During summer time, spending your time inside your house is a punishment. It is a cruel and sore feeling that all your friends are having so much fun spending their summer while you are inside the four corners of your room. One of the best thing that I do to spend summer is cooking. The best dish that we prepare is pork siomai.
I’m not that good in cooking and so there I was, asking a little help from my younger sister (actually she do more than half of the work). Our philosophy in food was we eat what we think is delicious. We don’t really mind what is good or what is healthy for us. Why we think Filipino siomai is delicious is simply because it is made of ground pork, water chestnuts, carrots, minced onions, spring onions, egg, sesame oil, freshly ground pepper, and salt. The Filipino style siomai sauce is made of soy sauce, lemon, sesame oil, and chili paste.
My favorite taste bursts out from the siomai because of the ground pork, which is very tender and has extra bits of pork fat that makes it chewy and has a very light sweet taste. Siomai is good when it is eaten with rice. The versatile dimsum (the Cantonese term for small bite-sized portions of food often served in a small steamer, basket, or plate) has come to captivate not only my taste but also the national plate through the years.
The scent of siomai eliminates my bad vibes that I feel when I’m doing my home chores. It sure takes away your breath as you open the steamer. You will see the smiling siomai as if tempting you to eat it while it’s hot. It is best to eat siomai when you are stressed, tired, or even depressed.
Pork Siomai Ingredients:
v 1 kg Lean Ground Pork
v 1/3 cup chopped water chestnuts or turnips (singkamas)
v 1/3 cup chopped carrots
v 2 medium or 1 large minced onion(s)
v Bunch of spring onions or leeks
v 1 egg
v 5 tablespoons sesame oil
v 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
v 1 teaspoon salt
v 50 pcs. Large or 100 pcs. small wanton or siomai wrapper
v Soy sauce, calamansi (lemon or kumquats), sesame oil and chili paste (for the sauce)
Wrapper:
v 1/4 cup water
v 1 egg
v 1 tablespoon vegetable or corn oil
v 1/4 teaspoon salt
v 1 ½ cups al-purpose flour
Chili Paste
v 1/8 kilo Chillies (Siling Labuyo)
v 3 tablespoons cooking oil
v 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
