Shumai vs. Dumpling — What's the Difference?

Shumai (simplified Chinese: 烧卖; traditional Chinese: 燒賣; pinyin: shāomài; Cantonese Yale: sīu-máai; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sio-māi) is a type of traditional Chinese dumpling, originating from Hohhot. In Cantonese cuisine, it is usually served as a dim sum snack.

Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources) wrapped around a filling, or of dough with no filling. The dough can be based on bread, flour or potatoes, and may be filled with meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits or sweets.

A steamed or fried dumpling that contains a pastelike filling of minced ingredients, as pork, shrimp, ginger, and onion, usually seasoned with soy sauce and often only partially wrapped, exposing part of the filling.

A piece of dough, sometimes filled, that is cooked in liquid such as water or soup.

A dish consisting of a number of these dumplings.

Sweetened dough wrapped around fruit, such as an apple, baked and served as a dessert.

A traditional steamed Chinese pork dumpling served in dim sum.

(Informal) A short, chubby creature.

(culinary) A ball of dough that is cooked and may have a filling and/or additional ingredients in the dough.

By restriction, a food composed of a dough wrapper around a filling.

(endearing) A term of endearment.

A piece of excrement.

A roundish mass of dough boiled in soup, or as a sort of pudding; often, a cover of paste inclosing an apple or other fruit, and boiled or baked; as, an apple dumpling.

Small balls or strips of boiled or steamed dough

Dessert made by baking fruit wrapped in pastry