Making Pork Siomay with a ‘Spice First, Measure Never’ Spirit

So I woke up this morning to my sister excitedly asking me to join her in the kitchen. She planned to make pork siomay, inspired by a recipe from Devina Hermawan—but with some experimental twists.

Honestly, I’d love to write down the measurements of all the ingredients we used. My sister would’ve loved to assist me with that too. We couldn’t, though. Our mom, who was also in the kitchen, told my sister not to be too bound by the recipe. I believe her exact words were, “Don’t be afraid to add all the seasonings! We want our dish to be powerfully flavorful!”

In a way, we were kind of channeling that well-known Asian cooking spirit, where spices aren’t measured with scales but with feelings.

Since we used ready-made dumpling wrappers, making the siomay turned out to be pretty effortless. I helped my sister with the wrapping. It was easier than it looked—and fun, too!

Our pork siomay was ready to be steamed.

After 35 minutes in the steamer, our precious little pork siomay was ready to be served.

With chili oil and mayonnaise as condiments, it felt like I was kóng-kó͘-ing*) in a dim sum shop for lunch. What a lovely start to the day.

*) The term ‘kóng-kó͘’ comes from a Hokkien word that means ‘telling stories’. In Indonesia, we call it ‘kongkow’ as a way to say ‘hanging out’.