シューマイ

1928 is a printed point for シューマイ: Seisenban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten cites Onbiki Seikai Kindai Shinyogo Jiten and labels the word as from Chinese. The written form is 焼売, with Mandarin shāomài and Cantonese siu1 maai6 among the source pronunciations. In Chinese food culture it belongs to 点心, the small dishes served with tea in places such as Guangdong and Hong Kong. Japanese borrowed the name through Chinese-restaurant and dim-sum vocabulary, then fixed it as a pork dumpling familiar in home cooking and bento. Yokohama is important in the Japanese spread: Kiyoken was founded in 1908 and released its シウマイ in 1928. The シウマイ弁当 followed in 1954, making a Chinese dumpling name part of railway food culture. The brand spelling シウマイ is local, while シューマイ is the general katakana form. Today シューマイ in Japan usually means minced pork in a thin wrapper, often steamed with an open top. Chinese shaomai is more varied: Cantonese siu mai may use pork and shrimp, while other regions use glutinous rice or different fillings. English "shumai" often points to the Japanese form, while "siu mai" points to Cantonese dim sum. Japanese packages may also print 焼売, シュウマイ, or シウマイ. Example: シューマイ弁当を買いました.