Chicken Siu Mai is a type of Chinese dumpling that is traditionally made with minced chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and water chestnuts. They are steamed and served as a dim sum dish. If you’ve never had chicken Siu Mai before, you’re in for a treat. These little morsels are packed with flavour and make for a delicious appetiser or main course. Plus, they’re pretty easy to make at home! You can prepare some delicious dumplings at home with our Licious Chicken Mini Bites in a matter of minutes. So whether you’re a dim sum enthusiast or just looking for a new recipe to try, read this blog to know all about this dish and a delicious, authentic recipe.
Origins of Siu Mai
Originally, Siu Mai, also known as Char Siu Pau or Char Siu Bao, was a Cantonese dish that consisted of steamed pork and shrimp dumplings. The dish is believed to have originated in the imperial court of the Song Dynasty, during which it was known as “Eight Treasure Dumplings”. It eventually made its way to the southern region of China, where it became a staple of Cantonese cuisine.
Siu Mai is typically made with a mixture of ground pork, shrimp, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. The ingredients are wrapped in a wonton wrapper and then steamed. The resulting dumplings are often served with a dipping sauce, such as soy sauce or vinegar. Of course, more contemporary versions involve the use of chicken or even vegetables.
While Siu Mai chicken is often associated with Chinese cuisine, it has also become popular in other parts of Asia, such as Japan and Korea. In recent years, it has even begun to gain popularity in the West.
Start with grounding the chicken. Take a packet of Licious chicken mini-bites. Since they are already bite-sized you can simply add them to a blender or food processor and run it 4 to 5 times until you have achieved ground chicken of desired consistency.
In a bowl, combine ground chicken, green onion, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
To prepare the dumplings, place a wonton wrapper on a flat work surface. Take one tablespoon of the chicken mixture into the centre of the wrapper. Use your finger or a brush to moisten the edges of the wrapper with water. Fold the wrapper in half to form a triangle, enclosing the filling. Pinch the edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
If you don’t have wonton wrappers, you can substitute with rice paper wrappers, spring roll wrappers, or even tofu wrappers.
Once all the dumplings have been wrapped and prepared, place them on a steamer rack over boiling water. Cover and steam for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from steamer and serve with dipping sauce if you so desire.
While it's not quite as easy as popping into your local Chinese restaurant, making Siew Mai chicken at home is definitely doable. With a little bit of planning and prep work, you can have delicious chicken Char Siew Pau in no time.
Recipe Notes
Why Choose Licious Chicken mini bites?
Made for those small but demanding hunger pangs, a 250-gram packet of Licious Chicken Mini Bites comprises over 20 to 30 pieces of boneless chicken breast. The small size of the cubes makes them a perfect addition to sandwiches, salads, pasta, and pizzas apart from chicken Siew Mai. With over 150 quality checks, done on it, you can rest assured that your packet of vacuum-sealed chicken mini bites is safe for consumption. So order your pack today and enjoy delicious chicken dumplings at home. Also, watch this space for more interesting recipes with our chicken mini-bites.
