Siu Mai (Pork and Prawn Dumplings)
Juicy open-topped yum cha dumplings filled with pork, prawn and shiitake mushroom, wrapped in yellow wonton skins and steamed in 10 minutes. Easier to fold than any other dumpling.
Ingredients
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 300g pork mince (not too lean)
- 200g raw peeled prawns, deveined
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tsp finely grated ginger
- 24 round yellow wonton wrappers (or square ones, trimmed)
- Diced carrot or fish roe, to decorate
Instructions
- Soak the shiitake in hot water for 20 minutes until soft. Squeeze dry, discard the stems and finely dice the caps.
- Cut half the prawns into 1cm pieces and finely chop the rest. Pat them dry with paper towel.
- Put the pork, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir hard in one direction with chopsticks for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and stringy. This gives siu mai their springy, bouncy texture.
- Add the chopped prawns, mushroom, oyster sauce, soy, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine, white pepper, cornflour and ginger. Stir in the same direction for another minute until well combined. Chill for 15 minutes if you have time.
- Make a circle with your thumb and index finger and lay a wrapper over it. Place a heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre and push it down into the circle, letting the wrapper pleat up around the sides. Squeeze gently to form a cylinder, flatten the top with a wet knife and tap the base on the bench so it stands up. Top with a little carrot or roe.
- Line a bamboo steamer with baking paper punched with holes or a few cabbage leaves. Arrange the siu mai 2cm apart.
- Steam over a wok of rapidly boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until the filling is cooked through and firm. Serve hot with chilli oil or soy sauce.
About this dish
Siu mai (燒賣) are the open-topped dumplings that every yum cha trolley carries, alongside char siu bao and steamed rice rolls. The filling of pork, prawn and shiitake is seasoned with oyster sauce and white pepper, and the yellow egg wrapper is simply gathered around it, not sealed.
That makes siu mai the easiest dumpling to fold at home. If you have tried our gyoza or pork and chive jiaozi, you will find these much faster. Make a double batch and freeze half for a quick weekday yum cha.
Tips for the best result
- Stirring the pork in one direction until sticky is the secret to a bouncy filling. Don't skip it.
- Keep some prawn in larger pieces for texture, and make sure the prawns are dry, or the filling turns wet.
- Use pork mince with some fat (about 20%). Lean mince steams up dry.
- Keep unused wrappers under a damp tea towel so they don't dry out and crack.
Substitutions
- Wrappers: yellow Hong Kong-style wonton wrappers are traditional. Gow gee or white wonton wrappers work too.
- Prawn-free: use all pork plus 2 extra mushrooms, or swap the prawns for chicken thigh mince.
- Fish roe: flying fish roe is traditional; diced carrot, a pea or goji berries look just as good.
Storage and freezing
Freeze uncooked siu mai on a lined tray until solid, then bag them. They keep for 2 months. Steam from frozen for 12-14 minutes. Cooked siu mai keep in the fridge for 2 days; re-steam for 4-5 minutes.
Siu mai FAQs
What is the difference between siu mai and har gow?
Siu mai have a pork and prawn filling in an open yellow wheat wrapper. Har gow are all prawn, sealed inside a translucent wheat starch wrapper.
How do I know siu mai are cooked?
The filling turns opaque and firm, the prawns turn pink, and the internal temperature reaches 75°C. Cut one open to check the first time.
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