These open-faced dumplings or Shumai 燒賣 are juicy and flavorful. Filled with ground pork, shrimps, and mushrooms, they are often served at dim sum and can be easily made at home.
Compare a map of China to any other country in the world to understand how a filling dish like Shumai (or Shu Mai 燒賣) has earned several different names. It basically comes down to which part of the world they’re prepared and served.
What is Shu Mai?
Shumai or (Shu Mai) 燒賣 is synonymous with Dim sum, mention steamed dumplings to give others an idea of what’s for dinner and you’ll bring up memories of lamb shumai from Mongolia or Cantonese dumplings filled with shrimp (Shrimp Shumai). Some recipes use a thin outer layer of unleavened, round dough for each dumpling. You can watch the video below.
Wrappings
This is one of my favorite styles because of the decorative pleat border that leaves the shumai filling partially in view after steaming.
Creating shumai wrapping is much easier than potsticker wraps. Simply leave a bit of space at the top of the dumpling and press the top to get the pleats. Be sure to leave an open space for perfect steaming!
If you're a visual learner, you can watch the video below on how to wrap the shumai, it's super easy and simple to make.
If you prefer to skip the pleats, add filling and press it so it leaves an open spot for the steam to vent.
There are more reasons to add a favorite shumai recipe to your file of cooking favorites. Chinese food is a popular dish and these small dumplings are perfect as an appetizer or snack.
Not only are they simple to prepare, they:
- Look and taste delicious.
- Have fillings that can be changed to fit the occasion.
- Can be stuffed to the brim to make them more filling.
- 10 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
- ½ lb shelled and deveined raw shrimp finely chopped
- 1 lb ground pork 20% fat
- 1 carrot grated (yields about ½ cup)
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
- You can prepare these shu mai ahead of time and store in the freezer.
- When reheating, place them in a lightly greased baking sheet and steam without thawing or defrosting. Just bring the water to a boil and steam until thoroughly cooked around 12-15 minutes.
- 10 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
- ½ lb shelled and deveined raw shrimp finely chopped
- 1 lb ground pork 20% fat
- 1 carrot grated (yields about ½ cup)
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper powder
- Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water. Mince into small pieces.
- In a bowl, combine the rest of the filling ingredients. Mix well, until the paste becomes sticky.
- Take a Shumai wrapper and add about 1 tablespoon filling to the center. Turn up the sides of the wrapper around the filling and lightly squeeze to form a pleat shape, leaving the top open. Space the Shumai about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
- Line your steamer with a clean, wet dish towel or lightly greased paper parchment. Transfer the Shumai into the steamer, one finger’s width apart. Cover and steam over boiling water for 8 - 12 minutes or until cooked through.
- Serve with dumpling dipping sauce of your choice. Store and cook frozen (no thawing needed).
Fillings
When buying ground pork or chicken, choose the fattier mix that contains at least 20% fat, this way your shumai will end up tender and juicy once cooked.
You can use a food processor to make the filling when pressed for time, However, I enjoy hand-chopping the filling ingredients. It’s a great way to get a variety of textures and size.
Shrimp, mushrooms, and veggies like carrots and green onion make a flavorful filling.
Prepare the mix the day before, cover it, and place it in the refrigerator to give the flavors time to blend. Wrap the shumai just before they are steamed since the wrappers absorb moisture from the filling. You don’t want them to get mushy.
Store and cook frozen
My favorite part of making these delicious dumplings is that they freeze well. Do you have a dinner party or other special event in store?
Wrap the Shumai 燒賣 and freeze them until they are ready to cook. There’s no need for them to thaw. Just steam and serve. They’ll taste fresh and savory.
What a delicious way to be prepared for a special event!
How long do you steam siu mai
When cooking this dish, just boil enough water into the pot that is approximately 1 inch below the bottom of the steamer. Arrange the dumplings in batches to avoid overcrowding the steamer basket and steam the fresh Siu Mai until cooked through for about 8 minutes. Steam the frozen Shumai (no thawing needed) for about 15 minutes or until cooked.
Ingredients
Filling Ingredients:
Step by step instructions
1 Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and squeeze excess water. Mince into small pieces.
2 In a bowl, combine the rest of the filling ingredients. Mix well, until the paste becomes sticky.
3 Take a Shumai wrapper and add about 1 tablespoon filling to the center. Turn up the sides of the wrapper around the filling and lightly squeeze to form a pleat shape, leaving the top open. Space the Shumai about 1 inch apart. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.
4 Line your steamer with a clean, wet dish towel or lightly greased paper parchment. Transfer the Shumai into the steamer, one finger’s width apart. Cover and steam over boiling water for 8 - 12 minutes or until cooked through.
5 Serve with dumpling dipping sauce of your choice. Store and cook frozen (no thawing needed).
Notes
Watch the video how to wrap (Chinese Style):
Credit: NYTheCook
Full Recipe
Pork and Shrimp ShuMai
Ingredients:
Filling Ingredients:
Instructions:
Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Please note that all nutrition information are just estimates. Values will vary among brands, so we encourage you to calculate these on your own for most accurate results.
