Random Bytes...by Ross Rader

Sushi Night

Ross — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:26:39 -0500

Decided on Friday that I was going to make sushi for dinner. After I realized the folly of that, I decided to do it tonight instead. I've never made anything but California Rolls at home, so venturing into real raw fish was quite a step. I went with the old standby's of spicy tuna rolls and regular old salmon. Both turned out A+.

These are the rolls before they are cut.

Shu Mai (Siu Mai)

Ross — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:40:23 -0500

Amanda absolutely loves Shu Mai. I find that this fussy dish goes quite well with sushi. I usually go with two or three different kinds of dumplings. I usually go with beef, chicken or pork seasoned with something that goes well with the chosen meat. Today I made ginger lemon chicken and teriyaki garlic pork. To make the filling, just toss your seasonings into a food processor with your meet for a few seconds until it resembles the consistency of a raw meatloaf. It should ball up quite easily and not be runny. Always make sure that you add any liquid seasonings after you've blended the meat and items like garlic, ginger or onion etc. This lets you keep a close eye on the consistency and ensure that it doesn't get too runny.

In this shot, I'm about to drop the filling into the wonton wrapper. I usually lay the wonton over the inside edge of a left-handed fist. Not really a fist actually, because the next step is to push the filling and wonton down into the palm of my hand...

Sealing the Shu Mai

Ross — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:44:59 -0500

This is a shot of me pushing the shu mai down into the palm of my hand...

Almost done...

Ross — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:51:45 -0500

Once I've pushed it into the palm of my hand, I give the gathered edges a little pinch to make sure that the dumpling stays closed while they steam.

Prepping for steaming...

Ross — Sat, 29 Nov 2003 21:59:28 -0500

I like to use the traditional bamboo steamer for these bad boys. Because of the lack of precision in the recipe, I'm never quite sure how many I'll end up with, so using a multi-tier steamer removes any cooking problems that I'd run into with one of the fancier electric steamers. I always spray the inside of the steamer before I lay down the dumplings and then spray the dumplings once I've laid them down. Make sure that none of the dumplings are touching and don't forget to get the water boiling while you are finishing up your prep.