Kitchen Recipe Collection
Siu Mai (Pork and Shrimp Dumplings)
The crown jewel of Cantonese dim sum. Open-faced dumplings filled with a bouncy, intensely savory mixture of hand-minced pork, shrimp, and shiitake mushrooms.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cuisine
- Chinese
Ingredients
Scaled for 4 servings
- 300g fatty pork shoulder or butt (do not use lean ground pork)
- 150g shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and finely chopped
- 1 pack square wonton wrappers
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- Fish roe (tobiko) or finely diced carrot for garnish
Equipment
- Bamboo steamer
- Parchment paper liners
- Round cookie cutter (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Mince Pork
Hand-chop the pork butt into very small pieces. Hand-chopping gives a much better, bouncy texture than pre-ground meat.
- 2
Chop Shrimp
Roughly chop the shrimp, leaving some larger chunks for texture.
- 3
Mix Meat
Combine pork, shrimp, soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch, and pepper.
- 4
Beat the Filling
Stir vigorously in one direction. Then, pick up the mixture and throw it down into the bowl repeatedly (about 20 times) until it becomes a sticky paste.
- 5
Fold in Mushrooms
Gently fold in the finely chopped shiitake mushrooms.
- 6
Trim Wrappers
Take the square wonton wrappers and cut off the four corners to make them roughly circular.
- 7
Form the Cup
Make an 'O' shape with your thumb and index finger. Place a wrapper over the hole and push 1 tbsp of filling down into it.
- 8
Stuff
Squeeze gently to form a cylinder, leaving the top open so the filling is exposed. Flatten the bottom.
- 9
Garnish
Place a tiny dab of orange fish roe or a tiny cube of carrot in the center of the exposed filling.
- 10
Prepare Steamer
Line a bamboo steamer with perforated parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- 11
Steam
Place the dumplings in the steamer, leaving a little space between them. Steam over high boiling water for exactly 8-10 minutes.
- 12
Serve Hot
Remove and serve immediately. They are typically eaten without dipping sauce as they are heavily seasoned.
Cooking Tips
- Throwing the meat against the bowl breaks down the proteins and creates the signature 'bouncy' texture of professional dim sum.
- Fat is crucial. Using lean pork will result in dry, hard dumplings. You need at least 20-30% fat.
Variations
- Chicken Siu Mai: Halal version using ground chicken thigh and shrimp.
- Quail Egg Siu Mai: Place a whole hard-boiled quail egg inside the center of the dumpling.
Nutrition Estimate
340 calories · 18g protein · 22g carbs · 18g fat · 1g fiber per serving
