Cool Tip: Tips for Making Shumai...

Ever wonder how all those lovely shumai and other dim sum get assembled, just so perfectly? If you’re like us, then you don’t have a Chinese cook on staff and you haven’t been doing it yourself every day since you were a small child. Trying to form each one individually in your hand will be messy, slow and frustrating, lead to an irregular assortment of pieces on a plate or tray, and is almost certain to dry out the wrappers before you complete the task. So you need some extra help. And it’s right there in your kitchen already.

Take a small muffin pan  - we use this silicone model with 1” deep holes, approximately 1.5” in diameter. Whether you use round or square wonton wrappers, gently press the center of the wrapper into each hole, and then pleat the remainder around the perimeter. Leave a little of the wrapper sticking up above the hole. You can setup a full pan of wrappers before filling each with your mixture, using a small (0.5 Tablespoon) scoop or disher. If you need to add more filling, then use less than a full scoop for the additional amount. Finally, press the top of the filling to compact and level it in the wrapper. In no time, you’ll have a quantity of dim sum ready to go into your steamer.

Enjoy!