Shrimp Shumai
A dim sum must-have, these delicious pork and shrimp shumai are easy to make at home and perfect for dipping into soy sauce and chili oil.
Steamed shrimp shumai are a thing of beauty. Springy, juicy, and wonderfully tender, shrimp shumai are an absolute delight.
Shumai, like a lot of dumplings, may seem intimidating to make at home if you never have before, when in reality, they are very easy to make.
I like to double this recipe, place uncooked shumai into a plastic bag and freeze. On days when I don’t feel like cooking, there is no greater joy than opening my freezer to see frozen shumai staring back at me.
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What are shrimp shumai
Shrimp shumai, also called siu mai or shaomai, are a popular Cantonese dumpling. This style of dim sum is shaped like a cup, open faced, and always steamed.
In China, there are many variations of fillings including pork, lamb, beef, shrimp, mushrooms, vegetables, etc.
Store bought dumpling wrappers
We’re using ready made store bought wrappers. Shumai wrappers are yellow in color and much thinner than other kinds.
We were unable to fund shumai wrappers so we used wonton wrappers with the corners cut off. This is another good choice because they are thin.
How to make shumai
Let’s get into how to make this delicious homestyle dim sum. The first step is to make your dumpling filling.
We’re using diced up shrimp and pork for our meat. The pork fat is crucial here and makes for a moist dumpling.
Combine these two in a bowl. Finely chop garlic, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms and add those. The shiitakes need to soak in water for a bit to rehydrate them. Save a few tablespoons of the mushroom water and add that into your filling bowl.
Next, add a pinch of sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, and cornstarch. Mix together for several minutes until everything is nicely incorporated and the mixture should be sticky.
Remove your wrappers from the packaging and wrap in a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out.
Make a circle with your hand by touching your pointer finger to your thumb. Place a wrapper on top of the circle and put roughly a tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper.
Let the edges of the wrapper come together and add a little more filling to fill it up. Level off the filling with a flat end of a utensil.
Next, line your bamboo steamer (feel free to use a stainless steel steamer if you don’t have one) with parchment paper and place in a shallow pot with boiling water. Add the dumplings to the steamer basket and steam for 7 minutes.
Shrimp Shumai Calories
There are approximately 80 calories in shrimp shumai.
What Is Shrimp Shumai
Shumai or siu mai is a Cantonese steamed dumpling.
What Is The Difference Between Shumai Vs Gyoza
Shumai is filled with pork or shrimp and gyoza is meat and vegetables.
What Are The Calories In Dim Sum
Calories range from 100 – 500 depending on variety.
Shrimp Shumai
Equipment
- 1 bamboo steamer or stainless steel steamer
Ingredients
- 20 shumai wrappers or wonton wrappers
For the filling
- ½ lb ground pork
- 8 oz raw shrimp
- 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in water and minced see note 1
- 2 tbsp mushroom liquid
- 1 2 inch knob of ginger minced
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- pinch of sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Recipe Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all the filling ingredients and stir using chopsticks or a spatula for 5 minutes or everything is combined.
- Place roughly a tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Let the wrapper sit in the hole formed by your index finger and thumb. Top with more filling, using a spatula or spoon end to flatten the filling.
- Cut out a round piece of parchment paper to fit into your steamer basket. Put a couple cups of water into a large pan and bring to a boil. Carefully place your bamboo steamer in the water with shumai inside.
- Let steam for 7 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Soak your dried shiitakes in cold water overnight or in hot water for 30 minutes until soft. Save some of the water for the filling.
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