Siomay: Indonesian Fish Dumplings
This post may contain affiliate links. Please check our disclosure policy.
Siomay is one of Indonesia’s most beloved street foods, known for its distinctive texture and taste. These fish dumplings are a go-to choice for afternoon snacks or light meals throughout the day — and you’ll find vendors selling them in virtually every corner of the country.
What Is Siomay?
Siomay is the Indonesian version of Shumai, a dish originally introduced by Chinese traders. Unlike Shumai, which is made of ground pork and/or prawns, Indonesian siomay is made of kingfish mixed with ground chicken, tapioca flour, spices, and seasonings. 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 dishes at most food courts and a sought-after street food 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 neighborhood. 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 flavor thanks to the mix of fish and chicken. And when you enjoy it with spicy peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, and a squeeze of lime juice, the combo delivers an interesting flavor profile.
- 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 is cooked using the steaming method. 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, these dumplings are an ideal choice 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 at your next meal, 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 you can get at your local grocery store. 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 a deep, savory taste that lends umami to the dish you cook with it. If this fish is unavailable, the closest substitute is 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.
Grind 3 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic into a smooth paste with a food chopper (or a mortar and pestle). Then, fry the mixture in one tablespoon of cooking oil until fragrant. Set it aside to cool. Once it’s cooled, 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.
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 wonton pastry, wrap the dumpling in 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 and free of 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 much flour, so 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 it easier for me to shape the siomay, I use two lightly oiled tablespoons, and I try not to worry if my siomay isn’t 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 siomay in a tightly sealed 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 to steam them, and you can do so straight from the freezer. If the microwave is the only option for reheating, I would place the dumplings in a small bowl with a little water and reheat them for 30 seconds, then repeat until they’re fully reheated.
More Indonesian Recipes for Savory Snacks
If you need more ideas for savory snacks 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
Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.
