Siu Mai (Shu Mai) – Authentic Dim Sum! (VIDEO)
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I have so many memories of eating Siu Mai (or Shu Mai) when my family would go to dim sum on the weekends. The classic juicy pork and shrimp filling is encased within a wonton wrapper – and my version tastes JUST like the dim sum restaurants!
Watch the Siu Mai Recipe Video!
A Note from CJ
This is a dim sum classic!
Siu Mai (also known as Shu Mai or Siomai) is oftentimes the first thing I grab off the Dim Sum carts! I absolutely love dim sum – but for the times when you can’t go, you can recreate it at home with recipes like this one or Fried Shrimp Balls, Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce, Soy Sauce Pan Fried Noodles, Egg Fried Rice, Congee with homemade Chili Oil, and Wontons (or Wonton Noodle Soup)!
I have made this twice once with pork and once with ground chicken. Each time they came out perfect and tasted restaurant quality. Best recipe for homemade Siu Mai.
Ingredient Tips
Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements!
- shrimp – use raw, peeled, deveined shrimp of any size
- ground pork – siu mai is made with pork and shrimp; if you can’t use pork, you can substitute with ground chicken. I recommend using 80/20 ground pork for best results.
- MSG – I like to use msg in moderation as an optional flavor enhancer. You can skip this if your chicken bouillon powder has msg in it.
- shiitake mushroom – I use dehydrated shiitake mushrooms, which I rehydrate at home.
- yellow Hong Kong style wonton wrappers – I purchased these from my local Asian grocery (99 Ranch).
- carrot (optional) – At restaurants, you will oftentimes see Siu Mai (Shu Mai) served with orange fish roe on top. Fish roe is pretty expensive to use at home, especially for a garnish – so I suggest using minced carrot to get the same colorful effect! You can leave this off if you prefer.
How to Make Siu Mai
Marinate and Mince Shrimp – In a large mixing bowl, add the shrimp with baking soda and salt and let marinate for 10 minutes. Mince the shrimp into pieces the size of coffee beans.
Mix Shrimp and Pork with Seasoning – In the same bowl, mix the ground pork with the minced shrimp and add the kosher salt, sugar, white pepper, MSG if using, chicken bouillon powder, light soy sauce, and shiitake mushrooms and cornstarch. Stir in one direction until combined and streaks appear on the bowl. Slam the mixture down 5-10 times to create a bouncy texture.
Form Siu Mai and Steam to Enjoy! – Keep the wonton wrappers covered with a damp towel. Working with one wrapper at a time, use a flat wooden spoon or spatula and take about 2 tablespoons of filling and place in the center of the wonton wrapper. Using your thumb and index finger, hold the dumpling place while pressing down the filling into the base of the wrapper using the wooden spoon while squeezing with your hand to form the siu mai. Top the siu mai with a few pieces of minced carrot. Steam for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer and top and enjoy! I love serving this with sriracha and spicy chinese mustard, or with my homemade chili oil!
Pro TipS
CJ’s Storage, Freezing and Reheating Tips
- Refrigerate steamed Siu Mai for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container. You can reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Refrigerate unsteamed Siu Mai in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Steam for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer to enjoy.
- Freeze unsteamed Siu Mai flat in a ziplock freezer bag (I use a baking sheet) to ensure they don’t freeze together (at least 1 hour). Once frozen, the siu mai can touch each other in the freezer.
- Steam frozen Siu Mai for 15 minutes in a bamboo steamer or until the internal temperature reads 165°.
If you tried this Siu Mai (Shu Mai) or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Siu Mai (Shu Mai) – Authentic Dim Sum!
Equipment
Ingredients
Shrimp Marinade
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Pork and Seasonings
- 1 pound ground pork, 80% lean / 20% fat
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar, 13g
- ½ tablespoon white pepper, 5g
- ¼ teaspoon MSG (optional), omit if chicken bouillon includes msg
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 30ml
- ½ cup shiitake mushroom, minced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 16g
- 1 package yellow hong kong style wonton wrappers
- Minced carrot, optional garnish
- sriracha, for serving
- Chinese hot mustard, for serving
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the shrimp with baking soda and salt and let marinate for 10 minutes. Mince the shrimp into pieces the size of coffee beans.
