At the table
Lift gently with chopsticks, let the hot filling cool and eat in small bites. Try a bite plain, then a little ginger-vinegar dip if offered.
Contains pork, wheat and sesame. Confirm ingredients in purchased mantou if avoiding milk or other additions. Hot filling can burn.
Filling proportions and sweetness vary. Ginger and vinegar can be served alongside. This version contains steamed-bun crumbs rather than sticky rice.
Soft filling but hot and slippery; for a child able to chew, cool and cut small after checking wheat and sesame.
Recipes vary. Ask the restaurant about ingredients and serving before you order.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Filling proportions and sweetness vary. Ginger and vinegar can be served alongside. This version contains steamed-bun crumbs rather than sticky rice.
Typical ingredients
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Rich pork and sesame aroma with a noticeable sugar sweetness.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Delicate slightly translucent wrappers; soft, moist filling with steamed-bun crumbs.
- How it’s made
- Roll wheat-flour-and-water dough into thin wrappers. Fill with chopped pork belly, plain old-dough mantou crumbs, sugar and sesame; gather into pomegranate shapes and steam through.
Filling proportions and sweetness vary. Ginger and vinegar can be served alongside. This version contains steamed-bun crumbs rather than sticky rice.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Jiangxi.
About this regional connection
Jiangxi: 高安传统烧麦，以甜味猪肉、馒头屑和芝麻馅为特色。
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有瑞州烧麦吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A Gao'an festive shaomai
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
Ruizhou is an old name for Gao'an. Local shaomai use sweetened pork and steamed-bun crumbs, and eating them at the Dragon Boat Festival remains part of the area's food tradition.
