SIU MAI (Shumai – Chinese steamed dumplings)

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.

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

Chinese Steamed Pork Buns

Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (Gai Lan)

Potstickers (Chinese Pan Fried Dumplings!)

Fried Rice

Spring Rolls!

Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup – Congee (3 ingredients!!)

Singapore Noodles

How to cook rice – easily and perfectly

Char Siu (Chinese Barbecue Pork)

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)

Author: Nagi

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 8 mins

Banquet, Finger Food, Mains, Starter

Asian, Chinese

5 from 8 votes

Servings20 - 24 pieces

Tap or hover to scale

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Recipe video above. Siu Mai is the first thing you grab off the trolleys when you descend upon your favourite Yum Cha. And now you can get your Siu Mai fix on demand!  These Chinese steamed dumplings are filled with a classic pork and prawn filling. Serves 2 - 3 as a main meal, or more as part of a larger spread. Also see Japanese Shumai (smaller, topped with peas!)

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:

1. Dried shiitake mushrooms - sold in Asian stores and Asian aisle of some grocery stores. Soak for 20 min in large bowl with boiling water. Squeeze out excess water, then finely chop.

2. Pork - fatty is better because fat = flavour and keeps the filling juicy. I like to get it from a butcher and ask them specifically, rather than packets at grocery stores (which tend to be lean). If you want to impress me, get a piece of skinless pork belly and pass it through a mincer or cut into 2.5cm/1" cubes and pulse in food processor to make your own. 😉

If using your own ground pork belly rather than mince, add 1 small egg white and 1 tsp cornflour into the Filling mixture with the pork to help the mix bind.

CHICKEN could be used too but I highly recommend using a fatty cut (usually chicken mince is lean meat) to ensure filling stays juicy. Ask your butcher to ground chicken thighs with skin on if you can.

3. Prawns (shrimp) - if peeling raw whole ones, you'll need 300g/10oz. Otherwise, use raw peeled one (thaw frozen). Smaller is better if you can, otherwise just chop away (as I do, because I'd rather do that than peel loads of small prawns).

Seafood allergy? Skip it and use more pork!

4. Soy sauce - use Light or normal soy sauce. Don't use dark soy sauce (will stain filling dark colour and flavour is too strong). If you have Dark Soy, bottle will be labelled as such.

5. Shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine) - key ingredient in Chinese cooking for that extra depth of flavour and complexity in sauces and fillings. If you can't consume alcohol, sub chicken stock/broth.

6. White part of green onions - also pale green part is ok. Sui Mai doesn't have visible green bits in it.

7. Wonton wrappers - 8cm/3.5" squares or rounds. Sold in Asian section (fridge) of large grocery stores (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms) and Asian stores. SUB round white gyoza wrappers.

Proper Chinese Yum Cha / Dim Sum restaurants make it with round wrappers, strangely not even sold in Asian stores here in Sydney. It's the same wrappers as the square wonton ones, just cut round.

Don't bother cutting rounds, totally waste of time! Just use the square ones, then use a bit of water to fold the edges down. End result looks EXACTLY the same!

Gluten free option - see if you can find Tapioca white dumpling wrappers (round), 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.

8. Flying fish roe (aka tobiko) - tiny little bright orange fish eggs used to garnish Siu Mai. Sold at Asian stores - or buy a couple of fish roe sashimi from the sushi shop and use the roe! SUB finely chopped carrot. It's just visual - too little for flavour!

9. Steamer paper liner with holes in it ("perforated paper liner") - required so they don't stick but steam gets through. Can buy from Asian stores, but I always make my own. Fold sheet of baking/parchment paper in half, quarters, then keep going to form pointy thin triangle. Line pointy end in middle of steamer, then cut the end off (this shapes the paper round). On the folded edge of the triangle, snip out tiny triangles, and snip middle off. Unfold - voila! Steamer liner!

10. Wok size - just needs to be big enough so steamer can sit in it. Mine is JUST big enough - the steamer literally sits 1 cm / 2/5" from top of rim!

11. Microwave steamer (with water) will work too but you lose about 25% juiciness (because you're not just cooking with steam, the microwave is also cooking the meat). 5 minutes on medium heat or until internal temperature of dumplings is 75°C/160°F. Note: If your dumplings are bigger because wonton wrappers are bigger, they will take longer.

12. STORING - 100% perfect for freezing raw! Best to cook from frozen: 11 minutes steaming on stove, 7 minutes microwave steamer on medium.

Cooked wontons can be kept in the fridge for a few days, reheat in steamer or microwave covered for 1 minute on high.

13. Nutrition per dumpling.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 69kcal (3%)Carbohydrates: 3g (1%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 4g (6%)Saturated Fat: 1g (6%)Cholesterol: 33mg (11%)Sodium: 165mg (7%)Potassium: 64mg (2%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)Calcium: 15mg (2%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: Shumai, Siu Mai

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