The dish to eat in Vancouver · Canada

Dim sum

Name: Pork and shrimp siu mai
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 (about 24 dumplings)
Cuisine: Canada
Ingredients: 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water 30 minutes; 12 oz (340 g) ground pork (20 to 30 percent fat); 8 oz (225 g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted very dry; 1 tbsp cornstarch; 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp white pepper; 1 tsp finely grated ginger; 24 round thin yellow wonton or siu mai wrappers (or square ones trimmed round); 1 small carrot, finely grated, or tobiko (flying fish roe), for the tops; Cabbage leaves or parchment for the steamer; To serve: chili oil, soy sauce, hot mustard

Photo: afterdog, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Small plates of Cantonese dumplings and buns with tea: shrimp har gow, pork siu mai, char siu bao, rice rolls.

With one of the biggest Cantonese communities outside Asia, Vancouver and Richmond serve dim sum that Hong Kong visitors say rivals home.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Vancouver

Kirin Seafood Restaurant
City Square (and Richmond)
Order: Har gow, siu mai, and the baked barbecue pork buns
A Vancouver institution for refined Cantonese cooking and dim sum.
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Sun Sui Wah
Main Street (and Richmond)
Order: Siu mai and the egg tarts
A family-run seafood palace serving dim sum since 1986.
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Chef Tony Seafood Restaurant
Aberdeen Centre area, Richmond
Order: The creative dim sum (truffle siu mai, squid ink buns)
Modern Hong Kong-style dim sum with a long weekend wait.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best dim sum in Vancouver, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Pork and shrimp siu mai

Serves 4 (about 24 dumplings)Time 1 hr

Siu mai are the easiest dim sum to make at home: open-topped, no pleating. Chop the shrimp by hand so the filling has a bouncy bite.

Pans and tools

Bamboo steamer and wok or wide pot
Mixing bowl
Knife or cleaver

You’ll need

4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water 30 minutes
12 oz (340 g) ground pork (20 to 30 percent fat)
8 oz (225 g) raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and patted very dry
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp finely grated ginger
24 round thin yellow wonton or siu mai wrappers (or square ones trimmed round)
1 small carrot, finely grated, or tobiko (flying fish roe), for the tops
Cabbage leaves or parchment for the steamer
To serve: chili oil, soy sauce, hot mustard

Steps

Squeeze the mushrooms dry, remove the stems and chop finely.
Chop half the shrimp into small pieces and the other half into a rough paste.
Put the pork, shrimp, mushrooms, cornstarch, soy, oyster sauce, wine, sugar, salt, sesame oil, pepper and ginger in a bowl. Stir hard in one direction for 3 minutes (or slap the mixture against the bowl) until sticky and springy. Chill 20 minutes.
Hold a wrapper in the circle made by your thumb and index finger. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling in the center and gently squeeze, pushing the wrapper up around the filling, so it forms an open-topped cup.
Tap the bottom on the counter to flatten it, smooth the top with a wet spoon, and dot with grated carrot or roe.
Line a bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves or perforated parchment and arrange the siu mai 1/2 inch apart.
Steam over boiling water 8 to 10 minutes, until the filling is firm and cooked through (160F / 71C).
Serve straight from the steamer with chili oil, soy and mustard, and a pot of jasmine or pu-erh tea.

Chef’s tips

Very dry shrimp and plenty of stirring give the classic bouncy texture.

Freeze uncooked siu mai on a tray, then bag; steam from frozen 12 minutes.

Add a little diced water chestnut for crunch.

Contains: Shellfish, wheat, egg, soy, sesame, fish (roe, if using).

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