Shumai Wrappers substitute

Best substitute

Square wonton wrappers, trimmed round

Use 1 wrapper for every dumpling

Best for pork and shrimp siu mai

Close match

Square wonton wrappers are the correct answer: they are the same alkaline egg dough at almost the same thickness, so cut them into three-inch rounds with a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass and use one per dumpling. You can also skip the trimming entirely and let the corners flare out into a little frilled cup, which is how plenty of dim sum kitchens do it. Round gyoza wrappers are the next best option if you roll each one thinner with a rolling pin first, since they are thicker and made without egg.

Other shumai wrappers substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Gyoza or potsticker wrappers, rolled thinner
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 wrapper for every dumpling
Round three-inch dumpling skins, already the right shape and size but made from a plain wheat dough without egg.
What changes
Best for
shumai, when only round wrappers are available, freezer stock
Right shape, wrong thickness. Gyoza skins are made thicker so they can hold up to pan-frying, and without egg they steam up whiter and chewier, which gives shumai a doughy collar where the pleats bunch. Thirty seconds with a rolling pin per wrapper fixes most of it: roll each one out until you can just see your fingers through it. Dust lightly and keep the rolled ones under a damp towel.
3Egg roll or spring roll wrappers, cut into rounds
Different texture
One large sheet yields 4 to 6 rounds
Large thin wheat sheets cut down with a cutter, giving several wrappers from each one.
What changes
Best for
batch cooking, when only large wrappers are in the freezer
Economical and structurally fine, though the sheets are drier and a little thicker than shumai wrappers, so they crack at the pleats. Brush each round lightly with water and let it sit fifteen seconds before you shape it. The wrapper steams up chewier and holds its shape more stiffly, so the dumpling looks slightly more angular than the soft rounded cup you get from a proper shumai skin.
4Fresh pasta or lasagna sheets, cut into rounds
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 round for every dumpling
Fresh egg pasta sheets rolled to the thinnest setting and cut into three-inch circles.
What changes
Best for
shumai when no Asian grocery is nearby, using up fresh pasta
Works structurally and the egg content gives the right yellow tint, but the flavour tells on you: fresh pasta tastes distinctly of egg and semolina, and the wrapper steams up chewier and more substantial than an alkaline skin. Roll it as thin as your machine goes, thinner than you would for ravioli. Best when the filling is strongly seasoned with ginger, sesame and soy so the wrapper recedes.
5Rice paper, soaked briefly (gluten-free, least-bad)
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 sheet for every dumpling, dipped for about 5 seconds
Vietnamese banh trang rounds, softened in warm water and used as a wrapper.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free shumai, when nothing else is available
The honest verdict is that this is a compromise you can taste. Softened rice paper is sticky and gluey rather than silky, it tears while you pleat it, and it tightens and turns tacky within minutes of leaving the steamer. Dip for five seconds only, work fast, oil your steamer liner thoroughly, and serve immediately. Use it because you need gluten-free, not because it is close.
6No wrapper at all: steamed filling balls
Different texture
Use 1 heaped tablespoon of filling for every ball
The shumai filling rolled into small balls and steamed on a bed of cabbage or napa leaves.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free and low-carb, when wrappers simply cannot be found, meal prep
Worth taking seriously, because the filling is what shumai actually tastes like: pork, shrimp, shiitake, ginger, sesame and white pepper. Roll tablespoon-sized balls, sit them on cabbage leaves and steam eight to ten minutes. What you lose is the soft chewy contrast of the skin and the neat cup shape, so the balls read as very good steamed meatballs rather than as dim sum. Add a teaspoon of cornstarch to the filling to help them hold together.
7Homemade shumai wrappers
Close match
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 large egg, about 3 tbsp water, ¼ tsp salt makes 20 to 24 wrappers
A simple egg dough kneaded smooth, rested thirty minutes and rolled very thin before cutting into rounds.
What changes
Best for
the closest possible match, when no wrappers are sold locally
Easier than it sounds and the best result short of buying the real thing. Knead five minutes, rest covered for at least thirty minutes so the gluten relaxes, then roll far thinner than feels sensible, dusting with cornstarch rather than flour so the sheets do not glue together. A pinch of baking soda dissolved in the water gives some of the alkaline yellow and springiness of a shop wrapper. Cut rounds and stack with cornstarch between them.

