烧麦是“手艺不咋样的包子”？广大网友又不答应了……
Dong Yuhui, a former English teacher at New Oriental and now a top livestreamer, is in hot waters again after referring to shaomai (also known as shumai or siu mai in Cantonese) as “improperly wrapped baozi (buns)” during one of his recent livestream sales events. He even joked that it was “baozi of poor quality” after learning that the traditional shaomai in Inner Mongolia is primarily made of mutton, onions, and seasonings, without any sticky rice.
Dong apologized on November 12 after his remarks sparked backlash and heated debate online over the origins and authenticity of the food.
Though the Cantonese version of shaomai is most popular outside China as a type of dim sum—due in no small part to the Cantonese diaspora that spread it around the globe—there are many varieties of shaomai that have been adapted to different regional tastes throughout the country.
Able to be made in the steamer or the frying pan, shaomai is wrapped in a thin, round sheet of unleavened dough with a pleated border. The filling, usually including meat, is put in the center of the wrapper; that wrapper’s border is then loosely gathered at the top, forming a “neck” and a flower-shaped crown.
Shaomai can be found everywhere in southern China from street stalls to high-end restaurants, often made with sticky rice, pork, shrimp, mushrooms, and other ingredients (VCG)
Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia, claims to be where shaomai was origined in the 17th century. Local historical records described the food as a side dish eaten alongside tea in tea houses in the morning. The name at that time was “捎卖”, literally meaning “sold on the side,” since tea houses usually don’t served other complicated dishes.
Today, the same measurements are used as in the old teahouse days. Shaomai are served in liang, which are each equal to 50 grams. But be careful, because that’s the weight of the wrappers and not the entire shaomai. Usually, one liang means eight steamed or pan-fried shaomai. There is a old saying in Hohhot: “Two liang of shaomai are enough to stuff a strong man.”
Inner Mongolia shaomai is typically stuffed with juicy mutton and has long been a classic breakfast dish served with milk tea (VCG)
Despite netizens’ strong reactions to shaomai being called a poor man’s baozi in the recent controversy, a widespread folk tale from Inner Mongolia about the dish’s origin does involve baozi. It begins with two brothers making a living by selling steamed buns. After the older brother got married, he and his wife took over the baozi restaurant and managed all the money they earned. The younger brother became a waiter. In order to make his own money, the younger brother began to make a different kind of baozi with a thinner wrapper and an open top. In a fitting episode of poetic justice, people loved his version and named it “捎卖”, since it was first sold as a side dish for baozi. Shaomai is considered to have been brought to Beijing and Tianjin by merchants from Shanxi province. The name was then transformed into its modern form, which uses two different characters but the same pronunciation.
Today, people usually eat shaomai for breakfast or brunch, and it is commonly served with vinegar and tea due to its richness. The shaomai filling varies in different regions; it could include pork, beef, chicken, or mutton, along with many other ingredients like mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, and sometimes rice. In the South, people like to add crab roe or shrimp; northern China prefers more ginger and onion. Innovation is always welcome in the realm of shaomai. You can even start experimenting in your own kitchen and see what you can contribute to the culinary history of shaomai.
Cover image from VCG
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