The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (2024)

2 May 2020

Last updated by Wes Radez on | 9

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This recipe is part of our collection of Steamed Dim Sum Dishes. Sign up for our newsletter to get recipes, dining tips and restaurant reviews throughout the year!

Traditional siu mai are filled exclusively with chopped pork, though some restaurants will include shrimp in the filling. Siu mai are wrapped in a fresh pasta skin that is left open, so that the filling peeks out of the top of the dumpling when served at the table.

Pork siu mai are one of the “Guangdong Big Three,” along with shrimp dumplings and steamed pork buns, a true staple of the original Cantonese dim sum tradition. The quality of a restaurant’s siu mai says a lot about how seriously it takes its dim sum.

Whether at the restaurant or at home, making great siu mai is all about the filling, which should retain a bright, fresh crunch out of the steamer. Start with the recipe below and then tweak to suit your own taste.

Can you share any expert tips from your experience making pork siu mai? Want to ask a question before you try making it yourself? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Pork Siu Mai Recipe

Makes: 30 | Prep Time: 30 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Adapted From: The Food of China: A Journey for Food Lovers

Ingredients

6 ounces shrimp
1/2 cup peeled water chestnuts
1 pound ground pork
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped ginger
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons cornstarch
30 square or round egg dumpling wrappers

Directions

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, squeeze out as much moisture as possible and then roughly chop.

2. Blanch the water chestnuts for 1 minute, drop into cold water and then roughly chop.

3. Combine the shrimp, water chestnuts and the remaining filling ingredients (everything except the wrappers) in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.

4. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper. Form a circle with your thumb and forefinger and shape the dumpling, so that it forms a fat cylinder with an open top. Pat the top and bottom of the dumpling to create flat surfaces on either end.

5. Steam the dumplings standing up in bamboo steamers on top of oiled paper punched with holes for 15 minutes. Serve with soy sauce or chili sauce for dipping.

Learn more about Pork Siu Mai from these Experts

Watch Cooking Tips TV rather adoringly make Pork Siu Mai from their Hong Kong studio (VIDEO)
Thirsty for Tea makes Pork Siu Mai
The Dumpling Sisters make Pork Siu Mai in their home kitchen

HT: Photo by young via Wikimedia Commons.

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About The Author
Hi! I’m Wes, a dim sum lover in Oakland, California. I launched Dim Sum Central as a hobby and I’ve loved watching it grow to become an online home for people around the world who are passionate about eating and making dim sum! Get started »

The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (3)

The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (4)

The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (5)

9 Responses

  1. The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (6)
    • The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (7)
      Dim Sum Central

      |Reply

      Hi Boo, thanks for your note. If you’ll please look in the recipe ingredients, you’ll find the amount noted: 1lb of ground pork! ~Wes

  2. The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (8)
    Kathleen QuongVermeire

    |Reply

    Can i use rice paper as the wrapper.
    I have celic and cannot tolerant wheat

    • The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (9)
      Dim Sum Central

      |Reply

      I’m not sure, Kathleen! Give it a try and let us know! ~Wes

  3. The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (10)
    Inez

    |Reply

    I can’t eat shrimp. Can I replace the shrimp with 6 oz of more pork

    • The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (11)
      Wes Radez

      |Reply

      Hi Inez, yes, you can do that. In fact, all-pork variations of pork sui mai are quite common. The difference you may notice is that the final product is just very…dense and meaty. You may want to break up the consistency of the filling with Chinese mushrooms or water chestnuts. ~Wes

  4. The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (12)
    Rosalina Fletcher

    |Reply

    Hi Wes. I can’t shrimp. Can I replace it with fish instead.

    • The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (13)
      Wes Radez

      |Reply

      That should work, Rosalina. Use a firm fish that will hold together well. ~Wes

  5. The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (14)
    Camilla

    |Reply

    Great recipe. I’ve been using it for almost a year!

