Siu mai (烧卖) are the open-topped dumplings of dim sum — a thin round wrapper gathered and pleated around a filling of minced pork and shrimp, the top left open and often decorated with a single roe or small piece of carrot. They are one of the two canonical dim sum dumplings (alongside har gow) and appear on every traditional dim sum menu. The Cantonese version — pork and shrimp with bamboo shoots — differs from the northern Chinese version (plain pork), the Yunnan version (pork with Yunnan ham and mushrooms), and the Mongolian version (lamb and onion).
The filling: 200g minced pork (20-30% fat), 100g shrimp (peeled, roughly chopped), 30g bamboo shoots (diced fine), 1 tbsp dried shiitake (soaked and diced fine), 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp white pepper, 1 tbsp cornstarch. Mix together and throw the mixture against the bowl 10-15 times — this develops a slightly sticky, cohesive texture. Chill 30 minutes. The assembly: Place the wrapper in the palm of your non-dominant hand. Place 1 tbsp of filling in the center. Use the thumb and forefinger of the other hand to gather the wrapper around the filling in small pleats while simultaneously pressing the filling down with a spoon. The finished siu mai stands upright with the filling flush with the top of the wrapper. Steaming: 8-10 minutes in a bamboo steamer over boiling water.
Over-packing the filling: The siu mai should be full but not overflowing — filling that spills over the wrapper edge prevents the wrapper from holding its gathered shape.
Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking (2009); Ken Hom, Complete Chinese Cookbook (2011)