Basic Siomai Recipe
It seems like this blog gets daily referrals from searches for a siomai recipe. To lessen the frustration, let me post a basic formula.
Steaming is an excellent method of food preparation since the hot vapour quickly cooks the food while retaining the flavour, colour and nutrients. A metal or bamboo steamer can be utilised though I personally prefer the latter. The vapour permeates the bamboo which gives the food a fine and thorough steaming compared to a metal steamer whose vapour is reduced to large drops of condensation which result in a bit soggy siomai (but that’s just me, the ever fastidious cook). I wonder though if lining the metal steamer with cheese cloth will give better results. One can also improvise with a rice cooker, a wire or expanding metal basket which will hold the food to be steamed above the water. The water should already be boiling before the food is placed in the steamer.
Siomai is a dimsum of Chinese origin which is also quite common in the Philippines. One can order different kinds of siomai but the base is always pork. The ground meat should have some fat otherwise the cooked siomai will be too tough. I tried to experiment on chicken siomai some years back and made the mistake of taking out the skin and fat and it turned out to be tough. Prawns or shrimps can be substituted for part of the pork if desired. For the binder, some use flour or corn starch but I find it to leave a raw taste so I use egg instead (proportion is 1 egg to 1 kg pork). I strongly recommend adding vegetables to give the dimsum some crunch and for nutritional reasons too. If desired ¼ cup of chopped mushrooms or black ear fungus and 1/3 cup fresh or frozen green peas can be added to the recipe below:
Siomai
1 kg ground pork (suggested proportion of fat to lean meat is 1:3)
1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts or jicama (singkamas)
1/3 cup chopped carrots
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
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)
- Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture into each wrapper. Fold and seal.
- Meanwhile, boil water and brush steamer with oil.
- 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.
- Serve with soy sauce, calamansi and sesame oil. Chilli past is optional.
Update: Someone asked me for the recipe of chilli paste and siomai wrapper that’s why I’m reproducing it here.
Siomai Wrapper
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tablespoon vegetable or corn oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- Beat egg and mix with flour till free of lumps.
- Bring water, cooking oil and salt to a boil, then pour in flour.
- Remove from heat and beat until mixture forms a ball.
- Divide the dough into 1 1/4 -inch balls.
- Roll each ball on a floured board until paper thin. Set aside.
Simplest version of chilli sauce would be to chop chillies well and fry them in oil, sesame or vegetable oil, never olive oil if you want it to have an Asian taste.
The chilli paste found in restaurants is a combination of chillies, garlic and oil. Combine chopped chillies and mashed garlic then simmer for around 20 minutes or till most of the water has evaporated. Add oil, simmer and stir well.
hi jinky, i love mushroom…does mushroom siomai really tastes good?
plsssssssss…. just bwt a botle of sesame oil kanina sa store…. pero ewan hindi ko maintindihan ang amoy….. plssss anong brand nang sesame oil na gamit mo??:frog::chilipepper:
Sent these replies by e-mail but I think other surf-in readers will find them useful:
For shrimp siomai, change the recipe to a ratio of 3 parts shrimp to 1 part pork. For mushroom siomai, just substitute mushrooms for the meat. Add some chives too.
Jerome, how does the oil it smell? It should be clear, light and golden. Dark and cloudy sesame oil should not be used. I have used Lee Kum Kee, Golden Cup and several others.
i’m just about to cook it…………….thanks for the coolinary tips:chickenrun:
im about to cook siomai for my practicum tom..
as an
appetizer..
tnx alot..
hello karen! Just like to know if how long pwede ipreserve your siomai mixture.
please send your reply to my email add.tnx so much:toast:
:chickenrun: I think that ur recipe is much better than d oders I’ve read tnx for sharing it:blooms:
Hi!
I tried cooking siomai, and proud to say, masarap cya. Kaya lang d ako marunong gumawa ng chili sauce, try ko nga ung recipe..
hi karen! ur soimai it looks yummy,my husband loves to eat soimai pero gusto ko syang bigyan ng different taste ng siomai and thanks i found ur site.pede bang bumili nalang ako ng wrapper instead og gumawa, anong klaseng wrapper dapat?kc meron nabibili dito samin s mga chinesse market.thanks again and keep up the good work!
