Editor's note:
The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Grace Young's book The Breath of a Wok.
Young also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
For Young's article on Cantonese cooking, click here.
Chef Yip Wing Wah, of the Spring Moon Restaurant in Hong Kong, garnishes these exquisite dumplings with a dollop of crab roe, which can be substituted for the carrots.
·Siu mai dumplings are typical of dim sum, the Cantonese tradition of eating a number of small treats with tea. At the Spring Moon restaurant in Hong Kong, chef Yip Wing Wah has added scallops, an innovation in keeping with his city's culinary experimentation.
·If fresh round won ton wrappers are not available, the standard square wrappers can easily be substituted — simply cut them into 3-inch rounds with a cookie cutter.
·The dumplings can be assembled three to four hours ahead and kept, refrigerated, in a covered container.
·Lining the steamer with Napa cabbage leaves is the traditional method of keeping the dumpings from sticking, but cheesecloth works just as well.
