Siu Mai (shumai) is the first thing you grab off the trolleys at Yum Cha. And now you can get your fix on demand with this easy to follow recipe! These Chinese steamed dumplings have a classic juicy pork and prawn filling, enclosed with wonton wrappers.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make Chinese dumplings, today is the day you’ll discover that it’s totally doable by any home cook! You don’t even need a bamboo steamer!
Siu Mai (Shumai – Chinese Steamed Dumplings)
It’s so unsatisfying going to Yum Cha* with just two people. I mean, Yum Cha is all about ordering as many different types of dumplings you can, sprinkled with a few crunchy deep fried things (hello Spring Rolls!), some sort of fluffy steamed bun (Pork Buns all the way for me), and I suppose we should order something green (Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce is our standard) and fried rice makes a mandatory appearance, always.
So when you go with only 2 people, you have to be very selective and careful about how you spend your dumpling credits.
But Siu Mai always makes the cut!
* Called Dim Sum over in the US ??
Don’t be daunted by the folding technique. Watch the video and look at the step photos. You’ll get the hang of it in no time!
What you need to make Siu Mai
Here’s what you need to make Siu Mai. If you’re in Australia ??, you can get all of these ingredients at large Woolies, Coles and Harris Farms.
Just a few notes on some of the ingredients:
- Fish roe is for decorative purposes only. Found at some Asian stores, good seafood shops OR buy one sushi topped with flying fish roe and use that – you only need a small amount, one sushi is enough! That’s what I did. ? Substitute: finely diced steamed carrot!
- Wonton wrappers aka Wonton Egg Pastry – about 8.5cm / 3.5″ squares OR rounds if you can find them. Rounds are harder to find so I just use squares. No need to cut out rounds. Look for egg (yellow) pastry, there are also white wontons (used for Wonton Soup type wontons). Substitute Gyoza wrappers (ie white round pastry);
- Dried shiitake mushrooms have an earthier, more intense flavour than fresh. They need to be rehydrated in boiling water for 20 minutes or so, then wring them out and finely chop. Sold in Asian aisle of large grocery stores or Asian stores. Sub fresh finely chopped and sautéed in a bit of oil, or leave out.
How to make Siu Mai
Don’t be daunted by the thought of stuffing / wrapping the Siu Mai. Firstly, if it’s a bit wonky and lopsided, so what? It will still TASTE just as good.?
Secondly, you will get the hang of it after a couple, it’s actually not that hard. The technique used is to use your forefinger and thumb to form a “O” then use that as a “hole” into which you stuff the filling.
Excess flappy bits
The purpose of Step 5, so eloquently labelled as “fold down excess flappy bits”, is because we’re using square pastry for a round dumpling. Just a dab of water, then fold the pastry down and it sticks perfectly.
So if you managed to track down round egg pastry, then Step 5 isn’t applicable to you.
How to Steam Chinese Dumplings
Here’s how to cook Siu Mai. I’ve used a bamboo steamer here which is the traditional way to cook them, as you see at Yum Cha / Dim Sum restaurants. The bamboo adds a subtle fragrance that is authentically Chinese.
But you can steam Siu Mai in any steamer – you can even use a microwave steamer!
This is a photo of the dumplings before and after. You can see the pastry becomes soft and slippery, and that it holds its shape nicely once cooked.
DIY Perforated Paper for Steamer
You’ll need perforated paper for your steamer. That’s a fancy name for “paper with holes in it”. It stops the dumplings from sticking whilst allowing the steam to rise through.
Don’t rush out to buy them, make your own. Simple, quick – and a great hack!
Sauce for Siu Mai
There’s no official dipping sauce for Siu Mai. You’ll find dumpling joints provide a selection of soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar or white vinegar and some kind of Chilli Paste, then you make your own.
I usually do:
- 3 parts soy sauce
- 1 part vinegar
- As much chilli as I think I can brave.
I always go overboard with the chilli. I boast that I can handle it. Then two bites in, my mouth is on fire, I’m sweating, silently cursing (and trying my very hardest not to let my friends see how much I am suffering), and discreetly guzzling ice water.
It’s all part of the dumpling ritual.
What to serve with Siu Mai
Siu Mai is a Yum Cha / Dim Sum dish so it’s intended to be served as part of a larger banquet. If you’re inspired to try to make your own Yum Cha banquet, here are some of the dishes in my Yum Cha recipe collection:
Yum Cha / Dim Sum favourites
Having said that though, it is obviously just as enjoyable as the star attraction for a meal!!
