I grew up in Yokohama, Japan where one of the main tourist attractions is the biggest Chinatown in Japan. In fact, one of the local specialties in Yokohama that tourists buy as a souvenir is Shumai.
Shumai in Japan has mostly pork as the main ingredient compared to the Chinese Shaomai or Siumai which uses both ground pork and chopped shrimp. Even though Shumai might look difficult or tedious to make, it’s actually not so bad. It could be fun to make these with your children or friends and eat right away after they are steamed.
You can get wonton wrappers if you can’t find shumai wrappers. Japanese grocery stores sell one that says “Shumai/Wonton wrappers“.
When I make spring rolls or shumai at home, I always make cheese wrap with the leftover skins. Both pan fried and deep fried cheese wraps are really easy to make and your leftover skins won’t go to waste!
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- 1 lb ground pork
- ½ onion
- 1 inch ginger (use about ½ Tbsp)
- 3 green onions/scallions
- 2 shiitake mushrooms
- 1 package shumai wrapper (or use wonton wrappers)
- Green peas
- 2 Tbsp sake
- ½ Tbsp sesame oil (roasted)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- La-yu (Japanese chili oil) (optional)
Gather all the ingredients.
- Mince onion, shiitake mushrooms, green onions and grate ginger (keep the juice).
- In a large bowl, combine the meat, Seasonings, and ginger with juice, and mix.
- Add onion, shiitake mushroom, and green onions and mix well with hands until the mixture becomes sticky.
- Form one of your hand as if you are holding a tube. Put a sheet of shumai wrapper on top. Scoop 1 tsp of the mixture on top of the wonton and push it in. Fix the shape with hands and push in a green pea on top.
- Place the ones you finish on top of parchment paper (baking sheet or cabbage leaves) inside the steamer.
- When it’s almost done wrapping, boil water in the wok. Make sure the water will not touch the bamboo steamer.
- When you are done wrapping and water is boiling, put the steamer in the wok. Make sure you wrap the steamer lid with a thin towel (I used Japanese 'tenugui') so that condensation from the water vapor will not drop on Shumai. Cook for 8 minutes.
- If you have some leftover wrappers, you can make Wonton Cheese Wrap or make my fellow blogger friend MJ's Wonton Crackers. For Wonton Cheese Wrap, you put the cheese in the wrapper and use water to seal the two edges tightly and fry in the pan.
- While Shumai is hot, serve with Dipping Sauce (soy sauce + rice vinegar).
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Yeah! I love Shumai and yours look rather similar to what we have over here too. Emmm now i can follow your quick n easy recipe and make some soon 🙂 Love your cheese wanton too!
These look wonderful Nami! And do you want to hear something odd? The best shumai I’ve had are at a Japanese restaurant! 😛
I really enjoyed my walk through Yokohama’s Chinatown.Can’t buy the wraps but I was thinking of making them myself,miss gyoza so much.These shumai came out so good!
they look wonderful!
oh Nami, these look wonderful. Your food is so inspiring. I love all sorts of dumplings, but I have never thought to make them at home. Time to start!!
Oh to follow you around for just a day. My tummy would be singing.
Fantastic post. I love both!
I’ve been wanting to make these for ages. I even have wonton skins in the freezer so there really is no excuse!!!! yum.
Hmm. Love fresh shumai – these are gorgeous. Great way to use leftover wrappers!! Brilliant!
Nami everything you make is picture perfect. Every dish looks so delicate and fragile and looks like you spent hours preparing it. Then even more time getting everything set up for the photo shoot. What you do seems way more time consuming than baking. The Iron Chefs have nothing on you! Have a fun week!
Scrumptious Nami. You make everything look so easy.
🙂 Mandy
Oh, this is one of my favourite dim sum item , we called it as Siew Mai ^_^, you made it look so delicious , usually I like to add some shrimps on it.
Dear Nami,
Your siumai looks really elegant especially with that chive garnish. It is still an old favourite whenever we have yum cha although some restaurants make them too big and chunky. I still like the smaller elegant one which are sometimes topped with orange crab roe or tobiko.
I love this recipe. I think I could eat more than my share of these. It really looks flavorful and amazing. I also think I’m a little crazy over your ginger grater and your little bamboo steamer. They are both wonderful! Have a great week. ~ Ramona
the picture of showing up how to circle the finger to hold the wonton skin is cool so i can do it too! thx
Thos wrappers look very useful. I wonder if I can get those sometime. Your shumai remind me of flowers, the way they r opend and then wrappers are so thin, it gives it all a nice effect. very pretty!
