Japanese Food Tips

Shumai is recognized in Japan as dim sum in Chinese cuisine. Gyoza (fried dumplings), also a Chinese dim sum, is very popular in Japan, where yaki-gyoza is common. Shumai is also quite popular. What is called shumai in Japan is usually a small cylindrical piece of white skin made of flour, wrapped around a mixture of minced pork and onions, originally with a green pea in the center (though not so these days). They are steamed and eaten with soy sauce and Japanese mustard. Pork shumai is the most common type of shumai, although shrimp shumai is also available. Shumai is believed to have originated in what is now China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the end of the 17th century and spread throughout China. In Japan, a store in Yokohama is said to have been the first to produce and sell pork dumplings in 1899. Shumai is now sold in every supermarket, convenience store, and department store in Japan. Shumai is far more likely to be bought from a store fresh or frozen than home-cooked.