:wow:tnx 4 helping wit d recipe! it reaaly helped me cooking for our merienda:hungry:
’tis site is perfect!!! :cloud9::kiwifruit:tnx again:blooms:
Astig toh… gagamitin ko tong recipe na to…:cat::burger:
WOW GRABE SALAMAT PO … TRY KO MAGLUTO NGAYON. MARAMING SALAMAT PO :cat::blooms::blooms::blooms::heartbeat::heartbeat::heartbeat::cloud9::cloud9::cloud9::apple::hungry:
:hungry:mukang masara 2ng siomai na 2 pag ginawa ko:hungry:
thanks for this site, been searching for the recipe wd best results and reviews as well. been obsessed to make one but didnt got a chance to have a recipe until today….
in the absence of siomai wrapper, is cabbage a good substitute to wrap the siomai? (just like cabbage rolls like the one’s available at the dimsum resto?
favorite kc ng anak ko ung siomai esp wd quail eggs and steamed rice…. me recipe at tips rin ba kayo ng steamed rice?
thanks… happy easter!
marami na akong na try na siomai, ang gusto kong malaman at maluto this time ay ang steamed rice yong available sa Dimsum Resto.
Please, i-feature nyo rin yon. im sure magiging happy ang lahat.:blooms::pig:
:cloud9:hi
your siomai recipe is indeed a great help for me coz im planning to put up a food kiosk:cat:.
pls. feature also rice topping recipes or kindly send it to my mail. tnx a lot.and more power:blooms:
hi!
I’ve tried making this recipe and it tastes really good! Better than other dimsum food chains!
But then I really have a problem with the wanton wrappers.. hope you can help me with this..
The wrapper won’t stick to the meat that’s why it sags and then water dropping from the cover of the rice cooker gets in..
Hope u can help me resolve this.. ^_^
I’ve tried several times and almost consumed 10 kilos of meat already hehe.. maybe i’ll be 20 pounds heavier before i figure this out.. hehe..
I really hope you can help me coz i’m also planning to put up a siomai business here in our barangay ^_^
thanks!
cindy,
could it be the kind of steamer that you are using? or the flour? try using the bamboo steamers as opposed to your rice cooker and that may do the trick.
10 kilos? oh my!
good luck!
[...] Pork Siomai (steamed pork dumplings) dimsum bites taste yummy with chili garlic sauce and kalamansi (Philippine lemon). Siomai is a dimsum of Chinese origin which is also quite common in the Philippines. This pork siomai recipe sounds delectable. [...]
[...] Whenever we crave for siomai or dim sum, we go to our favorite Cantonese restaurant. Not so fond of Beijing jiaozi (Northern Chinese dumplings) so I was so ecstatic to find Karen’s famous basic siomai recipe. Go check it out. I followed what was written there (except I didn’t have singkamas) including making my own wrappers. Here’s my 1st attempt… not perfect (yet) but I’m posting it anyway. Those in the photos taste good! How come I find them not perfect? [...]
Ate Karen, where can I buy Bamboo Steamer? I have a Stainless Steamer and I also wanna try putting cheese cloth… Eto po ba yung tinatawag nilang “katsa”? Thanks so much.
Thanks for the recipe, I saw this on another website, by the way. Just thought I’d let you know. They copied part of your intro too. Did you give them permission?
http://asiarecipe.com/phimain1.html#Siomai
hi…..thanks 4 ur great recipe.i will try it tom…one of my fav. food
:blooms:
thanks for sharing the recipe…. badly looking for one… will try cooking it as soon as i can…
:chomp:
helloo….siomai is so yummy! i will try to take ur basic recipe n ill cook it at home..thnx:blooms:
woah! :cat:
Thanks so much for this recipe! :blooms:
I’ve been wanting to make siomai in my kitchen because i find the commercial ones expensive!
I think this recipe will make yummy siomai:hungry:
i love siomai…thanks for the recipe…i’ll try it today……….:blooms::hungry:
[...] Whenever we crave for siomai or dim sum, we go to our favorite Cantonese restaurant. Not so fond of Beijing jiaozi (Northern Chinese dumplings) so I was so ecstatic to find Karen’s famous basic siomai recipe. Go check it out. I followed what was written there (except I didn’t have singkamas) including making my own wrappers. Here’s my 1st attempt… not perfect (yet) but I’m posting it anyway. Those in the photos taste good! How come I find them not perfect?1. I don’t think they look good. I need to know how to wrap them nicely. Did few styles based on how I see them here… jiaozi style. Here’s a demo I just found. 2. I find the lumpia wrappers I made not thin enough. [...]
