Southern Shaomai

Southern Shaomai

　　Southern Shaomai is known for its thin wrappers, generous fillings, attractive shapes, combination of meat and vegetables, and rich nutrition. The dumpling gets its name from its thin skin, which becomes semi-transparent and slightly oily when cooked, allowing the filling to be seen through the wrapper. Made with premium flour, the filling features carefully seasoned meat, takes on a plum blossom shape, and has a unique and delicious taste. It enjoys great fame in northern Sichuan.

　　Ingredients: Flour, Chinese cabbage, lean pork, ground pepper, salt, MSG, cooking wine, sesame oil, etc.

　　Preparation: Use high-quality flour mixed with water to make a soft dough. Divide it into 10-gram pieces, flatten them, and roll them into wrappers. Stack several wrappers, place them at the edge of the work surface, and use a rolling pin to tap and press the edges of the stacked wrappers, forming a lotus-leaf-like ruffle. Briefly blanch the Chinese cabbage in boiling water, squeeze out the moisture, and chop it into fine pieces. Finely chop the lean pork, and boil the fatty pork before dicing it. Mix these three ingredients with ground pepper, salt, MSG, cooking wine, and sesame oil to make the filling. Take a wrapper in your hand, place the filling in the center, and slowly gather the ruffled edge of the wrapper upward, pinching it into the shape of a Chinese cabbage with the filling at the bottom. Place it in a steamer basket and steam over high heat for about three minutes. Open the steamer, sprinkle some water inside, then continue steaming until fully cooked.