The Shumai remind me kind of of the tibetan Momos. the originals are without meat but nowadays they serve here around momos with beef and pork too.
Yummy dumplings!
Music to my ears, Nami – not that difficult to make, leftovers and they look so impressive! Love the cheese wraps. Enjoy your week, too. Mine is starting well – you’ve even given me an easier number to add together below, hehee.
I love shumai (like most of the Chinese starters, I practically eat only starters in Chinese restaurants), but I had no idea it was so easy to make at home. Although my shumai would never look as beautiful as yours. I have never seen such gorgeous looking shumai in any restaurant! Cheese wraps are a wonderful leftover idea.
Shumai as souvenir? You mean edible souvenir?
Shumai sounds complex to make, never realised it can be easily gone with pre-made wonton wrappers. Those wrappers are so versatile.
Oh, this looks delish!! I would love to try out this siumai recipe. Lovely presentation, Nami.
http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com
I love shumai! They really are delicious!
And also those cheese wontons look great!
I adore shiu mai and dim sum in general…!! I have never tried the Japanese version but I am sure I’d love it too. Now you say it again that you grew up in Yokohama, this reminds me that my favourite manga from my favourite mangka (Waki Yamato) is called Yokohama Monogatori :)!
Hi Nami,
My favorite is shumai , actually a family favorite. There is a restaurant in Mumbai where we would order 4 dozen shumai for about 3 people. We love it. Here in Fl, I have found a lovely dim-sum place too. I cannot wait to try this recipe. Do I need a bamboo steamer or will any steel one do? These look delicious!!!
Asmita, my family can eat quite a bit too. This became more like a side dish as it’s not enough for my family as a main (unless I make double amount!). Nope, it doesn’t have to be a bamboo steamer, steal one is just fine. Place cabbage or parchment paper on the bottom so it won’t stick, k? 🙂
What a great tutorial- they are lovely! I will be trying these very soon. This is some of my favorite foods!
Sweetie,
I never had Shumai, but I love theese little cuties in your homemade version 🙂
Thank you for sharing these beautiful dumplings, Nami! Crafting them, I imagine, takes a kind of skill that I don’t have but would love to learn one day. They look so delicious! Have a wonderful day.
I usually prefer Shumai with more shrimps and less pork, that is why I hv stopped ordering Shumai from most Chinese restaurants here cos I find that there is all pork or more pork Shumai.
Those Shumai look so delicious. I love steamed treats like these. Your idea to fill the leftover wrappers with cheese is brilliant. I bet your kids love them.
I love shumai and these look like absolute perfection!! I’ve pinned them to make soon 🙂
Hubby and I would love these! They look wonderful!
Nami, your Shumai looks great! Great idea for what to do with the leftover wonton skins!
Your Shumai are so pretty and I bet wonderful. I am more familiar with the pork and shrimp one. I have a steamer like yours but rarely use it, should change that.
Hi Nami, great to come back and read your posts! I love Shumai and make it often for my family. Your version here is a great, easy recipe and I’m sure tastes terrific!
Well, it would be tofu and mushrooms for me, but definitely a kind of food that I love
:-).
Ciao
Alessandra
I could eat all of them … shumai, cheese wraps. And your step by step pictures are stunning. Another wonderful post.
Ohh yummy when I go to yum cha I love Shumai but I never knew that the Japanese shumais were mainly pork 🙂 YUMMY ~ Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Hi Nami, your Shumai looks so delicious. As one of the dishes I grew up eating, shumai holds a special place in my memory. I totally agree with you that it’s actually easier to make it at home than it looks like. Your explanation makes it so easy to follow. Thanks for sharing!
I never knew that there’s a Japanese version of the shumai! Have always thought that it would be a fiddly process but you made it sound so easy as usual. It’s so pretty too!!
Yum!! These look so good! I really need a steamer so I can try making thing like these.
These look wonderful, Nami! I always love how much effort you put into the foods you make. 🙂
Delicious! We call this siomai in the Philippines. It’s nice to learn how to make the Japanese version!
Love the idea of wonton cheese wraps too!
Damn, I went to Yokohama twice before and I never had these little parcels of awesomeness :(… although I did at least try the ramen museum 😀
These look fantastic Nami – I love dumplings and things like this… they’re so irresistible!
