Siu Mai (Authentic Cantonese Pork and Shrimp Dumpling)
No green peas on board! Hong Kong Dim Sum with Shrimp and Ground Meat
Description
The 'green pea' on top of Japanese Shumai was invented for Japanese school lunches purely for color. Authentic Cantonese Dim Sum 'Siu Mai' uses thin yellow wrappers packed with a wildly meaty filling of hand-chopped pork and shrimp, topped elegantly with 'crab roe (or Tobiko)'.
Restaurants serving Siu Mai (Authentic Cantonese Pork and Shrimp Dumpling)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Pork butt(hand-chopped)
- Peeled shrimp
- Pork back fat
- Shumai wrappers(yellow)
- Crab roe(or Tobiko)
- Sesame oil
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Filling) Do not process pork into a paste like Japanese Shumai. Hand-chop pork butt and shrimp with a cleaver into coarse 'dice' (this creates overwhelming bouncy meatiness).
- Add salt, sugar, white pepper, sesame oil, starch, and 'pork back fat'. Slap the mixture violently into the bowl to develop extreme sticky elasticity. Unlike Japan, absolutely no onions are used.
- (Wrappers) Use special 'ultra-thin yellow wrappers' made with lye water and eggs.
- Form a cylinder with your left hand, packing the filling tightly, leaving the top completely open.
- Top with 'Crab roe (Xie Huang)' or 'Tobiko (flying fish roe)' for color and umami. (NEVER use a green pea).
- Steam on high in a bamboo basket for
- mins.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Direct pork/shrimp umami、Sesame oil
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese chilled Shumai (lacks the chunky meat and shrimp flavor)
Pairing
Oolong Tea / Pu'er Tea
Trivia
[Trivia] Loved worldwide. Japan's Kiyoken Shumai evolved to taste good cold in bento boxes using scallop extract. Authentic Cantonese Siu Mai operates on a different vector: 'eaten piping hot from the steamer to enjoy massive, chunky meatiness'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] While dipping in vinegar/soy/mustard like Japan is fine, at authentic Dim Sum restaurants, it is seasoned perfectly inside. Eat it completely plain to experience the 'intensely bouncy' texture of the meat and shrimp.
Allergen
Pork, Shrimp, Wheat, Eggs