I usually position my ring finger underneath the dumpling to help form the base. Use you left hand to shape the dumpling as you pack in the filling with the butter knife. Once the filling is on the wrapper, position the dumpling over the crook of your left hand. I usually use a butter knife to scoop the filling onto a wrapper, but you can also use a spoon. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling on the center of a dumpling skin. I think they provide a better color contrast, but they are not necessary.

In my photos, you’ll see that I used yellow dumpling wrappers, which are made by Twin Marquis. If your wrappers are larger than that, you can use a circular cookie cutter to cut out a smaller circle. I prefer shumai wrappers to be about 3 1/4 inches in diameter. It is fine if you cannot find that particular brand. The New Hong Kong Noodle Company makes wrappers specifically for shumai (labeled “Su My Wraps”) You want to use thin, round dumpling wrappers for the shumai. All you need to do is prep the filling, stuff it into dumpling wrappers and steam. Of all the dumplings in Chinese cuisine, shumai are one of the easier ones to make. Japanese shumai look very similar to Cantonese siu mai.īecause the Cantonese pork dumplings are most commonly spelled as “shumai” in English, that is how I’ll refer to them for the rest of the post. The word “ shumai ” probably derives from the Japanese version of steamed pork dumplings. Northern-style shao mai are often filled with sticky rice and mince meat and they are shaped like a vase (they have a narrow neck and a wider base). Not only are they pronounced differently, Northern-style shao mai look different as well. Shao mai is the Mandarin pronunciation of the pork dumplings. Other additional ingredients may include ginger, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, wood ear, and water chestnuts. They’re round and the filling is wrapped in circular dumpling skins. Cantonese-style siu mai are the version that most people are familiar with. If you are vaguely familiar with these steamed pork dumplings, you may have noticed various spellings for them in English. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHUMAI, SIU MAI & SHAO MAI?

Carbs in traditional dim sum dumplings