Recipe Steak and Mushroom Dim Sum (Chinese Dumplings)

[The Late Night Gourmet]

Oh, the twists and turns that led to this recipe. There's so much going on here that I decided to separate out the method for juicing the pomegranate into a separate thread. And, as you've already guessed, this qualifies for both the recipe challenge and the cook-along.

First and foremost, I have to thank @medtran49 (and @CraigC) again for posting something I should have figured out long ago: that you can make your own wrappers! These are miles better than store-bought, and easier to work with. That color? It's the Chinese 5 Spice. When they first came out, they were a medium brown, but they darkened when they cooled. They're not the least bit burned.

Finally, the inspiration for this particular combination of ingredients. When I order steak, all I want on it are sauteed mushrooms. Occasionally, I will get the add-on of shrimp. So, this was an attempt to experience all that in a single bite.

I also want my steak medium rare. I've had issues with meat being overcooked in dim sum before, so I corrected that by barely cooking it at all - just enough to get a good sear - before steaming it. I'm very happy to report that things worked out how I had intended: the steak is a beautiful medium rare, and the shrimp is perfectly cooked.

Now, on to the recipe.

Wrapper Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon Chinese 5 Spice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup boiled water

Filling Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
8 ounces sirloin, trimmed of all fat
salt and pepper (to season the surface of the steak)
6 ounces shrimp (raw), shelled and deveined
4 ounces portobella mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon butter
4 ounces freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice (about 1 pomegranate)
4 ounces freshly-squeezed red grapefruit juice (about 1 large grapefruit)
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated garlic

Dipping Sauce Ingredients

4 ounces freshly-squeezed pomegranate juice (about 1 pomegranate)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sriracha (or more or less according to personal taste)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon green onions, cut in small pieces


Wrapper Directions

1. Boil a cup of water, and measure out 2/3 of a cup.

2. Whisk together Chinese 5 Spice with Flour. Pour a bit of the water into the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon, then repeat until all the water is incorporated.

3. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Kneed the dough (it's not excessively hot, despite the recently boiled water). The dough should be pliable and not too sticky. Add water or flour as needed to achieve a workable consistency.

4. Place dough in a zipper plastic bag and leave out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes, and ideally at least an hour. Refrigerate if you don't plan on using it right away (I made the dough on a different day to split up the work).

Filling Directions

1. Heat a cast iron pan to medium-high heat and add canola oil.

2. Cook steak for no more than 1 minute per side...just enough to get a sear. Resist temptation to eat the steak immediately. Set aside to rest for at least 5 minutes before cutting to keep the juices in.

3. Cook shrimp in the same pan, moving them constantly, for no more than a minute, then remove. Likewise, don't eat the shrimp (they're not safe to eat at this point anyway).

4. Saute mushrooms in butter in the same pan for a few minutes. Strain the butter out (we don't want soggy dumplings, do we?)

5. While the above ingredients cool, mix 4 ounces of pomegranate juice, grapefruit juice, 1 teaspoon of ginger, 1 teaspoon of garlic, and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a small pot until fully blended. Raise heat to medium, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken. When it gets to a consistency like a jelly roll filling, remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

6. Cut steak into small chunks (about 1/2" x 1/2" or 13 mm x 13 mm).

7. Cut shrimp in half. Combine all of the above ingredients to make the filling.

Building the Dim Sum Directions

1. Pinch off a bit of the dough, then reseal the zipper bag to keep the rest of the dough fresh. Roll out dough as flat as you can (I used a pasta roller, but it can be done by hand). Use a large ring cutter to cut out circles in the dough.

2. Roll out the circle of dough again if desired. Place 1 piece of steak, 1 piece of shrimp, and some bits of mushroom in each circle.

3. Wet the outside of the circle with water (use a cup with a pastry brush to make this easier). Then, fold the circle in half, pinching together around the edges.

4. Stand the crescent up on the thick part. Wet the tips of each end of the crescent, then join them together in the middle.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you have enough to fill a steamer without any of the dumplings touching. If you have a vegetable steamer, use parchment paper to cover the holes.

6. Steam for 10 minutes. Serve immediately, or remove to a rack to dry somewhat if storing for later. Repeat until all are done (this recipe made 32 dumplings).

Dipping Sauce Directions

1. While the first of the dumplings are steaming, blend all the dipping sauce ingredients together.

2. First, try the dumplings without the sauce (the taste is quite good). Then, adjust the sauce ingredients as desired.

 

[ElizabethB]

 

[Morning Glory]

This is really an achievement. And using flavoured home-made dough too. I like the surf and turf approach and the fact that you cooked the steak rare.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

This is really an achievement. And using flavoured home-made dough too. I like the surf and turf approach and the fact that you cooked the steak rare.

Thanks. I wanted to be able to taste the steak and shrimp separately, rather than my usual method of marinading them overnight in a sauce (like the pomegranate sauce in the recipe). I would also normally have rubbed the beef and shrimp with the Chinese 5 Spice powder, but putting it in the dough created an interesting effect. Doing it the usual way always changes the taste of the meat (for the better, yes, but that's not what I was going for here).

 

[flyinglentris]

Oh, the twists and turns that led to this recipe. There's so much going on here that I decided to separate out the method for juicing the pomegranate into a separate thread. And, as you've already guessed, this qualifies for both the recipe challenge and the cook-along.

@The Late Night Gourmet

You've got a great entry here and I enjoyed reading through your posts here and on juicing the Pomegranate. Your photo on the rare steak looks a little too rare for me, but I imagine that it cooks more when you steam the final dumplings. Surf and Turf is a thing for me too. I would not have imagined that some of the things you mixed with Pomegranate would go together at first, ... Sriracha sauce? But when I think back on some of the Chinese and other cuisine foods I've consumed with relish in the past, I see it.

 

[flyinglentris]

Thanks. I wanted to be able to taste the steak and shrimp separately, rather than my usual method of marinading them overnight in a sauce (like the pomegranate sauce in the recipe). I would also normally have rubbed the beef and shrimp with the Chinese 5 Spice powder, but putting it in the dough created an interesting effect. Doing it the usual way always changes the taste of the meat (for the better, yes, but that's not what I was going for here).

Thanks for mentioning that sometimes its good not to marinate and not to spice meats. Historically, it to my understanding, that in medieval times the spice trade flourished outright because of a lack of refrigeration and the need to mask deteriorating food flavor. We don't have that problem today and it is good to taste meats as they really are. On the other hand we still marinate and spice to add variety and add alteration to food flavor, not to hide and mask.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

@The Late Night Gourmet

Your photo on the rare steak looks a little too rare for me, but I imagine that it cooks more when you steam the final dumplings.

Yes, that’s what I was going for with this preparation. Unfortunately, reheating them later ended up over cooking them somewhat, but still not as much as before, when I cooked them more in the pan.