- In the same bowl, mix the ground pork with the minced shrimp and add the kosher salt, sugar, white pepper, MSG if using, chicken bouillon powder, light soy sauce, and shiitake mushrooms and cornstarch. Stir in one direction until combined and streaks appear on the bowl. Slam the mixture down 5-10 times to create a bouncy texture.
- Keep the wonton wrappers covered with a damp towel. Working with one wrapper at a time, use a flat wooden spoon or spatula and take about 2 tablespoons of filling and place in the center of the wonton wrapper. Using your thumb and index finger, hold the dumpling place while pressing down the filling into the base of the wrapper using the wooden spoon while squeezing with your hand to form the siu mai. Top the siu mai with a few pieces of minced carrot.
- Steam for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer and top and enjoy! I love serving this with sriracha and spicy chinese mustard, or with my homemade chili oil!
Video
Notes
- Form your first finger and thumb into a O shape – this is the “hole” that you will stuff the filling into.
- Place the wonton wrapper on top of the O.
- Stuff the filling into the wonton wrapper – as you push down, the wrapper and the filling will get pushed into the O (similar to a muffin tin, when you place the cupcake wrapper and filling into each hole).
- Level the filling so it is flat on the top.
- Undo the O shape of your fingers and gently fold down the excess wrapper around the Siu Mai (Shu Mai). The end product should look like a short, fat cylinder shape.
- Refrigerate steamed Siu Mai for up to 3-4 days in an airtight container. You can reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Refrigerate unsteamed Siu Mai in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Steam for 10 minutes in a bamboo steamer to enjoy.
- Freeze unsteamed Siu Mai flat in a ziplock freezer bag (I use a baking sheet) to ensure they don’t freeze together (at least 1 hour). Once frozen, the siu mai can touch each other in the freezer.
- Steam frozen Siu Mai for 15 minutes in a bamboo steamer or until the internal temperature reads 165°.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Siu Mai recipe was originally published in October 2023, and updated in February 2026.
When I first made these they look funny but tasted amazing. 2nd time it was much easier I love them
Awesome recipe!
One of the best I have tried! It better than some dim sum restaurants!
IG handle : @write2nia
This siu Mai recipe is a keeper!
I made it and it was a huge hit at home! Thankyou CJ and congratulations- this one is going into the receip book! Absolute fire 🔥
Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it. I’ve seen restaurants use a dried goji berry on top for the orange pop of color!
Yes! My favorite dim sum spot in LA tops them with salmon roe – they’re delicious!
Second time I’m making this…but for a crowd, 4x the recipe…can I put the shrimp and/or the mushroom in the food processor instead?
You can use a food processor but I recommend chopping the ingredients by hand. There is a chance the filling may turn out a bit gummy if using a food processor and the filling is overworked (stick to short pulses if using one). I hope that helps!
Thank you! Trying that and will get back to you! The first time so made it, it was a hit! So good!
Just finished cooking this recipe now and WOW. This is pretty damn close to some of the Yum Cha places we eat at.
Since we’re metric here, the only difference I did was used 500g of pork and prawns instead of 1 pound. Still tasted delicious.
The one thing I definitely need practise on is the wrapping, my pieces looked terrible and they were MASSIVE, I did the two table spoons per wrapper but they ended up so big, it’s probably double the size of what I’m used to.
Nevertheless, they were amazing. Sauce wise, I just used the ever faithful, soy sauce with fresh chillis!
Thank you for the recipe, I’ll definitely be doing these again!
I never thought I’d be able to make at-home dim sum taste like the “real thing” but thanks to CJ Eats… here it is!!! Holy YUM.
Delicious and easy, your recipes are easy to follow and they taste great too.
Made this today, SOOO DELICIOUS!!! I couldn’t stop eating them! It does have that bouncy texture just like at dim sum restaurants. I used black pepper instead of white, it was a little too spicy. Next time, I’ll use a bit less pepper.
Thank you so much for the great review, Ellie!
Hi, do we need to adjust the time if we stack our bamboo steamers?
No, you don’t need to adjust the time! The steam will flow through both steamers easily.