Siomay: Indonesian Fish Dumplings
What Is Siomay?
Siomay is the Indonesian version of Chinese Shumai, which was originally introduced by Chinese traders. Unlike Shumai, that made of ground pork and/ or prawns, Indonesian siomay is made of kingfish mixed with ground chicken, tapioca flour, spices, and seasoning. You eat these steamed fish dumplings with spicy peanut sauce and drizzles of sweet soy sauce.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Shumai is usually served with light soy sauce or sweet chili sauce.
Over time, these dumplings have become one of the most popular food items at most food courts and one of the sought-after street foods in Indonesia.
I grew up eating these dumplings almost every week, which my family used to buy from a street vendor who went around our neighbourhood. Now, I have to make them myself whenever I crave them. After tweaking the recipe so many times, I am now happy with the one I’m sharing here.
Why You’ll Love These Fish Dumplings
- Flavorful Taste: It is known for its delicious, savory taste thanks to the mixed fish and chicken. And when you enjoy it with spicy peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, and a squeeze of lime juice, the combo gives you an interesting blend of flavor.
- Contrast Texture: They all create interesting texture combinations, from the soft, chewy dumplings to the crunchy peanut sauce and silky sweet soy sauce.
- Good Option for a Healthy Diet: Siomay uses the steaming method to cook. Therefore, it is a better food choice compared to other cooking methods such as deep frying. Needless to say, its ingredients- fish, chicken, and peanuts- are good sources of protein. With very few carbs in them, these dumplings are an ideal menu for those who want high-protein meals or snacks.
- Easy Cooking: These fish dumplings are surprisingly easy and fairly quick to make. You’ll get to create these popular street foods in no time.
- Food Choice You Can Enjoy Anytime: Siomay’s bite-sized portions make it easy to eat as a snack. The convenience of having it with toothpicks or forks adds to its popularity as a finger food at snack time. But you can always enjoy the dumplings for your next meal time, too.
Ingredients You Need
Do not be intimidated by the number of items needed to make siomay because most of them are pretty basic kitchen items that you can get from your local grocery stores. Though a few of them may take you to an Asian shop in Chinatown, you can always order them online.
So, to make Siomay you need Kingfish, ground chicken, tapioca flour, shallots, garlic, eggs, ginger, juice, salt, sesame oil, fish sauce, ground white pepper, sugar, roasted peanuts, fresh red chilies, potato, soft brown sugar, tomato ketchup, water, and white vinegar.
As for the fish, Kingfish has white, slightly oily, firm flesh, and it has a deep, savory taste that gives an umami flavor to the dish you cook with it. If this fish is not available, the closest substitute will be Spanish mackerel, as it has a similar texture. The last option can be tuna, but bear in mind that tuna has a firmer texture and stronger taste, so your siomay may have a different texture and flavor.
How to Make Siomay
Prepare 1.1 lb/ 500 grams of kingfish and 9 oz/ 250 grams of ground chicken. Place them in a food processor. Give them a blitz until both become smoothly grounded.
Place 1.1 lb/ 500 grams of tapioca flour in a mixing bowl.
Grind 3 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic into a smooth paste using a food chopper (or a pestle and mortar). Then, fry the mixture in one tablespoon of cooking oil until fragrant. Set it aside to cool. Once it’s cooled down, add it to the flour, along with 2 teaspoons of ground white pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
Add in 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon of ginger juice, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and the fish-chicken mixture to the flour.
Mix them well. You can mix by hand or use a stand mixer to do so.
Get your steamer ready by brushing the inner side with a little oil. Preheat the steamer pan. At the same time, take and shape the siomay mixture into small balls the size of a golf ball. Arrange them inside the steamer pan, brush them with oil, and steam for about 25-30 minutes or until the siomay is fully cooked.
If you use a wonton pastry, you can wrap the dumpling inside the wrapper and steam it. Enjoy your siomay with generous spicy peanut sauce and a drizzle of sweet soy sauce.