Mary Bostow says
Looks beautiful and tasty! Cannot wait to try this. This recipe looks incredible! Thank you.
Brian Jones says
I love food like this but always find I am too clumsy to make them, although the video yu have added makes it looks soooooo simple. I really must give it a go!
Jillian says
This looks delicious! The video is helpful but I'm sure I'll need some practice to make them look as pretty as yours!
Michelle says
I've had these (or similar) so many time at my favorite dim sum restaurant. I never realized how easy these are to make at home! Going on my to-make list.
Haley D Williams says
Wow! These look so good! I loved watching that video of how to wrap them! Very cool!
Dolores Stunk says
Never thought shumai is so easy to make. I may add scallop on top of these to provide a unique flavor.
Korina L says
I'm so excited to try this recipe out. My family loves dimsum and I'm glad I found your recipe. This is so easy and delicious.
Thelma C says
I've been craving for shumai for weeks and now I can finally try this recipe.. I cant wait.
Virginia Rodriguez says
Yes!! Shumai is one of my favorite dimsum. And since I dont have the oyster sauce, I will replace it with hoisin sauce instead. Hmmm cant wait to try this out.
Frances Burke says
Omg. I'm drooling with the pictures.. Shumai is one of my favorite dimsums. I grew up eating in a Chinese restaurants and after I moved to US, I got overwhelmed with the other foods available here.
Natasha Angied says
I tried your recipe last week and my family loved it. This will be my second try because this dish is so yum and addicting. I experiment my own dipping sauce and I could finish 12 of these in one sitting.
Robin Atkinson says
OMG.. I'm drooling looking at these shumais... They look so appetizing and perfect for afternoon tea. Yes, please.
Esther C. Hickman says
Shumai.. Shumai.. Im craving for you right now.. I'm glad to find this recipe, its so easy to tackle and the ingredients look flavorful. Yum!!
Virginia Rodriguez says
Yes, please. These are one of my favorites dimsum.. We always go to our favorite dimsum place in our neighborhood but never tried to tackle this recipe. Now, I know how to cook and all I need is to grab some ingredients.
Esther C. Hickman says
These shrimp shumai packed all the flavor that I like. Looks so yum and tempting. Now, I'm craving for some dimsum.
Sienna Hooper says
I've been wanting to tackle dim sum for too long because this is one of my favorites. Surely, you've convinced me to re-create this recipe today. Thanks for sharing.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness says
I have never made dumplings before, but you are definitely convincing me to! I think my favourite part would also be that they are freezable too 🙂
swathi says
I am planing to make dismshum dish for long time . I need to try this these perfect flavorful appetizer. Your recipe sounds really simple .
Heather says
These look amazing ! I love that you use ginger and carrots .. they are one of my favorite combinations. These look perfectly plump and delicious and seasoned beautifully.
Karyl Henry says
I love to order shumai at restaurants, but I've never been brave enough to tackle them at home. But this looks super simple, and I won't screw up the wrapper like I do with dumplings!
Lauren says
These look so delicious! I have never had a Dimsum dish before, but I will definitely be giving this a try!
Marisa Franca says
The dumplings are adorable!! I've been wanting to purchase a steamer for the longest time just so I could make the dumplings. You make it look so easy. I'll be keeping my eye out for a bamboo steamer.
Karyn says
These look so tasty and would make a nice change to the boring dinners I have been eating lately and they don't look too difficult.. Very nice photos too
Jennifer says
I love dim sum but have never attempted it at home! I can't wait to try this, the flavors sound amazing, it the presentation is beautiful!
Claudia Lamascolo says
I can just imagine how flavorful these are by reading the ingredients. I have never had them but surely would love to . these flavors are everything we love and they are so creatively made!
Cora Dupras says
My husband loves dimsum and this is one of his favorite dish as well. I cant wait to try this at home... surely he'll love this recipe.
Chelsea Fowler says
Shumai..shumai... my fave dimsum of all time. Im going to try this recipe later, but first I need to grab some ingredients. Thank you for sharing
Pamela Murillo says
I'm so loving this shrimp shumai, this is one of my favorite dimsum food. I can smell the flavorful taste of these momos thru my PC.
singdong says
These momos are looking very tasty and have a great taste.
Bernice A says
I created this recipe last weekend and they are soo good!! I mostly eyeballs the ingredients but still came out delectable and delicious. My family loves it.
Esther C. Hickman says
I love the combination of this Shu Mai - they look so good and delectable. I'm glad to find your recipe and I cant wait to try this dish on weekend.
Crystal Dennings says
I missed these Dimsum dishes in HK. This is the dish that we would never missed to order when we are eating at a Chinese Dim Sum place. Too yummy!!
Connie J says
This is one of my favorite dimsum dish, thanks for sharing the recipe. I cant wait to try these at home.