Pork siomai (steamed dumplings), pearl balls and lumpiang shanghai (fried spring rolls)
March 29, 2007
Filed under Asian cooking, Chinese recipes, How to cook
I could brag and try to impress you by saying I was inspired and I decided to cook three dishes for last night’s dinner. But that’s not really true. I used the same ground pork mixture to cook the siomai, pearl balls and lumpiang shanghai. To be even more honest, I was only planning on cooking the pearl balls but I had a packet of siomai wrapper and a pack of lumpia (spring roll) wrapper in the fridge that I had to use unless I was willing to let them go to waste. So, it wasn’t really inspiration that was responsible for the… ummm… elaborate dinner. It was… economics??
Siomai is the popular and generic name that Filipinos call steamed dumplings. The most popular filling is pork but beef siomai is not too uncommon.
Pearl balls is the name of a dish I learned from my mother-in-law. She served it when she threw a baby shower when I was pregnant with Sam and I just fell in love with these steamed balls of ground pork rolled in glutinous rice. I have an older entry that details the procedure for making them.
Lumpiang shanghai is what we Filipinos call fried spring rolls with pork filling.
You may click on the pearl balls and lumpiang shanghai links for reference. This entry is really about the pork filling which you can use for making all these Chinese dimsum dishes. Of course, the older pearl balls and lumpiang shanghai entries contain the respective recipes but I came up with something better that I thought I’d share with you.
Ingredients :
650 to 750 grams of ground pork
2 onions, finely chopped
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled and grated
1 medium-sized carrot, peeled and finely grated
2-3 tbsps. of light soy sauce
4 tbsps. of oyster sauce
1 tbsp. of sesame seed oil
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. each of finely chopped fresh tarragon, oregano and cilantro
Cooking procedure :
It is traditional to add half a cup or so of uncooked minced shrimp to the filling but I am allergic to shrimps so I don’t do that. I am told the filling is “tastier” with the shimps so you might want to consider adding some.
Nothing mysterious about making the filling — just mix everything together. To test if the mixture tastes right (not too salty or bland), take a teaspoonful of the mixture, form into a ball and fry in a little hot oil. Taste and make the necessary adjustments.
To make the siomai, place a teaspoonful of the filling at the center of a wrapper and gather the edges together. Repeat until you have the desired number of siomai. There is a “correct” way of doing this by forming a triangle after the filling has been added then bringing together the two sides of the triangle’s base. But that is usually done if the dumplings are going to be cooked in simmering broth. If you intend to steam them and serve them on a plate rather than in a bowl with broth, it’s better to stick with the more common flattened ball-shaped siomai.
Steam in briskly boiling water for 30 to 40 minutes. Serve at once with a mixture of kalamansi juice and light soy sauce on the side.
You can use the same filling to make pearl balls by following the procedure here and to make lumpiang shanghai the procedure for which you will find here.
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House On A Hill
Pinoy food
- Kilawing gindara
- Pancit bihon (rice sticks with chicken and vegetables)
- Guinataang paco
- Biko (sticky rice cake)
- Fish and malunggay soup
- Spicy, herb-y adobong sitaw
- A soup called bachoy
- Adobong kangkong
- Chicken tinola and liver sauce
- Chicken soup a la picadillo
Experimental
- Pork Aloha
- Vegetables and Pork with Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Nilagang Baka (boiled beef), sukiyaki style
- Steamed whole fish in olive oil
- Pork, spinach and Pinoy pesto
- Braised pork spare ribs
- Duckling and potato salad
- Bangus (milkfish) and broccoli stir fry
- Beef, mushrooms and bean curd soup
- Samosas, a delightful vegetarian appetizer
Galing mo talaga sassy!
You are sooohhh inovative!
Cheers!
Wow, it has never occurred to me that I can use the same filling for so many different uses. But then again, I’m very much a novice when it comes to cooking Filipino food. Your recipes look great.
yes! the only ingredients I’m missing are the wrapper (pwede ba common lumpia wrapper?) & the sesame oil –> na-adik na kasi asawa ko, halos lahat ng food nilalagyan ng sesame oil, naubos tuloy
plan ko talagang mag-lumpiang shanghai this weekend..
malu, talagang ganun pag parating naghahabol ng oras
Marvin, you can even use the same mixture to make baked pork balls or fried pork balls with sweet and sour pork.
auee, lumpia wrapper for siomai? i don’t think it’ll work.
