variety of Shumai is the Huhhot from Huhhot, Inner Mongolia; mainly served for breakfast in restaurants as a come on to attract people for lunch & dinner. Shumai is traditionally eaten with chopsticks and presently popular in food stalls all over asia.

This Shumai recipe is Cantonese influenced, characterized by its standard filling consisting primarily of ground pork, small whole or chopped shrimp and ginger with seasonings of Chinese rice wine soy sauce, sesame oil. Bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and pepper can also be added. For this recipe, I used jicama instead. The Cantonese Shumai from the province of Guangdong is the most well-known variety among dumplings.

Ingredients:

1 pack                  dumpling wrapper (preferably round)
1 cup                   lean ground pork
1 cup                   roughly chopped shrimp
1/4 cup                white onions (chopped)
1                       egg
¼ cup                  chopped jicama
1 tbsp                  ginger finely chopped
2 tbsp                  black sesame oil, the black is more aromatic
1 cap                   Shao Hsing rice wine
2 tbsp                  Oyster Sauce
To taste                Salt

Garnish:
Parsley & black sesame seeds

Procedure:

Mix all ingredients (except wrapper) in a bowl.

Fill in dumpling wrappers, center the filling.

Pleat the Shumai, garnish & ready to steam.
In a steamer, heat water to boil.

Arrange Shumai on steamer rack & steam until done (approximately 6 minutes)

Pleating  the Shumai:

assemble the shumai: Place a lump of filling in the center of the wrapper. Cup it in your hand and, with the index finger and thumb of your other hand, pleat the top edge. Squeeze the dumpling gently in the center to indent slightly and tap the bottom to flatten. Using the back of a teaspoon dipped in water, pack the filling gently and smooth the top.

Hot Dipping Sauce:
Soy Sauce, citrus & spiracha

Serve with your favorite tea

Tilapia with Star Fruit & Tamarind Broth (Sinigang na Tilapia)

Mymy Suajico – Santiago 蔡马安

Sinigang is a sour broth native to the Philippines. Its every ingredient is contemplated to complement the flavor of the core component which may be beef, poultry, seafood. Tamarind is the key component in preparing Sinigang. It’s natural sour taste gives the broth a unique essence that is “umami.”

Tilapia is the fifth most important fish in fish farming due to rapid growth & palatability. It is also affordable and available for all seasons almost worldwide now. Mundane as it may seem, this is to substantiate that there is no such thing as a dull fish, just dull seasonings.

Ingredients:

3 cups            water

3 cups            shrimp stock

1 pc              Green Star Fruit (sliced to stars)

1 pc              Jalapeno Pepper (whole) 

- or any pepper of your choice, I love mine extra hot & biting back

1pc               large tomato sliced

1pc               thumb size ginger sliced thinly

½ cup            sliced white onions

2 stalks           lemon grass (gashed, for essence to properly expel)

2 lbs.             Tilapia (cleaned, gutted & sectioned)

2 tbsp.            lemon pepper spice

½ cup            tamarind paste or 1 pack tamarind powder

2 tbsp.            cilantro roughly chopped (garnish)

To taste           Salt

Preparation:

In a Stock pot put all first 8 ingredients and heat to simmer.

Add in slices of Tilapia and continue to simmer until fish is cooked (all of which will take less than 10 minutes)

Skim the fine bubbles

Stir in Tamarind Paste and add lemon pepper spice

Salt to taste, Serve garnished with cilantro

Serve very hot with rice...a la Filipino Style

Basa Ceviche with Flying Fish Roe

Mymy Suajico – Santiago 蔡马安

Ceviche is a raw seafood salad marinated in citrus. Ceviche is most popular in Coastal Americas & the Philippines. Originating from Peru, food historians believe that it was the Spanish conquistadors who introduced this dish to other regions under Spanish colony which clearly explains why the Marianas & the Philippines are the only islands in Asia making ceviche. “Kelaguen” to the indigenous people of Mariana Islands, ceviche reflects the Micronesian archipelago's Hispanic-Asian-influenced native culture. “Kilawin” to the Filipinos, the fixings may have been reinterpreted to what is native in the region but intrinsically, it rings its roots to the Peruvian Ceviche.

Ceviche is all about celebrating the taste of every ingredient in its raw form; so for this salad, only freshest will do. Consumption of raw food is a vector to potential health risks but then, if you haven’t had Ceviche you miss a big part of your gastronomic life.

This is my interpretation of Ceviche. It is partly Asian & Spanish..but so am I.

Ingredients  :

1 lb.    Basa Fillet, chopped into medium chunks (you    may use any fish you prefer, the firm ones which don’t easily flake are most ideal)

½ cup    Calamondin (or any citrus :lemon, lime)

1 tbsp.   Calamondin

1/4        white onions, paper thin slices

½ tbsp.  ginger root, chopped paper thin slices

1 tbsp.   cilantro (optional)

1 pc       salted egg (optional)

To taste  Salt

Garnish   Flying Fish Roe (for touch of sweetness)

Put chopped Basa in a Bowl. Pour in 1/2 cup of Citrus & chill to marinate in refrigerator for 3 hours. Remove excess fluid. Add onions, ginger, salted egg, cilantro and salt to taste. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. of Calamondin and garnish with Flying Fish roe. Serve chilled.

Best paired with umbrella drinks