Pork & Shrimp Dumplings (Shao Mai/Siu Mai)
- Nov 4, 2025
- 1 min read
This is the staple steamed pork and shrimp dumpling that you'll find at every and any dim sum restaurant around. In Mandarin it's called 'Shao Mai' and in Cantonese, 'Siu Mai.' It's relatively easy to make, especially after your first attempt (aren't most recipes that way?). The fresher the shrimp, the better, and if you can find 'Shao Mai' wrappers at your local Asian market, well then, fantastic! Otherwise, regular square wonton wrappers will do - just trim off those square corners to make them more round, and voila! Lastly, DO NOT OVERCOOK these guys. I steam them over high heat for about 4-5 minutes only and let them rest a couple more minutes (off the heat) before serving. Shao Mai can be made in advance and frozen in a Ziploc-type bag in a single layer, so they don't stick together. I've taken some direction from the excellent folks at www.woksoflife.com. Their use of a stand mixer instead of hand mixing is genius! I use a lot less sugar in the meat mixture than they do, but that's just my taste.
Note on the sauce:
*If you can only find square wonton wrappers, just cut off the tips of the corners to make them more rounded.
Notes
1
Place the dried shiitakes into a medium bowl and cover with hot water; let sit 30 minutes or until the mushrooms are rehydrated. Squeeze lightly dry and place on a chopping board; cut off stem and cut the caps into small dice; set aside.
2
To tenderize the shrimp: place the peeled, deveined raw shrimp into a bowl and mix with 1 tsp. baking soda and 4 tbsp. water; let sit for 15 minutes then rinse the shrimp well in a colander under running water; drain and cut the shrimp into halves or thirds and set aside.
3
Place the ground pork in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment; add the rice wine, salt, white pepper, sugar and cornstarch. Mix the pork at medium low for 5 minutes or until the pork is pasty in texture. Mixing with chopsticks or fork in one direction for 10-15 minutes will achieve the same texture but it's a lot more labor intensive.
4
Scrape down the bowl and add the coarsely chopped shrimp. Turn the mixer on low speed for 2 minutes; increase speed to medium and mix another 2 minutes (or mix by hand in one direction for 10 minutes).
5
Add the chopped shiitake mushrooms, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tbsp sesame oil and 1 tbsp oyster sauce; mix at medium speed for 1 minute (or 2-3 minutes by hand).
6
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper; set aside.
7
Fill a small bowl with water. Place a shao mai wrapper in the center of your palm and scoop one heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Then, dip the index finger of your free hand into the bowl of water and blot the outer edges of the shao mai wrapper with water (this will help it adhere to the filling). Slowly, fold up and twist the wrapper, just a tad counterclockwise, around the filling, then tamp the bottom of the dumpling down on a flat surface, such as a cutting board, to make it flat. Place the finished dumpling on the lined baking sheet. Continue making dumplings until all the filling is used up - should make a total of about 30 dumplings. Garnish each with some minced carrot and/or small orange fish roe (e.g., tobiko).
8
Spray the bottom of a perforated steamer with non-stick cooking spray. Line with dumplings and steam over high heat about 8-9 minutes. Remove the steamer tray from heat and let the dumplings sit a couple minutes before serving.
9
Serve hot with chili garlic sauce, chili oil, Chinese mustard and/or light soy sauce on the side.
Instructions
2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms (should measure 1/3 cup diced after rehydrated)
8 oz peeled & deveined shrimp
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp cold water
1 lb ground pork
1 tbsp Shaohsing or rice wine
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch
Pork Mixture
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Seasoning
One 12-oz package Shao Mai or wonton wrappers*
Finely shredded carrot or flying fish roe (Tobiko)
Garnish
Chili garlic sauce
Light soy sauce
Chili oil
Chinese sweet hot mustard
Condiments
Pork & Shrimp Dumplings (Shao Mai/Siu Mai)
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Prep Time
30 min
Cooking Time
10 min
Rest Time
2 min
Total Time
42 min
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