Beef Siomai

Wikipedia explains Siomai as a traditional Chinese dumplings served in dimsum. Variety of siomai is available which includes pork, shrimp, and beef. Siomai, like fishballs is one of the best street foods in the Philippines.

One of my friends Brenda knows how to cook very delicious Siomai. I often tell her that I like her siomai very much but could not remember if I have asked her to teach me but could not find time, if she forgot, or if I did not ask her at all.

Back home, I see to it to buy Siomai whenever I got the chance. Whether it is sold in a Siomai stand normally along the road or inside a department store, whether the price is right enough or too much :)

I decided to make my own version of Siomai. I got the chance to explore the net and look for the best recipe online but most of the recipes are using ground pork which we do not have in the nearby supermarket. I got the chance to see a recipe using beef and became interested in trying it. I just applied some changes with the ingredients and the way it was prepared.

First attempt!

Ingredients:

Filling
- 400 grams ground beef
- 1 medium sized carrot, chopped finely
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped finely
- Pepper and salt to taste
- 1 tbsp sesame oil

Sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- Garlic, chopped finely
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp chili powder

You will need:


- steamer



- wonton wrapper (click here if you want to prepare your own)

Procedure:

Siomai
- Mix all the ingredients for the filling in a mixing bowl
- Get a wonton wrapper and place a tablespoon of the mixture to it

- Wrap by starting at the opposite sides diagonally and then the other two sides until the tips of the four corners stick together
- Brush steamer with cooking oil and place the wrapped siomai in it

- Steam for 20 minutes

Sauce
- Heat the cooking oil in a pan on medium heat
- Put in chopped garlic and sauté for about 10 seconds (make sure the garlic won’t turn light brown)
- Add in the soy sauce and chili powder; stay on heat for 2-3minutes
- Remove from heat and set aside

Makes 30pcs of Siomai!

Credits: Brenda Pagtalunan, Google Images for You will need - Steamer photo

Wonton Wrapper

I have been planning to cook my own version of Siomai but finding the wrapper is not easy here. There are a lot of spring roll wrappers available in the market but all I know is that its only purpose is for frying. Although I have not tried, steaming it may not guarantee that the wrappers will give the desired output – soft as Siomai’s wrapper. In addition to that, doing some researches and reading some cooking FAQs, these two have different ingredients, wonton is made with all purpose flour and spring roll is made with rice flour.

Going back to my plan of cooking Siomai, I started with doing the wrapper. I also learned that it can be stacked in the refrigerator for several days should we decide not to use it right away.

Not so paper thin but still looks like wonton wrapper :)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup cold water
You will need:


- rolling pin
- flat surface


Procedure:
- Combine flour and salt
- Make a well in the center, add the egg
- Gradually add in the cold water while mixing together
- You may use your hands in mixing until you form a ball
- Set aside for 20-30minutes, this will make it easier to roll out
- Spread flour on a flat surface, and get a golf sized ball of the mixture
- Using a rolling pin, roll out as thin as you possibly can
- Cut into 3by3 inches square
- Do until the rest of the dough has been cut
Makes approximate 24 wonton wrappers

Beef and Vegetable Lumpia

Variety of Lumpia is available depending on what type you want to eat. My first post about lumpia is Lumpiang Sariwa. This time, I want to share with you this Beef and Vegetable Lumpia recipe.

Unlike Lumpiang Shanghai, this kind of Lumpia requires pre-cooking the mixture before wrapping and frying.

My version of Beef and Vegetable Lumpia

Ingredients:

- 200 grams minced beef
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 small potato
- ¼ cut of cabbage
- garlic
- 1 medium sized onion
- Fish sauce and pepper to taste
- Cooking oil
- Spring Roll wrappers

You will need:

- deep fryer



- lumpia wrapper cut diagonally




- Mama Sitas Sweet and Sour Mix

Procedure:
Filling
- Make sure that all the vegetables are cut and chopped finely (use food grinder if available for better result)
- Heat a pan and put 3 tbsp of cooking oil
- Sauté onion and garlic
- Add the minced beef, fish sauce and pepper and cook until color turns light brown
- Add the vegetables and cook for 2-3mins
- Remove from heat and set aside