We also use the same mixture for almondigas and pinsek prito (good old fried siomai). Pag sobra, isama sa torta.
You’re right, kulasa. The same basic mixture is great for almondigas and pinsec frito as well.
ms connie,
next time i’ll try to make your pearl balls naman!
this is so true, napaka versatile ng recipe na ito, it goes a long, long way talaga! everytime i make shanghai usually i make quite a lot and i freeze them, asahan mo mag-torta den ako!
thank u for another easy recipe!
dhay
nakaka tulong talaga sa akin ang mga recipe nyu!!! medyu ahirap nga lang maghanap ng lumpia wrapper sa germany.
´thanks talaga….
Those pearl ballls look lovely.
i have seen pearl balls recipe in my chinese cookbook but it didn’t interest me until you posted it. I compared your recipe to the one in the cookbook and yours seemed to be more tasty kaya I am planning to give it a try since steamed naman pala and not fried. Puro na lang kasi kami prito e. Btw ms sassy can i use dried tarragon and oregano na lang kasi cilantro lang ang available fresh in our market e. Also, we are going to make your (oops I mean speedy’s) steamed chicken for Easter Sunday
Happy Easter na din to you and your family!
You’re welcome, dhay and luz.
Michelle, they taste lovely too.
elit, dried herbs are fine. but use only half as much. oh, if you’re doing speedy’s chicken, don’t forget the ginger sauce.
may I share lang, connie I tried the same siomai recipe for “molo soup”‘ and it works. after you form them into balls drop them one by one in boiling chcken broth. you can add chicken cubes kung walang broth, season with salt and pepper and some sesame oil then top with toasted garlic and spring onions. hmmm….!
Thanks and yes, i will not forget the ginger sauce. Just got a small bottle of peanut oil from south supermarket. Can’t wait for our Easter lunch get together!
just asking kung hilaw yung rice na kasamang i-steam ng meat
thanks
beth
Hi Elizabeth. If you click the link to the pearl balls recipe provided in the entry above, you’ll have the answer to your question.
Hi Ms. Connie
i was bloghopping two weeks ago, came across yours, and have been browsing your recipes every night.. so informative and easy to follow… made siomai today ..turned out really yummy! and it really is a versatile mix ( i added shrimp and mushrooms)… even saved some of the mixture for easy meatballs later.
got a question about the siomai wrapper… how come most of them did not stick to the filling ? commercial siomais wrappers are intact and adheres well to the filling as i have observed…some of my siomais were ‘hubad’
cause the wrapper fell off
more power!!
Hi Connie! This one is our favorite….Siomai! Sarap talga!
hi connie, i love your site..yummy ang mga recipes mo..i’d already tried some of them and it is always a hit..may quetion lang ako..pwede bang gamitin kong wrapper e yung wrapper na pang pinsec frito? pwede bang isteam yun?…hehe(curious lng..c”) tnx and more power!!
hi ms connie,
i just found out that am about 5 weeks pregnant, am craving for siomai and dumplings. i am originally from dumaguete and have relocated to manila after my wedding last may 28…. i have asked permission from my husband if i can enroll on a 3-5 day course on how to make siomai and dumplings, he proposed that he’ll buy me a recipe book instead- he’s worried am out of the house and pregnant. thank you for sharing your recipes.. can’t wait to try it myself today…
god bless!
—alfie—
Hi Alfie, I hope it’s not a delicate pregnancy. My first pregnancy required bed rest for the most part. Take care and enjoy the experience.
hi ms connie,
i have tried making the siomai- it’s really good… i told my husband he need not buy me a recipe book for it… sorry i haven’t been online for long, we’ve been having problems with our internet and landline connections… anyways, am happy to say it’s not a delicate pregnancy we’re just being careful… i would also like to ask how do u clean and maintain sizzling plates?
am trying to make your pearl balls this weekend, am excited…. thanks again….
God Bless!
–alfie–
hi Ms. Connie,
I open the google and serching for some chinese recipes. I came accross your siomai recipe and i think it’s great. my problem is i can’t find siomai wrapper here in saudi arabia, do you have any substitutes for siomai wrapper? It’s one of my favorite.
Thanks and God Bless!
Marlene, there isn’t. But you can make your own. Never tried it myself because the procedure looks super tedious.