I love both Chinese and Japanese shu mai! This looks like a tricky one to have photographed, to be wrapping the shu mai with one hand and photographing with the other. Looking at them is working up an appetite.
You know, i’ve had a wok for ages, but I’ve never steamed anything in it. Might give these a try as they seem less fiddly than gyozas or wontons.
I love love love shumai! I thought it would be difficult to make it at home, but you make it look so much easier. Definitely going to try this one out since I recently got a new bamboo steamer. Want to use it soon!
I know I often profess my love for cute things, but these shumai are so darling! They look like darling little packages waiting to be given to lucky recipients. You always take such care with your cooking and I know these must be delicious!
ooooh I love the sound of this dish! I love pork & I adore steamed dumplings. This looks perfect! I wish I could taste a few… I am bookmarking this one to make for a meal one of these days! And those cheese wraps sound delicious too! Wonderful idea! Thanks, Nami 🙂
This is one of the favourites when I go for Dim Sum. Of course it is good to make this at home, less MSG!
That is such a great idea about making cheese wrap with leftover wonton wrappers. I usually put the leftovers back in the freezer hoping that it will get used soon. Not! The next time I see those wrappers is about about 1 or 2 (not days but years)! Hahaha! I like your recipe of shumai especially with shiitake mushroom. Thank you, Nami!
~ ray ~
Your Shumai Nami look incredible! What a great photos, so tempting! I just want to grab one from the screen! Great job on the Wonton cheese wraps..awesome idea, and I think my kids would love this too! Thanks sweetie and have yourself beautiful week ahead!
These look very similar to gyoza only left open. I’ll have to try these, they look fantastic and the sauce sounds very tasty.
Wow never tried japanese shumai before! Never made them before but you’ve convinced me to make some. Is the taste of sesame oil strong in this? It sounds quite a lot, I may reduce it if that’s ok.
Fern, thank you for finding my typo!!! I didn’t know why you mentioned “strong” sesame oil… so I checked my recipe.
Sesame oil should be 1/2 Tbsp, not 1 1/2 Tbsp!! I’m very sorry for my mistake everyone!!! I edited my recipe. Thanks Fern!
Nice recipe, but the amount of ginger is written in a way that can be a bit confusing….10 oz of ginger? I’m assuming it’s a typo. Nonetheless, we adjusted it and the taste is great, but the wonton separated from the meat inside the shumai…why would this happen?
Hi Ogawa-san! Thank you for noticing the mistake. I am very sure that’s a typo. Usually 1 inch ginger is about 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. I updated the recipe.
Regarding the wonton skin is coming off from the meat, you can squeeze a little bit tightly with fingers to make sure the skin is attached to the filling after you put it in the wrapper. Hope this will resolve the issue. 🙂
You know what Nami, I can literary live on these… and that too happily…
Beat part my kids adore it too but I am thinking my boys will go gaga over wonton cheese wraps.. LOL
OK now I am seriously thinking of moving closer to you like in the same block, with all these delicious goodness I will be one greedy neighbor… LOL
Your Shumai looks really perfect 🙂 I really love them and you make it look really easy to make at home 🙂
Your shumai look amazing! That is a speciality I really love, but which I have never made myself.
Cheers,
Rosa
yummy, yummy! I love these dumplings and i also love the japanese gyozas….we love to eat shumai with garlic chilli sauce.
Hi Nami, dim sum is one my favorite outside meals in Penang. Fun and delicious (but so easy to spend too much!). Will have to try making these delicious shumai at home…when Reese isn’t at home to laugh at my attempt…
that looks really delicious!
I LOVE siu mai nami! these look gorgeous, and i bet they tasted just as good too!
Both dishes look amazing…I’d have to have a plateful of both! And you say the shumai is easy, but no way would mine be as beautiful as yours…but they would be worth trying for the delicious taste! Hope your week is off to a wonderful start, my friend~
I love this dish. The essence of it just sounds intoxicatingly wonderful! So beautiful too!
This is similar to the ones we have here, so delicious!
Loving this and saving this. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by dumplings – but your wonderful preparation makes this very do-able. And they so entice.
Shumai!!!! One of my favorite things to eat in the world!!! I always left the cooking of shumai to the experts though. I’m so clumsy with my hands. I used to always buy the microwavable ones in packages…I’m sure you know what I’m talking about…you’re cringing, right? haha! They sure don’t measure up to yours!
