Ingredients
250 g (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour (for 20 pieces), 500 g (about 2 1/2 cups) glutinous rice, 100 g (about 3.5 oz) cooked fatty pork.
Seasonings
300 g cooked lard, 50 g (about 1/4 cup) sugar, 5 g MSG, 150 g (about 2/3 cup) soy sauce, 3 g dried shrimp roe.
Instructions
1. Rinse the glutinous rice thoroughly, place it in a bowl, and soak in 50°C (about 120°F) water for 2 hours until the grains swell, then drain well, spread evenly in a steamer basket, and steam over high heat until fully cooked.
2. Cut the pork into 0.3 cm (about 1/8 inch) cubes. Cook the diced pork with soy sauce, sugar, and dried shrimp until done, then add the hot glutinous rice to the wok and stir-fry with a spatula until the sauce is fully absorbed by the rice. Finally, mix in the cooked lard to complete the filling.
3. Place the flour on a work surface, make a small well in the center, add 120 g (about 1/2 cup) of cold water, and knead into a dough. Roll the dough into a long log, then divide it into 20 equal pieces.
4. Press each dough piece flat with your fingers, then roll it out with a dumpling rolling pin into a round, lotus-leaf-shaped wrapper about 8 cm (3 inches) in diameter. Hold the wrapper in your left hand, use a scraper in your right hand to scoop the filling into the center, then gently gather the wrapper with the five fingers of your left hand, pinching it together just at the neck so the filling is slightly exposed at the top and the edges form overlapping pleats like a lotus leaf. Rotate the shaomai a few times in your palm, give it a final pinch with your thumb and index finger, then place it in a steamer basket. Steam over high heat until the wrapper is glossy and no longer sticky to the touch, then remove.