To serve this as a meal, try it with:
- Fried Rice or Steamed Rice
- Steamed Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce, a Vegetable Stir Fry or Ginger Smashed Cucumbers
Of course, you can just consume as I usually do. Straight up, neat! – Nagi x
PS And because my mother will be cranky if I don’t let you know this – there is a Japanese version of Shumai too, they’re smaller and topped with peas and here is the recipe on my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan.
Watch how to make it
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Siu Mai (Shumai - Chinese Steamed Dumplings)
Ingredients
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms , soaked in boiling water, finely chopped (Note 1)
- 350g/ 13oz pork mince (ground pork) , fatty (Note 2)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 4)
- 1.5 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (aka Shaoxing wine, sub Mirin or dry sherry) (Note 5)
- 150g/5oz prawns/shrimp , peeled and deveined, chopped 0.5cm / 1/5" (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp white part of green onions , finely minced (Note 6)
- 20 - 25 wonton wrappers / egg wrappers 8cm/3.5" squares or rounds (Note 7)
Garnish:
- 50g/1.5oz flying fish roe (Note 8 for alternatives)
Instructions
Filling:
- Place pork, salt, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar with the pork meat/mince in a large mixing bowl. Mix vigorously with a spoon or use your hands until it becomes pasty (initially it will be crumbly) - about 30 seconds.
- Add mushrooms, prawns and green onions, mix until just dispersed (don't crush the prawn meat).
Making Siu Mai (process steps and video helpful!):
- Form an "O" with your forefinger and thumb.
- Place a wonton wrapper over the "O". Push in 1 heaped teaspoon of Filling and push down into the "O" hole.
- Use a butter knife to smear more Filling into until level with edge of wonton.
- Place on work surface and push down to flatten base and use fingers to shape into a round.
Steaming Dumplings:
- Line a 30cm/12" bamboo steamer (or stove steamer) with baking paper with holes in it (Note 9)
- Fill a wok big enough to hold steamer with about 2 cups of water (Note 10). Bring to rapid simmer over medium high heat.
- Place Siu Mai in steamer (20 - 25 fits). Place lid on, place on wok over simmering water.
- Steam 8 minutes, or until internal temperature of dumplings is 75°C/165°F. (If yours are bigger due to larger wonton wrappers are bigger, they will take longer).
- Remove steamer from wok. Remove lid and place a tiny bit of roe in the middle of each dumpling.
- Serve immediate with dipping sauce!
Siu Mai Dipping Sauce:
- Provide soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar or normal white vinegar, Chinese chilli paste (or Sriracha or other chilli). Let people mix their own to their taste (I do: 3 parts soy, 1 part vinegar, as much chilli as I think I can handle).
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Sydney is finally experiencing some serious rain – good news for our bushfire crisis! Keep the rain coming please! ??????
THESE ARE MAGNIFICENT! Seriously good. Much easier than I expected — thought I’d never get mine to look even remotely like yours (felt clumsy making them) but they turned out great! So delicious!!
As long as they taste great that’s all that matters Nancy, I’m so pleased you gave them a go!!
Amazing recipe! Tasted just like the Shumai I ate at my fav restaurant back in NY. Also, my husband does not eat pork so I used chicken instead and it still worked perfectly. I used 85/15 to allow for higher fat content (more akin to pork). I also used a metal steamer basket as I do not have bamboo. Hopefully those tips will help others. Nagi – you are a genius!!! : )
That’s great to hear Aubrey!! N x
This recipe is sooo delicious and better than the Chinese restaurant.
I had one issue where the wonton wrappers didn’t stick to the pork mince after cooking. Do you know how I can make them stick or should I use egg wrappers?
Hi Kim, what type of wrappers were you using? I’ve never had that happen!! N x
They are called wonton wrappers from the chilled section of Woolworths supermarket. White in colour. Maybe I need to add egg to the meat to make it stick? Or maybe the egg wrappers that are yellow may be better at sticking?
Can you freeze these Chinese dumplings before steaming
Love your website I have tried many of your recipes so good
Absolutely! Directions are in the recipe notes – N x
Nagi, I have a confession…
I make your Mum’s ones all the time! I’ve even written a review of them over on her site 😉
And even funnier I made your Mum’s ones today so coming to your site now and seeing this made me have a good old chuckle.
I’ll give your ones a crack I promise!
Oh I love hearing this 😂
Nagi, these look awesome! Can I use my electric tiered steamer for these? With the baking paper (steamer has holey tiers)? Same cooking time?
Yes definitely Liz! Same cook times ☺️
Forgot to rate it. Even my father-in-law loved it! ❤️ Thanks again!
Thanks again Buda!
that *came* with….Don’t you love autocorrect? 🤦🏻♀️
I LOVED making this, and I love the flavors and textures! Thank you for this recipe! ♥️ I did run into a tiny problem of the shumai/wrappers still sticking even if I had bamboo steamer paper on it. What can I do better next time?