Leave a Reply

The Best Pork Siu Mai Recipe | Dim Sum Central (2024)

FAQs

What is the orange dot on the siu mai? ›

The center is usually garnished with an orange dot, made of crab roe or diced carrot, although a green dot made with a pea may be used. The decorative presentations vary. A fish paste variety of siumaai is sold as a popular street food in Hong Kong, usually alongside curry fishballs.

What's the difference between shumai and dim sum? ›

The differences between them are the appearance, wrappers and fillings. Dumplings usually have a closed and sealed shape. They can come in various shapes such as crescent, half-moon with pleated edges. On the other hand, shumai has an open top shape with filling exposed at the top.

What is shumai sauce made of? ›

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).

What is siew mai made of? ›

The Story Behind Siew Mai

This delectable dumpling is characterised by its open-topped, cylindrical shape with a thin wrapper, usually made from a mix of wheat and tapioca starch. The filling typically consists of ground pork, shrimp, mushrooms, and seasonings like soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger.

Are siu mai healthy? ›

Fish siu mai

A seven-piece serving packs 12 grams of fat and about 300 calories – more than twice as many in a bowl of cooked rice. Adding soy sauce and other condiments to make the siu mai more flavourful results in more sodium being consumed, depending on how much is added.

Why is siu mai yellow? ›

Cheong explains that the color of siu mai is typically due to artificial flavoring, and only rarely do restaurants engage in the traditional practice of dipping the dumpling in egg yolk to give it that signature yellow color.

What is the orange on top of shumai? ›

The better quality shumais will likely use a fish roe as a topper, which steams into tiny orange pearls. You won't taste it; it's purely ornamental. Some dim sum parlors, however, may choose to save money by using minced carrots or dried goji berries. Other times you may see shumai topped with a green pea.

What is a shumai in English? ›

Ans — Small steamed dumplings, typically stuffed with meat or seafood and vegetables.

What do you eat with shumai? ›

I would serve Siu Mai (Shu Mai) with perfectly fried Fried Shrimp Balls , Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce (my go-to vegetable dish at Dim Sum) and some kind of Fried Rice! If you are in the mood for more dumplings, I would make my Pork and Chive Dumplings!

What is Chinese special sauce? ›

Nowadays it's made out of a base of salty liquid, such as soy sauce, with sugar and a mix of spices. And it's not just a marinade — it's also used to finish the dish once it's cooked. Lu is the secret sauce at the heart of many Chinese family cuisines. To Peter, his Lu sauce is also a heritage from his beloved mother.

Can you boil dumplings instead of steaming? ›

Before you even start making your dumplings, first think about how you want to cook them. There are three basic ways: steaming, boiling, and steam-frying. There is also deep-frying or serving with a crispy lacy “skirt.”

What is hoisin sauce used for? ›

Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured, sweet and salty. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic.

What is siu mai in Chinese? ›

Shumai (燒賣) are steamed pork dumplings that are perennial favorites at dim sum.

Is pork hash the same as siu mai? ›

Differences Between Shumai And Pork Hash

Traditional shumai dumplings blend minced pork and shrimp with mushrooms, aromatics like garlic, ginger, green onions, and occasionally glutinous rice. Pork hash uses ground pork and diced shrimp blended with soy, oyster sauce, sesame oil, green onion, and garlic.

Why does Kokichi call Shuichi shumai? ›

He also once called Shuichi "Shumai", as a parody to Kaito's "Maki Roll" nickname for Maki. Kokichi enjoys his company, finding him one of the most interesting person in the group and praises him often.

How do you know when siomai is cooked? ›

Steam until the filling inside the siomai reaches 165 °F (74 °C) with an instant read thermometer.

What is the Chinese symbol for dim sum? ›

Dim sum (traditional Chinese: 點心; simplified Chinese: 点心; pinyin: diǎn xīn; Jyutping: dim2 sam1) is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch.

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