Steamed Pork Dumplings, also known as Shaomai, Xiaomi, Shaomai, Shaomei, Shaomei, Ghost Pengtou, describe the shape of the fluffy bunch at the top like a flower. Noodles are wrapped in skin and stuffed and steamed in a basket. Siomai originated from Dadu in the Yuan Dynasty and is native to China with a long history. Nowadays, it is available in both north and south of China. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi, people call it Shaomai, while in Beijing and other places, it is called Shaomai. Pingtan siomai is similar to northern siomai, but the ingredients and preparation methods are different. First, the sweet potatoes and potato starch are processed into a vermicelli, then stir-fried with crab roe, shrimp, seaweed, fresh meat cubes and seasonings to make the filling. Then the filling is put into the skin, shaped into a cabbage shape, and steamed in a vertical cage. Fragrant and delicious, it has the advantages of steamed dumplings and pot stickers, and is often used as a banquet delicacy among the people.
[Edit this paragraph] Origin
Siomai originated from steamed buns. The main difference between it and steamed buns is that in addition to using unfermented dough to make the skin, the top is not sealed and is shaped like a pomegranate. The earliest historical record: In the Chinese textbook "Pu Shi Tong" published in Goryeo (today's North Korea) in the 14th century, there is a record of selling "plain sour stuffing and slightly wheat" in Dadu of the Yuan Dynasty (today's Beijing). The book's note on "Shaomai" says that thin slices of wheat flour are made into meat, steamed, and eaten with soup. The dialect calls it Shaomai. "Mai" also means "selling". It also goes: "The skin is thin and the meat is chopped into pieces. When the top is thin and tied with a thread, it is called Shaomai." "Using the dough as the skin, the meat as the stuffing, and the top as the stamens, the dialect calls it Shaomai." Comparing the preparation method of "slight wheat" here with today's siomai, we can see that the two are the same thing.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the word "Shaomai" was still used, the names "Shaomai" and "Shaomai" also appeared, and "Shaomai" appeared more frequently. For example, Chapter 10 of "The Scholars": "Two plates of dim sum were served on the table, one plate of pork heart siomai, and one plate of dumplings steamed with goose fat and white sugar." There is also a description of "Peach Blossom Siomai" in "Jin Ping Mei Ci Hua". There is a saying in Zhuzhici written during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty that "the plate is full of Shaomai wontons". The word siomai appears in books such as Li Dou's "Yangzhou Huafang Lu" and Gu Lu's "Tongqiao Yichu Lu". "Qingpingshantang Huaben·Kuaizui Li Cuilian's Notes": "What's so difficult about siomai and banquets? I can make three soups and two." Fu Chongju's "Chengdu General View: Food and Recipes of Chengdu" lists "all kinds of siomai" Wheat, big meat shaomai, local vegetable shaomai, frozen vegetable shaomai, mutton shaomai, chicken skin shaomai, pheasant shaomai, golden hook shaomai, vegetarian gorgon shaomai, sesame shaomai, plum blossom shaomai, lotus pod shaomai..." compiled by Anonymous in the Qing Dynasty The cookbook "Tiao Ding Ji" includes "Shaomai with meat stuffing", "Shaomai with bean paste", "Shaomai with oil and sugar", etc. Among them, the "Meat Stuffing Siomai" is made with chicken, ham and seasonal vegetables as fillings. "Youtang Siomai" is made with diced suet, walnut kernels and white sugar as fillings. There is also a kind of "stuffed bean sprouts siomai" in southern China.
Today, the varieties of siomai in various places are more abundant and the production is more exquisite. For example, Henan has stuffed siomai, Anwei has duck fat siomai, Hangzhou has beef siomai, Jiangxi has egg and meat siomai, Shandong Linqing has mutton siomai, Suzhou has three delicacies siomai; Hunan Changsha has chrysanthemum siomai; Guangzhou has dry steamed siomai, Shrimp siomai, crab meat siomai, pork liver siomai, beef siomai, pork ribs siomai, etc., all have their own local characteristics.
Origin of the name
Related allusions There are many theories about the origin of the word Shaomai. One theory is that in the early years, shaomai was sold in teahouses. While diners drank strong brick tea or various small leaf teas and ate cakes, they ate the hot shaomai. "Sell", which means "sell with you"; some people say that because the edges of the Shaomai are slightly wrinkled like flowers, it is also called "Shoumai", which means "beautiful when burned"; another saying is, Shaomai was originally called Zuozibao because the name was considered inelegant. Because its sides resemble ears of wheat that are about to ripen, it was renamed Shaomai. Nowadays, Shaomai has become a delicious staple food, so most people call it "Shaomai" by convention.
As early as the third year of Qianlong's reign, the Wang family from Beijingli Village, Fushan County, opened a Fushan Shaomai restaurant in Xianyukou outside Qianmen, Beijing, and made fried triangles and various famous dishes. On New Year's Eve one year, Qianlong returned from a private visit to Tongzhou and went to Fushan Shaomai Restaurant to eat Shaomai. The siu mai stuffing here is soft and fragrant, oily but not greasy, and as white and crystal clear as jade and pomegranate. Qianlong was full of praise after the meal. After returning to the palace, he wrote the three characters "Du Yi Chu" in his own handwriting, and ordered someone to make a plaque and send it to Fushan Shaomai Restaurant. From then on, the Shaomai Restaurant became famous and its value doubled.