Shrimp Shumai and Veggie Stir Fry

Impress your lady friend with dim sum! A long time friend introduced me to dim sum in college and I’ve loved it ever since.  It wasn’t until a little over a year ago that another friend told me that he made steamed shrimp shumai (dumplings) at home and sent me a recipe that I used, but have long since lost.  It blew my mind though when I discovered that I could make one of my favorite brunch items (and college hangover cures*) at home!  I paired the dumplings with a really simple and basic stir fry…

Steamed Shumai Dumpling Ingredients
Makes about 20 dumplings / 5 dumplings per serving (about 40 – 57 cal. per dumpling):

• Fresh Gyoza or Wonton Wrappers (Gyoza = about 30 cal. per wrapper / Wonton = about 13 cal. per wrapper).
  Tip: I usually use gyoza wrappers because I’m clumsy and the wonton wrappers are very thin.  You can find these at most Asian markets in the refrigerated section.
• 1 pound / 454 grams / 30 medium-large Shrimp – peeled and de-veined (about 120 cal. / 113 grams or 480 cal. / pound)
  Tip: Some supermarkets have frozen bags of peeled and de-veined shrimp.  Changed my life.
• 2 – 3 sprigs of scallion roughly chopped into 1/2 inche pieces (about 10 cal.)
  Substitute: Instead of scallions, try cilantro for a different flavor.
  
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (about 40 cal.)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (about 10 cal.)

Dipping Sauce #1 (my go to for dim sum):

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon plain Tabasco sauce

Dipping Sauce #2 (if you’re feeling fancy):

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (or substitute lime juice)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (or Mirin – Sweet Sake)
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil (can be overpowering since there is sesame oil in the dumplings too)

Stir Fry Ingredients
Roughly makes 4 servings at about 83 cal. each:

• 4 – 5 sprigs of scallions cut into 2 inch pieces (about 20 cal.)
• 2 red bell peppers (about 60 cal.)
  Tip: I used 1 red and 1 orange/yellow bell pepper to add some color.
• 2 cups of snow peas with ends snapped off (about 80 cal.)
• 4 – 5 cups roughly chopped Shanghai Bok Choi (about 100 cal.)
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced or crushed (about 12 cal.)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (about 40 cal.)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (about 20 cal.)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
  Tip: It’s a forgiving stir fry, so add any other vegetables you want or add some fresh finely chopped ginger or a squeeze of lime for some extra zest.

Kitchen Equipment

• Steamer pot / rice cooker with a steam attachment / bamboo steamer set on top of a pot
  Tip: if you don’t have any of those, you can jury rig a steamer using a large pot and some heavy duty aluminum foil laid across the top and pushed down into the pot about a quarter of the way to create a “bowl”/surface.  Puncture small holes in the foil to allow the steam to escape.
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring cup
• Wok or 14″ (or larger) sauteé pan
• Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements
• Damp paper towel

Shumai Directions:

1. Put 2/3 of the raw, thawed, peeled and de-veined, shrimp in a food processor along with the scallions. Blend together briefly until the scallions appear mixed throughout.
2. Add the sesame oil and soy sauce to the food processor. Blend again until all of the ingredients are mixed thoroughly and the mixture is almost like a grainy paste.
3. Add the remaining shrimp to the mixture and pulse the ingredients together until the added shrimp is mixed in, but so that there are still chunkier pieces of shrimp visible.  This adds a varied texture to the dumplings.
4. Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in a bowl.
5. Get a cup or small bowl of water ready so you can wet your finger tip before making the dumplings.
6. Get the steamer ready with about 1-2 inches of water and let the water come to a boil while you are making the dumplings.
7. Open the gyoza/wonton packaging and place a damp (not wet) paper towel over the wrappers to keep them from drying out.
8. Take one gyoza wrapper and place on a flat surface before dipping your finger in water and running it along the edges of the wrapper.
9. Place a tablespoon (or teaspoon if you want to make more dumplings) of the shrimp mixture into the center of the wrapper and start to fold up the edges of the wrapper up around the shrimp.  You should kind of crimp the edges so there is a wrinkled look (the water should help the wrapper stick to itself) , but you also want to leave the top open so the shrimp is showing.
10. Repeat this process until you use up all of the shrimp mixture.
11. Carefully, place the dumplings into the steamer tray / bamboo steamer (depending on the size of your steamer you may need to do them in batches) so that they aren’t touching one another much.
12. Steam the dumplings for 8 – 10 minutes or until the wrapper is tender and the filling is a little pink.
13. Take the dumplings out and serve with one or both of the sauces.
14. If you have any extra dumplings that you did not want to use, you can freeze them and save them for later.

Stir-Fry Directions:

1. Place a teaspoon of oil into your wok/sauteé pan and get the temp up to med-high heat.  If you have a real wok, just go for high heat.
2. First add the garlic and scallions and sauteé until the garlic is golden (not golden brown).
3. Next add the peppers and sauteé them until they mix with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Add the snow peas and saute until all of the ingredients are mixed and start to get a little softer.
5. Then add the bok choy in batches (i.e. not all at once) and mix thoroughly with the other ingredients.  As the bok choy sort of wilts and makes more room, add more bok choy.
6. Lastly, add the soy sauce and mix the ingredients well. Salt and Pepper to taste (careful with the salt since soy sauce is salty already). Cook until the vegetables are at the desired tenderness (some people like firm vegetables and some like soft, so use your judgement).
   Tip: If during the cooking process, the stir-fry seems to have a lot of liquid, just drain some of it rather than cooking it off if you don’t want to overcook the vegetables.

Serving Suggestion:

I recommend serving 4 – 5 dumplings with sauce, a serving of the stir-fry and steamed white rice (150 cal. per 1/4 cup uncooked).

Total Calorie Count for the Meal: 461 – 518 Cal. (4 – 5 Dumplings)

*I actually don’t recommend dim sum as a hangover cure anymore.  Apparently, only one friend and I seem to think that it does the trick.  You be the judge.