Tips for the Best-Tasting Siomay
- Make sure your fish and chicken are fresh without a nasty smell. I use frozen kingfish as it’s the only option available in my local grocery store. Therefore, I always defrost and thaw it overnight in the refrigerator if I cook it in the morning. But if I know I will cook in the afternoon, I will put the fish in the refrigerator first thing in the morning. Sometimes the fish does not fully thaw and is still half-frozen when I use it, and that’s ok.
- This recipe does not use a lot of flour, so that the siomay mixture can be wet and really sticky. When this happens, don’t be tempted to add too much flour. If anything, just add a tablespoon or two, but no more. To make things easier for me to shape the siomay, I use two tablespoons that I lightly oil, and I try not to worry if the shape of my siomay is not perfectly round.
- I appreciate that some people prefer to make their own ground chicken by using breast chicken. There is nothing wrong with this. However, I like using chicken thighs as they are more flavorful. You can choose whichever suits your preference.
Storing and Reheating
You can store the cooled-down siomay in a tight-lid food container and keep it in the refrigerator for a week. You can also freeze them for up to six months.
The best way to reheat these fish dumplings is by steaming them, and you can steam them straight from the freezer. If the microwave is the only option to reheat, I would place the dumplings in a small bowl with a little water and reheat them for 30 seconds, and repeat until they’re fully reheated.
More Indonesian Recipes for Savory Snacks
If you need more ideas of what savory snacks to make from the Indonesian kitchen, you can try Cilok (chewy tapioca balls), Bakwan Sayur (vegetable fritters), or Ketoprak (bean sprouts, vermicelli, and tofu salad with peanut sauce).
And if you want more inspo, you can head out to my snack recipes collection, where you can find more than Indonesian snacks.
Siomay Recipe
Ingredients
For the siomay
- 1.1 lbs Kingfish
- 9 oz Ground chicken
- 1.1 lbs tapioca flour
- 3 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon ginger juice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
For the sauce
- 1 lb roasted or deep-fried peanuts
- ¼ lb fresh red chilies
- 1 medium potato boiled, mashed
- 4 cloves garlic sliced, fried
- ½ lb light soft brown sugar
- ½ cup tomato ketchup
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- Indonesian sweet soy sauce
Instructions
For the siomay:
- Prepare 1.1 lb/ 500 grams of kingfish and 9 oz/ 250 grams of ground chicken. Place them in a food processor. Give them a blitz until both become smoothly grounded.
- Place 1.1 lb/ 500 grams of tapioca flour in a mixing bowl.
- Grind 3 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic into a smooth paste using a food chopper (or a pestle and mortar). Then, fry the mixture in one tablespoon of cooking oil until fragrant. Set it aside to cool. Once it’s cooled down, add it to the flour, along with 2 teaspoons of ground white pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar.
- Add in 3 eggs, 1 tablespoon of ginger juice, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and the fish-chicken mixture to the flour.
- Mix them well. You can mix by hand or use a stand mixer to do so.
- Get your steamer ready by brushing the inner side with a little oil. Preheat the steamer pan. At the same time, take and shape the siomay mixture into small balls the size of a golf ball. Arrange them inside the steamer pan, brush them with oil, and steam for about 25-30 minutes or until the siomay is fully cooked.
- If you use a wonton pastry, you can wrap the dumpling inside the wrapper and steam it.
For the sauce:
- Put the chilies, boiled potato, fried garlic, brown sugar, tomato ketchup, and water in a blender. Blitz until all becomes well blended and smooth.
- Add the peanuts into the blender and give it a few blitzes until crushed, unless you prefer a smooth sauce.
- Pour the sauce mixture into a cooking pan until it reaches a boil. Stir it every now and again to make sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Again, keep stirring every so often.
- Check the taste and add more salt if needed.
- Spoon the peanut sauce generously over the siomay and drizzle the sweet soy sauce over the top.
Notes
- To make ginger juice, you can grate a 1-inch ginger root and squeeze its juice.
- You can substitute fresh red chilies with cayenne pepper or Kashmiri red chili powder if you don’t have fresh red chilies. For this recipe, I would put 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper. However, you can put in one teaspoon at a time and check the taste before adding more.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
