This is a recipe for beef as opposed to the more common pork sui mai found at dim sum restaurants. The unique ingredient in beef sui mai is the sweet and bitter taste of dried tangerine peels, so it's not just a simple swap of proteins in pork vs beef sui mai.
Dried tangerine peels are used in traditional Chinese dishes as well as Chinese herbal medicine, with the peels that are aged longest being the most highly prized and expensive. My big aunt, who was an excellent cook, used to give my mom some that were aged over 20 plus years, and my mom would marvel at the fully developed aroma; but as a kid, I never appreciated the taste of dried tangerine peels, and would wrinkle up my nose in disgust when my mom cooked with them.
But now, as an adult, my palate (and attitude) has matured.
Yes, I even dry my own tangerine peels now.
I take the peels from my satsuma mandarin oranges, scrape off most of the pith, and sun dry them on the window sill until they are very dry, and then store them in a glass jar to age--just like how my big aunt had taught my mom, who then taught me. As the years progress, the color changes to a darker brown orange, and the aroma deepens. Date them and use the oldest ones to cook with first. This website has a detailed description of how to make your own dried tangerine peels.
It's pretty easy and straightforward. So dry some of your own and feature the dried peels in this beef sui mai dish!
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| Dried tangerine peels |
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| Mix vigorously for 15 min until a paste forms |
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| Sui Mai wrappers |
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| Steps to form the sui mai: 1. Place 2 T filling on wrapper 2. Pleat the sides to surround the meat 3. Smooth off top with a butter knife |
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| Squeeze between forefinger and thumb |
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| Decorate with a frozen pea. Steam to cook and enjoy with chili and soy sauce |
Some sui mai tips: To not get that dry course texture of ground beef, you have to mix the beef for a long long time. So "mix vigorously for 15 minutes" is NOT a typo. This long mixing time will help to incorporate the 1 cup of water into the beef and give the final sui mai a smoother and juicier texture. Mine are still not as smooth as the restaurants because I wanted to be a bit healthier and used 85% lean ground beef, but if you want the real deal and don't mind the fat, go ahead and use the 73% lean ground beef. We don't miss the fat in these beef sui mai at all. It's still very juicy despite using lean ground beef thanks to the incorporation of all that water and cornstarch through some hefty mixing action.
Sui Mai Can Be Frozen!
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| Freeze in a single layer on a tray |
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| When frozen, transfer to a Ziplock bag and store in freezer |
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| Steam up a few at a time straight from the freezer |
The beauty of making your own sui mai is that they are totally freezable! Freeze them uncooked in a single layer on a tray for about 1 to 2 hours. When they are frozen, you can transfer them all to a ziplock bag and steam them up a few at a time straight from the freezer--no need to thaw!
I love having these stashed in the freezer along with frozen pot stickers, pork stuffed tofu pockets, steamed baos, and turnip cake. Yes, you can make all those ahead of time and freeze them! That way, you can have a nice variety at anytime when the craving for dim sum strikes. (I'll post my recipes for pork and cabbage pot stickers and instant pot turnip cakes soon. I just always forget to take pictures when I make them...)
Note added Nov 2020: I finally posted my freezer friendly pork pot stickers recipe on the blog!
Yields about 42 pieces
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
- 1 ½ t grated fresh ginger
- ½ c chopped green onions
- 4 cloves garlic, very finely minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely minced (about 1.5 c)
- 2 T dried chopped onions
- 1 T soy sauce
- 2 t salt
- 1 T mirin
- 1 t sugar
- ½ t pepper
- ¼ t baking soda
- 2 t finely minced reconstituted dried tangerine peels*
- 1/3 c cornstarch
- 1 c water
- 42 round sui mai wrappers (about ½ a package)
- 42 frozen peas for decoration (optional)
*Homemade or buy them from your local Asian grocery store (The label may say chenpi, mandarin orange peel, dried citrus peel, or dried orange peel).
Procedures:
1. Reconstitute the dried tangerine peels in water, and when soft, finely mince.
2. In a large bowl, add the ground beef and all the other ingredients except for the sui mai wrappers and frozen peas.
3. Mix the ingredients together really well for 15 minutes. (I put on disposable food gloves and use my hands.) The 15 minutes of intense mixing is needed to incorporate all the water and give the beef a smoother and slightly bouncy texture.
4. Place a large heaping spoonful (~2 T) of the meat mixture onto a sui mai wrapper.
5. Pleat the sides of the wrapper to surround the meat. See photo.
6. Place the sui mai between your forefinger and thumb as shown in the photo and use a butter knife to smooth the top of the sui mai.
7. Decorate the top with a frozen pea if desired.
8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 until all meat mixture is used up.
9. Steam sui mai in a single layer for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through and enjoy with chili and soy sauce. Alternatively, you can freeze the sui mai in a single layer; and when frozen solid, transfer to a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. It will be good for up to 2 months. To cook from frozen (no need to defrost), steam the frozen sui mai in a single layer for 14-16 minutes or until cooked through.