Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 13:18, 13 February 2010

Shumai
Several pieces of Cantonese shaomai (on the right) in a steaming basket
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	燒賣
Simplified Chinese	烧卖
Literal meaning	to cook and sell
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin shāomài Hakka Romanization sehw mai Yue: Cantonese Jyutping siu1 maai6*2
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	xíu mại
Japanese name
Kanji	焼売
Kana	シュウマイ
Transcriptions Romanization shūmai

Shumai (also spelled shaomai, shui mai, shu mai, sui mai, shui mei, siu mai, shao mai, siew mai, or siomai) is a traditional Chinese dumpling served in dim sum.

Varieties

There are two regional varieties of shumai in China, a Cantonese version and a version from the Jiangnan region, along with many other variations in other countries.

Cantonese shaomai

As prepared in Cantonese cuisine, shaomai is also referred to as "pork and mushroom dumpling." Its standard filling is a combination of ingredients, consisting primarily of seasoned ground pork, whole and chopped shrimp, and Chinese black mushroom in small bits. The outer covering is made of a thin sheet of lye water dough. The center is usually garnished with an orange dot, made of roe or diced carrot, although a green dot made with a pea may also be used. The decorative presentations vary from restaurant to restaurant.

Jiangnan shaomai

Shaomai prepared in the Jiangnan region (south of the Yangtze River, stretching from Shanghai to Nanjing) are quite different. The wrapper is larger and tougher than the Cantonese version. The filling is similar to zongzi (Chinese-style tamales) with soy sauce/rice wine/sugar-marinated pork pieces in glutenous rice and steamed with some lard. It is larger in size than the Cantonese version. However, most people in Western countries associate shaomai only with the Cantonese version due to the Cantonese diaspora. Recently, the Jiangnan version is starting to appear in areas with high-density new immigrants from mainland China, such the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Indonesian siomai

Siomai (sometimes seen as Shomay) in Indonesia is pronounced the same way as its sisters and is usually a wonton wrapper, stuffed with filling and steamed. It is served also with steamed potatoes, tofu, hard boiled eggs, and is topped with sweet soy sauce (Kecap) and peanut sauce. This variant is less common in Western countries

Philippine siomai

Siomai in the Philippines is often ground pork, beef, shrimp, among others, combined with extenders like green peas, carrots, and the like, and wrapped in wonton wrappers. It is either steamed or fried resulting in a crispy exterior. It is normally dipped in soy sauce and squeezed calamondin, and for some, with an oily, spicy garlic mix.

A recent variant on the siomai that has been gaining popularity recently is siomai wrapped in nori sheets instead of wonton wrappers, and marketed as "Japanese."

Serving

Within the dim sum tradition of southern China, shaomai is one of the most standard dishes. It is generally served alongside har gow, another variety of steamed dumpling.

In food stalls in Indonesia, siomai (or "siomay" in local dialect) are eaten together with steamed vegetables and tofu, and served with spicy peanut sauce.

In Philippine food stalls and fast food restaurants, siomai is eaten as is (albeit with the dip mentioned above) - with toothpicks to facilitate handling the siomai, or with rice (which involves using a spoon and fork).

See also

• Har gow

References

1. "Shumai". Dictionary.com.
2. "Shumai". The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English, Encyclopedia.com.
3. ^ Hsiung, Deh-Ta. Simonds, Nina. Lowe, Jason. (2005). The food of China: a journey for food lovers. Bay Books. ISBN 978-0681025844. p38.

• Cantonese cuisine
• Chinese words and phrases
• Dim sum
• Dumplings