Siu Mai

This siu mai recipe, made with pork and shrimp, can stand up to any siu mai from any dim sum restaurant! They’ll transport you to those big dim sum halls of old, filled with push carts, the smell of warm aromatic steam, and the din of dozens of families enjoying a weekend brunch together. 

Our aunt, who is notoriously critical of any recipe she encounters, had no changes to make to it and said they were some of the best she’s ever had. If that’s not a hearty endorsement, I don’t know what is!

What Are Siu Mai?

Siu Mai (also sometimes spelled shu mai or shumai, though siu mai is closer to the proper Cantonese pronunciation) are steamed dumplings usually filled with pork and shrimp.

The siu mai wrappers are thin and delicate, and the filling has a toothsome texture and savory flavor.

You’ll see them served in a dim sum setting (diǎnxīn in Mandarin – 点心). “Dim Sum” literally means “to touch the heart,” and refers to the style of meal in which small, delicate dishes—both sweet and savory—are served family-style along with hot tea.

Growing up, we called this meal “yum cha,” which means “to drink tea” in Cantonese. Dim sum originated in Southern China—in Guangdong Province—and is also very popular in nearby Hong Kong.

Siu mai are a classic and well-known dim sum item—perhaps the most well-known!

Our 1-year Cookbook Anniversary

This Siu Mai recipe is the first recipe from our debut cookbook, The Woks of Life: Recipes to Know and Love from a Chinese American Family, which was published exactly 1 year ago today!

We can’t believe the book has been out there for a year already, but it’s been amazing to see so many of you cooking from it and enjoying it. It was such a journey writing it as a family—from developing the recipes (and testing them even MORE thoroughly than our blog recipes) to getting to know each other better while writing and editing our individual essays.

In honor of this occasion, we thought we’d share the very first recipe to appear in the book—this siu mai recipe. If you haven’t gotten your copy of The Woks of Life yet, order it from any of the links below! 

Can You Really Make Dim Sum at Home? 

Yes, yes you can! 

We included an entire dim sum chapter in our cookbook, because it’s such a beloved Chinese food experience, and many of you are familiar with these items. 

We don’t blame you for doubting that you can make them yourself. Many dim sum dishes are pretty intricate, and some are more difficult to make than others. However, this siu mai recipe is surprisingly simple, and very much achievable. 

I call it a “confidence-building” recipe, because it’s easy enough even for a novice cook to make, but the results are so tasty and on-the-money, you might be shocked that it was you who made it. Once you’ve had your first batch of freshly steamed pork and shrimp siu mai, you’ll feel empowered and perhaps tempted to try another recipe! 

Recipe Notes 

There are several key prep points to this recipe! 

1. You can use a stand mixer if you have one: A proper siu mai filling has a sticky, paste-like texture that’s well-emulsified. This gives the little dumplings that characteristic “snap” when you bite into them. You can hand-mix the filling, but if you have a stand mixer in your kitchen, use it! It makes the filling process that much simpler. You can use this for any emulsified dumpling or bun filling. 
2. You don’t need expensive extra large shrimp: You can use medium to large shrimp here rather than more expensive jumbo or larger shrimp. You’ll be mixing the shrimp into the filling, so save your money and buy the less expensive smaller shrimp from the grocery store. 
3. Get a pop of color with a simple garnish: Traditional siu mai are often garnished with bright orange fish roe for a nice color and presentation. Since that’s not an ingredient your average home cook shops for everyday, I’m using very finely minced carrot instead! You could also use frozen green peas. 
4. Use Thin Hong-Kong-style Dumpling or Wonton Wrappers: No need to make wrappers from scratch here. Look for yellow-colored “Hong-Kong-style” dumpling wrappers (round) or wonton wrappers (square). The round wrappers are preferred, but if you can only find the square wrappers, you’ll just fold down the edges and squeeze them to the sides of the siu mai. No biggie. 
5. Scale up as needed and freeze some for later: This recipe makes about 2 dozen siu mai, but if you want to scale the recipe up (1.5x or 2x, for instance—don’t go too much larger than that, or the filling may not fit in your stand mixer), you can do so using the slider in the recipe card. Just click/tap on the number of servings in the recipe card to reveal the slider. These siu mai freeze very well in parchment-lined airtight containers, so you can freeze them to enjoy later. 

Okay, I think that’s everything. Let’s make siu mai! 

Siu Mai Recipe Instructions

MAKE THE FILLING: 

Soak the shiitake mushrooms in the hot water for 2 hours (or overnight) until fully rehydrated. Squeeze any excess water out of the mushrooms. Trim away any tough stems, and very finely chop the mushrooms—you should have about ¼ cup.

Add the shrimp to a medium bowl, and toss them with 1 teaspoon of the sugar, the baking soda, and the 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside for 15 minutes, then rinse the shrimp in a colander under running water until the water runs clear. Drain.

Meanwhile, to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or just a large mixing bowl, if mixing by hand), add the ground pork, the remaining tablespoon sugar, the cornstarch, Shaoxing wine, salt, and white pepper.

Mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes, or until the mixture resembles a paste that sticks to the sides of the bowl. (Alternatively, mix vigorously in one direction with a pair of chopsticks by hand for 10 to 15 minutes until you get the same result.)

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the shrimp, and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and beat until the shrimp is well incorporated into the pork, another 2 minutes. (If mixing by hand, roughly chop the shrimp, add them to the pork, and mix in one direction for 10 minutes.)

 Add the chopped mushrooms, the neutral oil, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.

Mix on medium speed for 1 minute (or by hand for 2 to 3 minutes).

ASSEMBLE THE SIU MAI: 

Line a bamboo steamer with perforated parchment paper, damp cheesecloth, or thin cabbage leaves. Take one wrapper and place a tablespoon of filling in the middle. Squeeze the sides of the wrapper up around the edges of the filling to create an open-topped pocket.

Use a butter knife to continue filling the wrapper until you’ve stuffed it to the top with filling. Then scrape the top flat. If using square wrappers, fold over any excess wrapper and squeeze the wrappers to the sides of the siu mai.

Continue until you’ve assembled all the siu mai. Transfer them to the lined steamer basket as you go, 1 inch (2.5cm) apart. (Place any siu mai that don’t fit in the steamer on a parchment-lined plate or sheet pan to cook in later batches or freeze.) Top the center of each siu mai with a small amount of the minced carrot.

STEAM THE SIU MAI: 

Fill a wok with enough water to submerge the bottom rim of your bamboo steamer by ½ inch (you may need to add more boiling water during steaming to keep the water at this level). Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Place the covered steamer in the wok and steam each batch over medium heat for 9 minutes.

You can eat these without a dipping sauce, or serve with the chili oil or chili garlic sauce.

To store these in the freezer, place them on a parchment-lined tray, cover, and freeze solid (8 hours, or overnight). Then transfer to an airtight container, and freeze for up to 3 months at best quality.

To steam from frozen, there is no need to thaw beforehand. Just cook for an additional 1-2 minutes in the steamer!

(Nutritional information, along with the full list of ingredients, quantities, and condensed instructions, available in the recipe card below.)