What is Shumai Wrappers?

Shumai Wrappers is Shumai wrappers are paper-thin round discs of alkaline wheat-and-egg dough, about three inches across and noticeably thinner and yellower than a gyoza skin, used to line open-topped Cantonese siu mai dumplings.

Cooking tips

Keep the whole stack under a damp, not wet, tea towel and pull one wrapper at a time. Shumai skins are so thin they dry out in about ninety seconds, and a dried wrapper splits at every single pleat.
Do not seal the top. Shumai are meant to be open-faced, so cup the wrapper in your curled hand, push the filling down with a butter knife, and squeeze the sides up around it, then flatten the exposed top so it steams evenly.
If your wrappers are thicker than ideal, roll them out rather than accepting it. A gyoza skin takes about thirty seconds with a rolling pin to reach shumai thinness, and that one step is the difference between a delicate dumpling and a doughy one.
Steam on parchment, oiled foil or a layer of cabbage or napa leaves, never directly on metal, and leave a finger's width between dumplings because the wrappers swell and stick to each other.
A single pea, a thin slice of carrot or a dot of fish roe on the exposed filling is traditional and also practical, because it stops the top of the filling drying out and greying in the steam.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use wonton wrappers for shumai?

Yes, and this is the answer you want. Wonton wrappers are made from the same thin alkaline egg dough as shumai skins, so the finished dumpling tastes and eats correctly. Cut them into three-inch circles with a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass if you want the classic cylinder shape, or use them square and let the corners flare out into a frilled cup, which is common in dim sum restaurants and arguably looks better. One wrapper per dumpling, no other changes needed.

What is the difference between shumai and gyoza wrappers?

Shumai wrappers are thinner and usually contain egg and alkaline salts, which makes them yellower and more delicate, because shumai are steamed open and the skin only has to hold a filling upright. Gyoza wrappers are thicker plain wheat dough, built to survive pan-frying and being sealed and pleated. Using gyoza skins for shumai gives a chewier, doughier dumpling with a thick collar where the pleats gather, which is fixable by rolling each one thinner before you fill it.

Do I have to cut the wrappers into circles?

No. Square wonton wrappers work perfectly well left square, with the corners flaring out above the filling like the petals of a flower. Many restaurants and home cooks prefer it, since it saves a step and the frilled top browns attractively if you finish the dumplings under a broiler. Cut rounds only if you specifically want the smooth cylinder shape. If you do cut them, save the offcuts and deep-fry them as crisps for soup.

Can I make shumai without wrappers?

Yes, and it is a much better fallback than most people assume, because the filling carries almost all the flavour. Roll the seasoned pork and shrimp mixture into tablespoon-sized balls, add a teaspoon of cornstarch to help them bind, sit them on cabbage or napa leaves and steam for eight to ten minutes. You lose the soft chewy skin and the neat cup shape, so it eats as an excellent steamed meatball rather than as dim sum, but everything that made the dish taste good is still there.

Can I use frozen wrappers, and how do I thaw them?

Frozen wrappers are fine and often better than refrigerated ones, which dry at the edges on the shelf. Thaw the sealed pack in the fridge overnight rather than on the counter, because fast thawing draws condensation onto the outer sheets and welds the stack together. If they do stick, do not force them apart; leave the block at room temperature for ten minutes and peel from the outside in. Rewrap and refreeze any you do not use, and expect them to be a little more fragile the second time.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Shumai Wrappers substitute

Other shumai wrappers substitutes

2Gyoza or potsticker wrappers, rolled thinner

3Egg roll or spring roll wrappers, cut into rounds

4Fresh pasta or lasagna sheets, cut into rounds

5Rice paper, soaked briefly (gluten-free, least-bad)

6No wrapper at all: steamed filling balls

7Homemade shumai wrappers