Content

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1. Why This Recipe Works
2. Ingredients Required
3. How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking
4. Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
5. A Few Tips From My Kitchen 
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid 
7. Variations
8. More Recipes to Try

Why This Recipe Works

• Classic Cantonese taste: Pork belly, shrimp, dried shiitake mushrooms, oyster sauce and Shaoxing wine give these shumai their familiar dim sum flavor.
• A cohesive filling: Mixing the ingredients until sticky helps the filling hold together, making the shumai easier to shape and less likely to fall apart during steaming.
• Firmer shrimp texture: Briefly treating the prawns with salt and baking soda helps improve their texture.
• Simple preparation: The filling goes straight into the wrappers without precooking, then the shumai are steamed until done.
• Easy to make ahead: You can wrap the shumai and freeze them uncooked, ready to steam when needed.

Ingredients Breakdown

• Main ingredients: Pork belly keeps the filling moist, while prawns add sweetness and a firmer bite.
• Mushroom: Dried Chinese shiitake mushroom adds an earthy aroma and complements the pork and shrimp.
• Seasonings: White pepper, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce, cornflour and salt bring the filling together.
• Wrappers and garnish: Thin wonton skins hold the filling, while green peas or fish roe can be added on top as optional garnishes.

How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking

Pork

Pork belly is my preferred choice because its fat keeps the filling moist. Chop it into small pieces for a more noticeable meat texture. If you use a food processor, pulse briefly rather than processing the pork into a smooth paste.

Prawns

Remove the shells and veins. Treat the prawn meat with 1 teaspoon of salt and approximately ½ teaspoon of baking soda for 5 minutes. Rinse thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear, then leave the prawns in a colander to drain well. Chop them coarsely.

Mushroom

Soak the dried Chinese shiitake mushroom in water until soft. Drain it and cut it into small dice so that it distributes evenly throughout the filling.

Seasonings

Measure the white pepper, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce, cornflour and salt before mixing. The exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below.

Wrappers

If you are using square wonton skins, trim the corners to make them roughly round. Keep the unused wrappers covered while you work so they do not dry out.

The complete ingredient quantities and measurements are provided in the recipe card below.

Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions

1. Mix the Filling

Place the chopped pork, prawns and diced mushrooms in a large mixing bowl. Add the white pepper, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, oyster sauce, cornflour and salt.

Mix thoroughly, then repeatedly lift the filling and throw it back into the bowl for about 5 minutes. The mixture will change from loose and wet to sticky and cohesive. This helps the filling hold together, making it easier to wrap and less likely to fall apart during steaming.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate the filling for about 1 hour. The chilled mixture will be firmer and easier to handle.

2. Wrap the Shumai

Place approximately 18 g of filling in the centre of each wrapper. This is a guide for the wrapper size used in this recipe; adjust the amount if your wrappers are larger or smaller.

Gather the wrapper around the filling. Gently rotate the shumai and squeeze it at the waist to form its familiar shape. Use a small metal spoon to press the filling down and level the top.

Pack the filling firmly into the wrapper, avoiding large gaps, and flatten the base so the shumai can stand upright in the steamer. If any wrapper edges need to stick together, dab them with a little water.

You can finish each shumai with a green pea or a little fish roe, although both are optional. If you have filling left after wrapping the first batch, use additional wrappers to make more shumai.

3. Steam the Shumai

Line the steamer basket with parchment paper or suitable non-stick steamer paper. If you do not have non-stick paper, you can lightly oil the surface.

Arrange the shumai in the basket, leaving a small gap between each piece. Bring the steaming water to a boil, place the basket over the steamer and cover.

Steam over high heat for 8 minutes. Serve hot, preferably with a pot of Chinese tea.

Variations

• Pork-only shumai: You can omit the shrimp and make the filling with pork instead. The flavor and texture will differ from the original pork-and-shrimp version.
• Optional garnishes: Top each shumai with a green pea or a little fish roe. Both are optional and can be left out without affecting the filling.

More Recipes to Try

If you enjoy making Cantonese dim sum at home, here are three more recipes from Taste of Asian Food to try next.

Har Gow (蝦餃) – Shrimp Dumplings

Har gow is a classic shrimp dumpling with a thin, translucent wrapper. Its delicate skin and shrimp filling offer a nice contrast to the pork-and-shrimp filling of shumai.

Char Siu Bao (叉烧包) – Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

These soft steamed buns are filled with Chinese barbecue pork and savory sauce. They are another familiar Cantonese dim sum favourite to make at home.

Beancurd Skin Rolls (腐皮卷)

These rolls contain a pork and shrimp filling wrapped in beancurd skin, then fried and steamed. The wrapper gives them a different texture from shumai while keeping them firmly in the Cantonese dim sum tradition.

Quick Takeaways

• Use the right ingredients: Pork belly, shrimp and dried shiitake mushrooms give these Cantonese shumai their characteristic flavor and texture.
• Pay attention to the filling: Drain the prawns well, mix the filling until sticky, and chill it for about 1 hour before wrapping. Use approximately 18 g of filling per wrapper as a guide.
• Steam and store: Steam fresh shumai over high heat for 8 minutes. You can also freeze uncooked shumai and steam them directly from frozen when needed.

Serve the shumai hot with Chinese tea for a homemade Cantonese dim sum meal.