# Chicken Shiu Mai



## Brook (May 27, 2009)

Shiu Mai are Chinese dumplings usually made with pork or seafood. Basically, they use won ton or goyoza wrappers to form open cups (rather than sealing them, such as you’d do with pot stickers or won tons ).

The approach is simple. Starting with a round wrapper, put a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the center. Then, using your thumb and index finger, bring up the sides and form the cup. It’ll have a fluted finish. 

I decided I wanted to try making them with chicken instead of the usual fillings. Came up with:

Chicken Shiu Mai with Mango Sauce

Filling:

1 med carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
A 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lge skinless, boneless chicken breast (about 1-1 ¼ lbs) cut in chunks
2 tbls fresh chives, chopped
1 egg white, beaten until frothy
2 tbls oyster sauce
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Round won ton wrappers, or square ones cut round with a cookie cutter

In a food processor, pulse the carrot, ginger, garlic until uniform sized. You want this coarse, but no big hunks. Add the chicken and continue to pulse until the chicken is minced. Go easy, as you do not want to make a paste.

In a bowl combine the chicken mixture with the chives, oyster sauce, sherry, sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and egg white. Mix thoroughly. 

Fill won ton wrappers with a heaping tablespoon of the filling and form the shiu mai. Recipe makes about 2 dozen. You can use them immediately, or freeze at this point by arranging them on a parchment paper covered sheet pan and putting the whole thing in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to zipper bags. 

Mango Sauce

1 large mango or two medium, peeled, pitted, and pureed
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tbls sugar
pinch salt
½ tsp Thai sweet chili sauce

Combine the ingredients in a bowl, stirring to mix well

To make the dish:

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a heavy skillet until very hot. Arrange the shiu mai, flat side down, in a single layer (you may have to work in two batches) and fry about two minutes, until the bottoms turn brown. Add the mango sauce, cover, and cook 3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook 1-2 minutes until sauce is thick and shiu mai bottoms are dark brown.


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