I adore shumai, which we always get from our local dim sum place, but have never had the courage to make them. Yours look wonderful, and I wouldn’t say no to some of those cheese wraps either!
WOW.. I love working with wontons already. but you’ve definitely given me a new recipe that I can’t wait to try out. This just looks so darn good and delicious.
This wanton cheese stuff looks very yummy. Perfect finger food I think!
Shumai is one of my favourite yum cha/ dim sum treat. Yours looks really good and simple to make for home cooking. Serving it with soy sauce + rice vinegar and some shredded young ginger is what I am thinking of right now ;P. Is it a bad thing that I constantly think of food? Hope you’re doing well my friend. Feel free to buzz me anytime too whenever you are free. Huggsss, Jo
Lovely recipe and i like your steamer 🙂 I should get some wonton wraps when I visit the chinese store next time.Also I might replace the pork with beef,guess that would be fine
Just went to babble and voted for you. Congrats on being in the 3rd position ! So happy for you 🙂 hugs
I can never resist shu mai. And homemade are always best. Yours look so delicious, I wish I could eat a dozen right out of the steamer now. 😉
Oh boy, you really got me with this one Nami! And, you’re right, it doesn’t look too difficult. I may have to try this soon.
oh wow love these so hungry now!
Oh, Nami…these look delicious! I didn’t realize the proper name for these, but I know they’re delicious! Your photos are – as always – stunning!
Wow, I learned something here I never thought there is a Japanese version of this dimsum. I love this and I can eat it everyday.
Perfect looking Shumai. My family is crazy about this dish. There are times when we go to a Chinese restaurant and end up having only Shumai for our meal! Your step by step tutorial is indeed very helpful. Thanks for sharing.
What a great recipe Nami. These look gorgeous. I love how you are always coming up with such delicious treats. I have a bamboo steamer so I’d like to try these.
Yummy Shumai, Nami. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
I love shumai!
This is one of my favourite dim sum 🙂
What a wonderful exotic dish – looks beautiful and with wonderful flavours!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Yeayyyy!!!! I am definetely going to make these, I have all the ingredients! They look beautiful Nami, I really love their shape and filling! Great idea the Wonton Cheese Wraps!
Hugs!
I think everyone loves siew mai. I need to make some soon as we have not had it for a while. I like your bamboo steamer. I use a metal one. 🙂
ooh how yum! we love dim sum and I make Indian momos which are similar sometimes 🙂 Must try this yum filling!
Quite the process I see, but they look and sound beyond worth the work! Yummm. Would love some of these for dinner tonight. 😉
マジで美味しそう。 ワンタンの皮を今度買いに行かなくちゃ。横浜に行きたくなるね。
Oh Yum! Your shumai looks delicious! Love the pork filling. Thanks for linking to my wonton crackers! I’ll be making your cheese crackers next time I have leftover wontons. They look perfect!
I love the way they look! the are similar to dumplings, which I’ve never tried and I have the bamboo steamer, sorry but I will visit you more often for inspiration so that I will cook delicious and different things
Nami, your shumai look delicious…love the step-by-step pictures. I love making little surprises with the left over skin as well 😉
Hope you are having a fabulous week!
なみさん、シュウマイがすっごくおいしそう！今、すごくお腹がすいてるので摘まんでたべたい:-) 蒸し器もすてきですね。
横浜なんですね～。私は中部地方なので、関東はなんだか異国のように遠いイメージ。中華街もそういえば行ったことなかった！食いしん坊なのに、横浜の中華街を見逃していたとは。。。関西の方が近いので、ついつい京都に行っちゃうんbですよね。今度は横浜行きたい！
I’ve always been intimidated by attempting Shumai, or any Asian dumplings at home. To me it seems like it would be so much work. But your instructions sound like I could tackle them and not so bad. Thanks for sharing Nami 🙂
Thank you for posting this detailed recipe for Shumai. This could be something new to try for some cooks.
Love Shumai!Love your step-by-step tutorial Nami!I have to get those wonton wrappers as soon as I can and try these.My kids absolutely love Shumai and they will be overjoyed seeing me making these at home 🙂
I love eating shumai .. shrimp shumai to be specific! Thanks so much for sharing this. I so want to make this now!
