Yokohama Style Shumai Dumpling
I lived for a while in yokohama when i was in my early teens. yokohama, japan is a major harbor in tokyo area and is known for many chinese restaurants and various immigrants, especially chinese. so, it is no wonder shumai became very popular in yokohama and yokohama style shumai became famous thoughout japan. i've had my share of shumai since leaving yokohama and i am generally not happy with most of the offerings outside of japan. the problem is the texture. most shumai filling is too hard - like biting into small hamburger - you can literally bounce filling off the wall hard after steamed. you can use round gyoza wrappers, pot sticker wrappers or square wonton wrappers. i prefer gyoza wrappers because japanese style wrappers are generally thinner, but if you cannot find it, please use either pot sticker or wonton wrappers. you will need about 35- 40 wrappers. there may be leftover - more below. if you do not have bay or sea scallops, use all shrimp along with ground po
Steps
If using dry shitake mushrooms , soak in warm water until soft.
Remove the stem and finely mince.
If using fresh shitake mushrooms , remove the stem and finely mince.
You can also use food processor to mince raw shrimp and scallops by pulsing several times.
It should not be paste like , but have some texture.
Thoroughly combine all ingredients except gyoza , pot sticker or wonton wrappers and green peas.
Place about 1 1 / 2 tsp to 2 tsp filling on each gyoza or wonton wrapper and form into shumai dumplings by using both index and thumb - both hands.
I generally place the wrapper on table and put the filling in the middle and using both hands , form into small round dumplings - top exposed.
Shumai should be taller than wider.
Please see photos.
Place one green pea on top of each shumai.
Keep formed shumai and gyoza or wonton wrappers covered in damp towel to prevent drying out.
Continue until all wrappers are used.
Heat a steamer and oil the steamer rack.
Place shumai wi.
Ingredients
gyoza skins, ground pork, shrimp, bay scallops, gingerroot, garlic cloves, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, soy sauce, sake, sugar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, chicken stock, cornstarch, green peas