Thanx so much for posting the recipe for the wrappers!!!
:blooms:
i find your site very very interesting.., i also love to cook.. & been trying pizza :pizza: & siomai this time.. it was not so good., so im gonna try this one.. oishii sou (seems delicious..)
:hungry:
thanks a lot
thanks for sharing the recipe, im planning to start a small food business, mahirap buhay kasi.
by the way can i substitute fish in this siomai recipe?
mas healthy na kasi ang fish ngayon, any suggestion kung ano ang fish na magandang gamitin?
thank you :cloud9:
bright blessings
hi,
just want to ask. is siomai wrapper same as lumpia wrapper? Where i can buy siomai wrapper here in the states?
TY.
hi just wanted to say thank you for sharing the recipe:hungry: this mean alot to me :cloud9::pig::pig::pig: hoik hoik
Thanks for this wondefull recipe… my son loves this and keeps on asking me to make some.. i said yes lets experiment ahaha you are my secret weapon..
dennis from Abu Dhabi
So excited today I found a funny little shop that had the basic filipino food thingys along with convenience foods. Anyway when we lived in San Diego we had the most fabulous doughy balls filled with beef or chicken. Don’t know what they were called. Would love to pick your brains and find out how to make them. We live in the boonies of South Carolina now, want some tasty food.
Thanks
Marion, those doughy meat balls might be what are called siopao. I’ve been meaning to work on a post for sometime now. Let’s see what I can come up with.
Thanks Dennis! :hungry:
You’re welcome Cioneng!
Ann, siomai and lumpia wrappers are different. For siomai wrappers, check Asian stores and ask for wonton or dumpling wrappers.
Remia, yes you can substitute fish. Find something that is a soft and if possible, oily. If you have a ‘dry’ fish, just add a bit of sesame oil to your mixture.
hi, regarding the chili sauce, should I use the siling labuyo or any pepper? tnx
:lemon: i will try using your recipe in my store. If you have a hamburger recipe pls. share naman with me.:burger:i’ll appreciate it very much.Tnx:cat:
surely will try your recipe and give you feed back.
many, thanks
ihna :fruitdrink::kettle::hungry:
good day! just want ask your help on how to start a business with siomai.. planning to have one.. thanks!
Hello. Like Cindy, I have had problems with the wonton wrapper not sticking to the meat. Not to mention that the meat “flattens out” at the bottom making my siomai NOT ROUND at all. hehehehe.
HELP!!! I wanna give it out for Christmas to friends and relatives as well as business associates.
Oh and I am using bamboo steamers… so the problem of Cindy might not be steamer-related at all.
Anyone?
Thanks alot, my wife’s gonna be glad with your siomai recipe. Keep it up!
:frog: ang sarap po talaga ng siomai!!!, try it!, na try ko na po at talagang ang sarap!!! thanks talaga sa website na to!!! you can even start a negosyo by using these ingredients and procedure and ang masasabi ko lang papatok yan kasi naman ang SARAP TALAGA!!!:hungry::kettle::fruitdrink::icecream::cat::chickenrun:
i’ve been searching the recipe for a long time…thank u so much!U…(”,)
A Christian Filipina friend of mine in Cebu told me she loved this food… was the best! I will share :tea: the recepie web site with her… thank you.
hi tnx ti this site,srap tlg n try co na
:mushroom: yey maraming salamat. i am working as a geologist and my boss is a chinese and he wants me to cook some chinese food for him kaze ung cook nila hindi marunong.
sabi nila the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, sabi ko naman the quickest way to kill a duck is to pierce its head with a pin…. hekhek… salamat talaga…. mwahhhh….
i will try this recipe. Alam mo gustong gusto ko kumain ng siomai, mahirap humanap ng ganun dito sa germany… Mabuti nalang kompleto ung recipe mo pati wrapper kasama…hindi ko kasi alam kung meron sa asia shop kung meron man hindi ko rin alam ang tawag sa german language… i wish myself luck. 3 months akong preggy sana makatulong ang recipe mo, dahil tuwig naiisip ko ang siomai naglalaway ako…
Thanks for the recipe of siomai wrapper! I really need to do it coz I can’t find them here in india. We found frozen siomai which are relatively good but I think its best to do it @ home! Cheers!