Dim Sum - A ‘touch of heart’ AppetizerThat’s Touched a Million Hearts

Aug 16

The English translation of ‘Dim Sum’ the appetizer literally means ‘touch of heart’. If you go by statistics, this popular Chinese appetizer must have surely caressed a million hearts already. Its travelled from Guangdong Province of China to the rest of the world, over many years.

This famed culinary export of Southern China is traditionally served with tea, Dim Sum is a collection of steamed and fried buns, dumplings, and rolls.

The Making of Dim Sum

Chinese chefs say making dim sum is laborious and complex. It requires numerous techniques and practice before it is perfected. They undergo months of training to master the techniques of making Dim Sum. The diversity of wrappings are complex, and so are the fillings that are enclosed within .

The six basic steps involved in the preparation include:

a) Gathering condiments

b) Preparing rice noodle rolls,

c) Steaming

d) Deep Frying

e) Preparing the filling

f) Dumpling and wrapping the dough with the fillings

In most of the traditional restaurants that serve dim sum, the chefs have their own teams. The members of the team have to first work as trainees and master certain functions, before they are included in the team.

The level of expertise of a dim sum chef can be analyzed by observing the shrimp dumpling made by the chef. In Chinese, shrimp dumplings are called ‘har gow’, they are the most complex dumplings to prepare. The outer shell of the shrimp dumpling is made using a sticky rice flour dough that breaks apart very easily. It requires absolute finesse to wrap the filling and secure them with pleats. Twelve or more pleats, denotes the expertise of a master chef. The video below features different ways of how fillings are added to the dim sums and pleated.

If you’re an ardent food lover, and want to try making the Dim Sum at home, here’s a simple recipe that you can begin with. The video above is a useful guide for your cooking adventure. The fillings can consist of meat or greens, the recipe below has tofu though.

As a beginner, you will first have to find ways to manipulate dumpling wrappers, because the best part of the dim sums are the wrappers, especially the part where all the dough is concentrated and pleated together.

The wrappers in this recipe have been made with spinach added to the dove, and for the fillings tofu has been used, you can also add cottage cheese (paneer) instead of tofu, for the wrappers spinach can be replaced with purple cabbage, there are plenty of choices available to experiment.

Here’s the recipe for Shishito and Tofu Dumplings:

Ingredients for the Spinach Dumpling Dough:

- 2 cups packed Spinach

- 3/4 cup just boiled water

- 10 oz (2 cups) All Purpose Flour (Maida)

- Salt to Taste

Making the Spinach Dumpling Dough:

Use an immersion blender or a mixer blender, placing the spinach in the cup/jar. Pour boiling water over the spinach and blend for 45 seconds until the texture turns smooth.

Take a fine mesh sieve to strain the spinach puree, using a rubber spatula gradually push it through the mesh into a glass measuring cup, keep aside a 3/4th cup of the bright green liquid.

Take a large bowl and place the flour in it, add salt to taste. Make a hollow cavity on the flour, and pour the spinach water onto it. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix well to turn it into soft lumpy dough. Knead the dough thoroughly for 2-3 minutes, until it turns smooth. Take a zip lock bag and place the dough in it, allowing it to rest for a minimum fifteen minutes to two hours.

Making the dumpling filling:

Cut 10 grams of green pepper into 1/4” - 1/2” slices. Take a pan and heat olive oil over medium high heat. Now add the sliced green peppers into the pan, and sauté, stirring them frequently for five minutes, until the edges are slightly blistered.

Break the tofu into chunks, and add them to the pan. Add seasonings of salt, white pepper, Sriracha, dark soy, and sugar. Using a spatula, break the tofu into smaller pieces. As you sauté, the tofu will continue to crumble. Continue to cook for another five to seven minutes, until the moisture has dried. Take a bowl and place the dumpling filling into it. Add a pinch of cornstarch, and allow the dumpling filling to completely cool.

Assembling the dumplings

Sprinkle a little flour on a chopping board or a tray. Remove the dough from the zip-lock bag. Divide the dough into two halves, take one half of the dough, and roll it into a 1” thick rope, allowing the other half to remain in the bag.

Cut it into 16 equal parts, and place the pieces into the zip-lock bag to prevent it from drying. Roll out one piece of dough into a 3.5” disc, with a small rolling pin. Take a small quantity of the filling in a tablespoon and place it in the center of the round dumpling wrapper, without over stuffing it.

Fold them into the desired shape, pleating them deftly leaving a little space between each pleat. Continue the same process with the rest of the dumplings, placing all of them on a baking tray, until they are ready to be cooked.

For the steaming process, boil a pot of water. Place a similar round sized bamboo steamer over it, with perforated parchment paper or cabbage leaves.

Place the dumplings over the steamer, leaving sufficient space in-between, making sure they don’t stick together. Cover the steamer with a lid, and steam for 6-7 minutes. Now remove the steamer from the pot, and allow the steam to release. Let the dumplings stay on the steamer to cool slightly.

They are ready to serve now, with chili oil/or soya sauce