Ingredients
3/4 lb pork loin
1 1/3 oz pork fat
4 black mushrooms (pre-softened)
1 precooked bamboo shoot
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp cooking wine
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
30 won ton skins
24 green peas
Directions
Filling: dice the pork, fat, mushrooms, and bamboo shoot. Place in
bowl. Add liquids and seasonings and stir well. Throw filling against
inside of bowl for 3-4 minutes so ingredients combine thoroughly.
Divide into 24 portions.
Place one filling in center of won ton skin. Cup skin up around
filling but don't close - 'make a waist'. Place one green pea in the
center of the filling. Use knife to compress and even out filling
until below top edge of skin. Place in steamer about half inch apart.
Steam for six minutes on high. Remove. Serve.
You can use beef, shrimp, quail eggs, or sweet rice for the above.
You can get 'won ton' and 'dumpling' skins as well as egg roll
wrappers at local chinese groceries. You can make your own; but
ready-made fresh or frozen ones are quicker.
Servings: 6 servings
Pork Shau Mai (Dumplings) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Meat; Pork
The History of Recipes
It is actually possible to trace the history of recipes far back into the distant past, in fact as far back into history as the early Egyptians, and possibly even further. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these old cook books were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for food preparation.
The truth of the matter is, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a series of clay tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making people feel wonderful and blissful. As we move into Roman times 25BC a roman called Apicius created a few scripts showing how to cook the recipes enjoyed by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the roman meals were divided into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. He also describes how the cooks of Roman times were skilled in the use of many different herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs for example bay, rue and dill. As we move on, we find some books dating from the 1300s - a recipe book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these books are unconnected to the spicy food that appears on menues today, but instead descriptions of the types of food eaten by the rich and wealthy people of the time. Later, in the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, such as coriander, parsley, and rosemary. The introduction of these new herbs and spices caused an eruption in manuscripts on cookery, some of which are kept safe in private collections. During the next few centuries, the families of Europe strove to serve up the most exotic banquets, and because of this cooks and their recipes were highly sought after. Even so, it wasn`t until the 19th century that cooking and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collating, verifying, and publishing the recipes of their peers. By the advent of the 20th century, cookbooks were greatly in demand due to higher levels of literacy, more free time and being a little richer. |
We hope you enjoy this Pork Shau Mai (Dumplings) recipe.
