Easy Way to Make Siomai (Pork Siomai)

Siomai is a traditional Chinese dumpling served in dim sum that is becoming popular to many Filipinos as viand or food snack. Philippine siomai is made of ground pork, beef, shrimp, among others, combined with extenders like turnips (singkamas), carrots and the like which is then wrapped in wonton wrappers or nori sheets.

Here’s the easy way to make pork siomai at home

Siomai is either steamed or fried. It is commonly eaten with a dipping sauce composed of a mix of soy sauce, calamansi extract, and chili sauce. The “Original Siomai sa Tisa”, one of my favorites, is very popular in Cebu, it comes with a siomai chili sauce, which has a spicy flavor that complements the dish, best partnered with puso (hanging rice) and soft drink.

How to make siomai? Here’s the recipe that you can follow:

Pork Siomai

Ingredients

1 kg ground pork (suggested proportion of fat to lean meat is 1:3)
1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts or turnips (singkamas)
3/4 cup chopped carrots
2 tbsp or 4 cloves minced garlic
2 medium or 1 large minced onion(s)
bunch of spring onions or leeks
1 egg
5 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
5 g seasonings
50 pcs. large or 100 pcs. small wanton or siomai wrapper
Soy sauce, calamansi (lemon or kumquats), sesame oil and chilli paste (for the sauce)

Siomai Cooking Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.

2. Arrange 10 wrappers in a tray, and weigh 100 g of siomai mixture. Place 2 tsp of meat in each wrapper until nothing is left unfilled. Each wrapper will have 10 grams of siomai.

3. To enclose, gather up the edges of the wrapper and gently fold it so that it forms a basket shape, with the top of the filling exposed. Press lightly as you pleat each side. Or, if you don’t want to expose the filling, use a bigger wrapper. Do the same to the remaining meat mixture.

4. Meanwhile, boil water and brush steamer with oil.

5. When the water gets to a rolling boil, arrange the siomai in the steamer and let stand for 15-20 minutes, longer for larger pieces.

6. Serve with soy sauce, calamansi and sesame oil. Chilli paste is optional.

Siomai Chili Sauce

Ingredients

1/8 kilo Chillies (Siling Labuyo)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
dried shrimp or meat finely chopped or grind (Adds more flavor but optional)

Cooking Instruction

Combine chopped chillies, dried shrimp or meat and minced garlic then simmer for around 20 minutes or till most of the water has evaporated. Add oil, simmer and stir well.

Let your family and friends taste test first your product if it’s acceptable to them. Also, make sure the look of your product is appealing and clean. Choose a nice packaging for your homemade siomai when you’re planning in selling it. You can make a substantial income by selling it to your neighbors, friends, or to offices, food shops, restaurants and supermarkets.