Wrapping
- For a square shaped wrapper, cut it diagonally to make it smaller and right triangle in shape
- Get a piece and make sure that the longest side of the triangle is at the bottom
- Scoop about tablespoon of the mixture and place it along the bottom of the wrapper
- Fold the wrapper by taking each side covering the mixture
- Roll the mixture up until you get to an inch before the tip of the wrapper
- Wet the tip of the wrapper then fold the rest up
- Continue wrapping the rest of the mixture until you have used all of them

Frying
- Using a deep fryer pan, heat enough oil on a medium heat
- Put in enough pieces of your wrapped lumpia
- Once both sides color turn light to medium brown, remove from heat
- Use a strainer or a paper towel to remove or absorb excess oil before serving

Sauce
Variety of sauces is available like catsup and chili sauce. In this Lumpia, I just used Mama Sita’s Sweet and Sour Sauce Mix (escabeche). Just follow the instructions found at the back of the sachet and you’ll have a sweet and sour taste of the sauce.

Makes an average of 20pcs of Lumpia

Credits: Google Images for the You will need pictures

Hot and Spicy Tuna Sandwich

Try this Tuna Sandwich version if you want to avoid eating heavy rice meals during dinner. I recommend you use Lusine Sandwich Bread (from Lulu) which is almost of the same taste and texture as Singapore’s Gardenia bread, also popular in the Philippines.

Tuna Sandwich

Ingredients:
- ½ can of Tuna (in this recipe, I used Hot and Spicy Century Tuna)
- 2 tbsp Mayonnaise
- Finely chopped onion
- 2 leaves of lettuce
- Sliced tomato
- Pepper and salt to taste
- 2 slices of Lusine bread (or any tasty or slice bread)

- a slice of cheeseProcedure:
- Toast the bread (if using microwave oven, heat it on medium high for 1minute)
- Mix the tuna, mayonnaise, onion, salt, and pepper
- Spread the mixture on the bread
- Add cheese, lettuce and tomato
- Enjoy!

Spicy Stir Fry Shrimp

Among my favorites, Shrimp and Crabs are of the same level – top! And I enjoy eating them whatever way they are cooked. May it be Hilabos (boiled in a little amount of water), Grilled, Sinigang (stew), Ginataan (cooked in coconut milk), Saucy, Buttered, or simply as an ingredient or topping to other menu, I see to it to enjoy my every bite :)

Whenever I crave for shrimp, I normally cook it Hilabos or Sinigang. But this time, I wanted to try something saucy and spicy.

Spicy Stir Fry Shrimp

Ingredients:
- 4-5 pcs medium sized shrimp
- Garlic, Ginger
- Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp catsup
- 1 tbsp sugar
Procedure:
- Combine soy sauce, catsup, and sugar
- Mix until fully blended, set aside
- Heat oil in a pan
- Sauté garlic and ginger until color turns light brown
- Put in the Shrimp, stir fry for 4-5mins
- Pour in the soy sauce, catsup, and sugar mixture
- Add chili powder, salt, and pepper and stir fry for 2mins
- Remove from heat and enjoy

Best with hot rice!

Coconut Macaroons

This is another favorite from Goldilocks bakeshop – Macaroons. Wikipedia explains that the word Macaroon came from the Italian maccarone or maccherone which is derived from ammaccare, meaning crust or beat. It is a small, light baked cake or cookie which is originally consisting of ground almonds. There are varieties of macaroon in other countries like in America, Spain, India, and others but the one that we have in the Philippines is something very tasty and easy to prepare.

Goldilocks bakeshop popularized this small sweet cake but a lot of bakery stores and local bakeshops sell them too.

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
- ¾ cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 pcs eggs
- 1 can condensed milk
- 400 gms sweet (or desecated) shredded coconut

You will need:


paper muffin cups

muffin tray

Procedures

- Place the butter in a bowl and cream using a fork
- Add the brown sugar and mix well
- Beat the eggs and add to the mixture
- Add the condensed milk then stir until all ingredients are blended
- Add the shredded coconut
- Scoop one (1)tbsp of the mixture and using a macaroon paper cup, place in a mold
- Preheat oven for 10mins
- Bake the coconut macaroons until golden brown
- Serve and enjoy!


Credits: Bakery ng Kapitbahay