Juicy pork and prawn filling wrapped in a thin wonton wrapper, these are the best siu mai you’ll ever make and they taste exactly like Dim Sum

What are Siu Mai?

Siu mai (aka Shumai, Shāo Mài, 烧卖) is a traditional Chinese dumpling originating from Cantonese cuisine typically served at Yum Cha (or Dim Sum in the US). They are typically made of pork and prawn, but there are different variations depending on the region of China.

Essentially it is a cup-shaped dumpling with an open top filled with a mixture of proteins, and other ingredients like mushrooms, vegetables, or even glutinous rice.

Ingredients

Proteins

• Pork shoulder: Pork shoulder is a great cut of meat to use for shumai as it has a good ratio of fat and lean meat. You can also use pork neck for a leaner sui mai. Pork belly will also work great
• White shrimp: Use medium or large shrimp for this recipe. The bigger the shrimp the better the mouthfeel or bounce in your siu mai
• Pork fat: Pork fat helps to give the sui mai a juicer texture, and better mouthfeel. Pork lard also works great here.
• Shiitake mushroom: I use dried and soaked shiitake mushrooms as they have a delicious flavor and fragrance
• Dried scallops: If you have dried scallops on hand soak them and add them for extra flavor. This is optional but adds to a great-tasting siu mai

Seasonings

• Salt: Salt is important as you need it to season the siu mai. We’ve tested this recipe for the perfect amount of salt
• Sugar: Sugar helps to balance out the flavor and add a touch of sweetness
• White pepper: White pepper adds a delicious depth of flavor to your dish
• YumYum: This is my special blend of MSG which helps to enhance the flavor of the dish to bring it to a whole nother level. If you don’t have any you can purchase it here, or use MSG instead
• Chicken bouillon powder: Chicken powder adds more flavor to the dish, bringing another layer of umami
• Shaoxing wine: Shaoxing wine is important as it removes the pork flavor from the siu mai filling. It also adds a delicious fragrance
• Sesame oil: Sesame oil adds a nutty aroma to the filling
• Potato starch: Potato starch absorbs the moisture from the filling and helps to bind the ingredients together
• Tobiko: Aka flying fish roe, this just adds a pop of color to the tops of your dumplings. If you don’t have any on hand you can also use a little grated carrot

How to make siu mai

Roughly chop up the pork shoulder with your knife. Make sure you don’t chop it up too finely as you want to feel the individual chunks of pork.

Then add the pork to a mixing bowl and knead the pork for about 7 minutes until it becomes sticky. You should be able to see white strands of protein on the sides of your bowl.

Add the prawns, mushrooms, and seasoning to the pork mixture, and continue to knead until the mixture forms a ball.

Cut the wonton wrappers into an octagonal shape like above.

Add 1 tbsp of filling to the center of a wonton wrapper using a fork. Then gently press it into the center.

Form an “O” with your thumb and first finger and place the siu mai into the center. This forces the sides of the sui mai to fold up and take shape.

Squeeze the sides of the sui mai to compact the filling, and then use the fork to press down the top of the sui mai.

Top the sui mai with flying fish roe, or a little bit of grated carrot. Then place them in a steamer lined with a piece of baking paper. Make sure the baking paper has holes cut out as this helps the sui mai cook evenly.

Steam them in a bamboo steamer or any kind of steamer for 10-12 minutes, or until they are completely cooked through.

Pork and Prawn Siu Mai

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Print Recipe

Juicy pork and prawn filling wrapped in a thin wonton wrapper, these are the best siu mai you’ll ever make and they taste exactly like Dim Sum

• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 20 Siu mai 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Filling

• 21oz/500g Pork shoulder, finely diced
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 12 White shrimp (150g/5.3 oz)
• 100g/3.5oz Pork lard
• 4 Shiitake mushrooms, soaked until softened
• 8 Small dried scallops, soaked until softened
• 1/2 tsp White pepper
• 1/2 tsp YumYum, aka MSG
• 1/2 tsp Chicken bouillon powder
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp Sesame oil
• 1 tbsp Potato starch
• 4 tbsp Tobiko, flying fish roe (optional)

Assembly

• 20 Wonton skins

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Instructions

1. Add the pork shoulder, salt, and sugar to a large bowl and knead with your hands until the meat becomes sticky, this should take about 7 minutes
2. To speed up the process you can use a food processor or an electric mixer
3. Add prawns and continue to knead for 4 minutes, the mixture should be sticky enough to form a ball
4. Add the pork lard and potato starch, and knead until combined
5. Add the white pepper, Yumyum, chicken bouillion powder, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, mushroom and scallops and knead for another 3 minutes
6. Cover the mixture with cling wrap and let it chill overnight

To Assemble

1. Remove the chilled filling from the fridge
2. Use a rolling pin to slightly flatten your wonton wrappers, making the skin slightly bigger
3. Using a knife cut the wonton skins into an octagon
4. Take a wonton wrapper and place 1 tbsp of filling in the center
5. Form an “O” shape with your thumb and first finger
6. Place the wonton wrapper with filling in the center of the ring and use a fork to slowly push the filling into the “O”
7. The sides of the wrapper will naturally fold upwards to form that siu mai shape
8. Flatten the top of the siu mai with the butter knife and place it on a tray lined with baking paper
9. Repeat for the rest of the filling and skins, you should make 20 siu mai
10. Meanwhile, line a steamer with a circle of baking paper, make sure there are holes cut in the baking paper to prevent condensation and the siu mai sticking
11. Heat a large pot or wok filled halfway with water
12. Place your desired amount of siu mai in the steamer and steam for 10-12 minutes
13. Store any leftover siu mai in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks

• Author: Vincent Yeow Lim
• Prep Time: 1 hour
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Dumplings
• Method: Intermediate
• Cuisine: Chinese

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 5 Siu Mai
• Calories: 562
• Sugar: 0.3 g
• Sodium: 1298 mg
• Fat: 7.9 g
• Carbohydrates: 86.8 g
• Protein: 32.7 g
• Cholesterol: 88.2 mg