Shumai 烧卖

Many variations of the traditional shumai appear in other cultures, probably migrating from the Silk Road and then modified according to the local palette. One such descendant of Shumai is the Mongolian shaomai, a lamb and onion pie that is also steamed and has an open top, but is in a parcel shape (Schlotter 425). Other variations are the Japanese “shuumai,” Indonesian “siomay,” and Phillipine “siomai.” Japanese shuumai is very similar to the Canton shumai except that it uses meat ground to a paste opposed to minced and also strictly does not use shrimp. Indonesian siomay is wrapped the same as the Canton and also steamed, but is served with peanut sauce and due to Muslim influence in Indoensia, does not use pork, but usually fish. Phillipine siomai uses beef, green peas, and carrots and can also be fried. Additonally there are variations from different provinces of China like the Huhhot “shaomai,” Hunan “Chrysanthemum shaomai,” and others from Uyghur, Jiangxi, and Shanghai (Bell).