Really! I have honestly never had a problem. Did you use baking paper / parchment paper? A decent brand? ie not no frills? Here in Australia, no-brand parchment paper is useless! A light spray with oil will definitely do the trick too 🙂 N x
I used the paper that cake with my 2-tier bamboo steamer. I was going to make my own with parchment paper using your method but my steamer cake with 50 free steamer paper, so I used it 🤦🏻♀️. I will steam some more shumai tomorrow and spray will a little oil OR make my own. Thank you!!! ❤️
Brilliant as usual!!!
Want to make Siu Mai desperately. One problem: my son does not eat seafood at all (poor guy!)
Could shrimps be skipped or replaced with something?
Love you and Dozer!
Hi Natalya! Just use more pork, same weight as the shrimp 🙂 N x
I have to be gluten free, so I guess I will have to make wrappers. I live in a food shopping wasteland, lol. Sighhh.
Hi Alene! See the recipe notes about Tapioca dumpling wrappers 🙂 I will find the homemade dumpling wrappers we use though, and drop the link here. It requires time but BOY is it worth it! N x
Look at that expression on Dozer’s face – the only Australian not happy w the rain. We’ve had torrential rain in Atlanta this week – not funny with a terrier – up to her tummy in puddles. May your rain continue. Nagi – your emails are the highlight of my day! Just made Anzac biscuits w dough that was in freezer. LOVE them as do all my American neighbors.
LOL that is the best caption ever for Dozer!!! So true about small dogs and lots of rain. On the plus side, you have a lot less surface area to rub dry 😂 PS Can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear someone in Atlanta made our Anzac biscuits!! N xx
Hey Nagi!!! Do you think I could make these the day before and then steam them the day of serving? Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew at my parties (no pun intended). : )
Ha – I saw that one coming a mile away 😂 100% yes, in fact, I literally did that yesterday ie made them day before, ran out time to cook, then had them for lunch yesterday! N x
YAY! My dad is going to think I am a total hero when I make these. You’re awesome!
The perfect idea for our Friday night “snack” night good one Nagi
Give me dumplings over a chips anyway!! N xx
It doesn’t matter if you call it Yum Cha or Dim Sum, but to me, it is the perfect dining scenario. I would absolutely reach for the Siu Mai first and chicken feet second.
You’ve taught me to a lot in this post, but the perforated steamer paper hack is fantastic. I’ve made tons of cartouches, but never have I thought of making my steamer basket liners. A big thanks for that one.
My mother taught me that!! 🙂 N x
PS I don’t know if you are kidding about the chicken feet…..
Nope, not kidding, I love chicken feet, especially the Szechuan ones.
I take my hat off to you 🤣
Oh, Nagi – this recipe is a real weekend gift ! Many people to this day go to church on Sunday morning. I am afraid my family for some twenty years headed to Sydney’s Chinatown for Yum Cha ! There was a place called ‘Marigold’ at the time we specially liked. When the ladies came around with the trolleys we would just point like most Westerners, but siu mai was one dumpling we knew by name ! Have not made any for eons but i cannot wait for the next shop !! Had not thought about the dry form of shiitake . . . shall try ! Bamboo steamers : have those by the half -dozen for the large amount of steaming I do. Thanks a million . . . Good to see you live high enough not to get flooded over the weekend . . . drought or flood . . . there is nought in between in this country 🙂 !!!
Marigold is STILL there! It is STILL the best Yum Cha place! And HURRAH for the rain, BRING IT ON!! N xx
I wish I could eat this but I am coeliac. Can you buy gf wonton wrappers? I have seen lots of gf dumplings to buy but have no idea where to buy them. Looks so yum!
Hi Andrea! If you can find Tapioca white dumpling wrappers, they will work beautifully for this! The white dumpling wrappers are the classic wrappers used for Chinese dumplings at Yum Cha / Dim Sum – the ones that become a bit see through once steamed. N xx
YES! These are the first things I grab off the carts! Love them. Dozer’s jacket looks stylin’!! Glad to hear your getting some much needed rain!
Ba ha ha ME TOO!!! I will fight you for them 😂
Yum, makes me hungry but will Not atempte to do IT my self. yes am watching NSW and Sunshine Coast, having rain We Are Not Lucky. This Am big fog than Smoke so half a Day was BAD but This will cont for few days.Dozer looks smart.
Celebrating the rain here Vera!! Finally some relief for our beautiful country 🙌🏻 N xx
Looks awesome Nagi – next weekends special!!! 🥂🥂
Do it do it!!!
The trick with the baking paper sounds like what I have needed to do all along.
I now know what I’ll be doing tomorrow!