Wonton cheese wraps, that’s amazing! I love shumai, and these ones look great (much better than the Hong Kong style ones you buy at the supermarket :D). In the part of China we’re I’m from we usually have rice in the shumai and it’s a lot bigger, have you ever tried that? 🙂
Aaahhh.. i grew up enjoying shu mai and many wonton alike delicacies for breakfast. And I LOVE Dim Sum!! This post surely brought back so many memories 🙂
Your photos makes me want to reach into each dish to eat it. If only it was possible 😀
I also grew up eating shumai Nami, but haven’t yet gather the courage to make one at home. I love your idea of using the leftover skin to make cheese wonton though – I think that would even make the effort of making shumai at home worth it!! 🙂
Your shumai looks so good Nami! I don’t know how you find the time to make all these good food, shumai is one of those dishes I would have never attempted to make, though going to dim sum is one of our biggest brunch pleasures, too bad the price has raised a lot in the last couple of years, maybe I SHOULD start making them myself!
The cheese wraps are adorable and I bet the kids LOVE them! Are you not lactose sensitive? Trini and I have to take a Lactose tablet before eating dairy…
We love Shumai and definitely the Japanese version with pork only. It’s more juicy and clean in flavour. And I would have never thought of making cheese wontons, but that’s a great idea!
These look wonderful! And those cheese wraps are calling out to me 🙂
This was a hit with my hubby! I added some finely diced water chestnut for some crunch. Thank you Nami!
Hi Roren!
Water chestnut is goood! I love it in my dumpling when we eat dim sum too. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback Roren! 🙂
I’d really like to make some homemade shumai, but would rather not eat meat. Is it possible for you to post a shumai recipe made with only seafood and vegetables? Or rather, do you have a suggestion on substituting something else for the pork?
Hi Autumn! Just like Gyoza (pot stickers), you can put ANYTHING in the dumplings! I also put shrimp and make shrimp shumai too. 🙂 They are delicious!
is there another way to cook these with out a steamer? I dont have a steamer. is there other options.
Hi Lele! How do you normally steam? If you don’t have a steamer, you may want to get a steaming basket and put it in a regular pot. It looks like this:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/stainless-steel-11-inch-steamer-basket/1010164354
Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi, Nami…thanks for the recipe, it sure seems delicious and I’m going to make it for todays dinner 🙂 btw I’ve read in one of japanese cooking recipe that we can replace sake with rice vinegar. Do you think it will be work on shumai?
Hi Anisa! No, you can’t replace sake with rice vinegar. That’s like replacing red/white wine with red/white wine vinegar. It’s not the same (especially alcohol is evaporated already). For sake, you can use dry sherry or Chinese rice wine. Sorry for my late response (I am on vacation)!
Hi, Nami. That’s ok, I read at Pantry section and I decided to skip it. So far I made yaki udon, gyoza, purin and the last shumai and it’s good. Me and my family love it. Thanks 🙂
I’m so glad to hear your family and you enjoy my recipes! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
This is one of the items I get when I go to Dim Sum. Love it! You know with all of your dumplings and pot sticker recipes I am very close to buying a bamboo steamer. I would love to make these at home, but I know that these are one of those foods that must be cooked properly for them to work. All of it looks delicious Nami (as always :)). Thanks so much for the shout out!
I Love shumai! I learned to make them with a bit of chopped shrimp meat mixed in. I haven’t made them in years, but I will again soon.
Thank you for your recipes!!! They bring back so many memories of growing up in Japan.
Hi Janet! I love Ebi Shumai too!!! I’m happy to hear this recipe brought back your sweet memory. Food always help reconnect with our memory!
Hi Nami,
I tried this recipe over the weekend except I used wonton wrappers because I couldn’t find the actual wrappers . It turned out mostly great!
I did have a question about the wonton wrappers, after I steamed it, the top parts of the wonton wrappers still seemed a little bit hard or not cooked enough. The meat was cooked on the inside, so I just microwaved a bit with water and it was still ok. Should I steam it for longer next time ?
Also, I used lean ground pork, should I be aiming for half fat/half lean for more juice?
Crystal
Hi Crystal!
1) Yes, for tender filling, learner pork gives juicier and flavorful shumai. And not as hard texture as pork with less fat.
2) Was the finished shumai out for too long while you’re making? Maybe the wrappers got hard/dry out while you’re making many pieces. To prevent, you can cover the finished shumai with damp towel/paper towel. I don’t think it’s due to not being cooked. Since you add more moisture to it, it got soften. Maybe if the wrappers get dry, you can brush off or spray water a bit?
Thank you so much for trying this recipe! xoxo