Going to dim sum is one of our most treasured family traditions. When my husband’s uncle was in the Navy, he learned to speak Mandarin and Cantonese, and also learned a lot about Chinese culture. As newlyweds, we’d often go out to dim sum early on Saturday mornings so that we’d have the best variety from those darling carts. I loved watching this Boston Irish man communicate with the women pushing the carts, asking them when they’d bring out the shumai, one of our favorite dumplings. They look like little purses, stuffed with an aromatic mixture of pork and shrimp. The tradition continued with our children who order their favorite dim sum using their Chinese names. This is my riff on shumai, stuffed into mushrooms instead of the traditional dumpling skin, because many members of my extended family don’t eat gluten.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 55 min |
| Active: | 45 min |
| Yield: | 24 stuffed mushrooms |
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chicken stock, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons gelatin powder (from a 1 1/4-ounce envelope)
- 24 large stuffing mushrooms, wiped clean with damp paper towels, stems and gills removed
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3 scallions, minced
- Orange tobiko (fish roe), for garnish
- 3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar (or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons malt vinegar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- Pour 1/4 cup stock into a measuring cup. Sprinkle the gelatin over the surface, and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes, until it solidifies. Warm the remaining 1/4 cup stock either in the microwave or on the stove until just hot. Pour the hot stock over the gelatin and whisk until combined. Pour into a heatproof container, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (or the freezer for 15 minutes) until set.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, ensuring that the oven rack is in the middle position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a large bowl, gently toss the mushroom caps with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Lay the mushrooms gill-side up on the lined sheet pan. Roast for 20 minutes. The mushrooms will be full of water. Tip them upside down, then roast for another 10 minutes, until well browned. Remove from the oven. Turn the heat up to 450 degrees F.
- Pulse the shrimp in a mini food processor until very finely chopped, almost to a paste. Scrape into a large bowl. Add the pork. Pour the gelatinized chicken stock into a strainer set in a bowl, then with clean hands, push the stock through the strainer into the bowl, to form an even paste. Mix in the ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, sesame oil, white pepper, most of the scallions (leave some for garnish!), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper, until well combined but not overmixed.
- Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of the ground pork mixture into each mushroom, depending on the size of the opening. Pop back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the pork is cooked through. Remove, then turn on the broiler. Slide the mushrooms under the broiler, as close as possible to the element for 30 seconds to a minute, just until the top of the filling browns. Remove and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- For the dipping sauce: Stir the black vinegar and soy sauce together.
- Top the mushrooms with the tobiko, then sprinkle with the reserved scallions and serve with the dipping sauce immediately!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 24 servings |
| Calories | 61 |
| Total Fat | 3 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 1 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Cholesterol | 18 mg |
| Sodium | 117 mg |