A dim sum classic shao mai or shu mai are delicious little steamed dumplings. These are shockingly vegan and gluten free. My Cantonese mom was absolutely amazed by this recipe and so will you!
Shao Mais are definitely a dim sum favorite. Ok, I feel like I say that about every dim sum dish I've made so far but it's true! The whole point of dim sum is to get a variety of dishes. You got to get a little bit of everything, am I right?
I feel like shao mais are the highlight or the most popular dish during dim sum. When my family would go to dim sum we would get at least 4 shao mai orders for the table. It's nice to see them at grocery stores as well in the freezer section but where are the vegan and gluten free ones! I've been thinking about how I was going to make this recipe and came up with a genius idea for the wrapper. Bean curd sheets!
For the wrappers I used dried bean curd sheets because they were pretty large and I soaked them in water. You can also use fresh ones so it's up to you what you prefer or can find at the store. I bought mine from an Asian grocery store so you should be able to find them at your local one. I used a 4" diameter cooking mold to cut the bean curd sheets into perfect size circles. You can use a cookie cutter or even a tin can. You'll want to use a small knife to cut around your mold because it's not sharp enough to cut through the bean curd.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 Beyond Burger Patties (16 oz Beyond Beef or your favorite beefy crumble)
- 3 large Bean Curd Sheets (enough for 28 - 4" circles)
- 1 cup Bamboo Shoots (minced/finely chopped)
- 8-10 Shiitake Mushrooms (diced into small pieces)
- 3 Tbs Tapioca Starch
- 2 Tbs Cooking Wine
- 1 Tbs Oil (we used Safflower)
- 1 Tbs Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Coconut Sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp White Pepper
- 28 Green Peas
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Soak the bean curd sheets in cold water if using dried in a large pyrex dish until soft
- Soak mushrooms in warm water if using dried
- Finely chop/mince the bamboo shoots
- Dice shiitake mushrooms into small pieces
- In a mixing bowl add Beyond, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tapioca starch, cooking wine, oil, sesame oil, coconut sugar, salt and white pepper
- Mix well and set aside to marinade
- Place 4" food mold on sheet and use a knife to cut around the mold make about 28
- Use a small spoon to scoop filling and place in the middle of the circle wrapper
- Use your index finger and thumb to make a circle to mold/hold the shao mai
- Use a butter knife to push the stuffing and make the top smooth
- Add a pea on top
- Add to steamer, I lined the bottom of the steamer with lettuce (optional)
- Steam on high for 6 min
- Serve hot
