Dim sum
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Dim sum (點心) is a Chinese light meal or brunch served with Chinese tea. It is eaten sometimes from morning-to-early afternoon with family or friends. Dim sum consists of a wide spectrum of choices, from sweet to salty. It has combinations of meat, vegetables, seafood, and fruit. It is usually served in a small basket or on a small dish, depending on the type of dim sum.
Name
Dim Sum is a Cantonese term, literally translated as dot heart or order heart, meaning order to one's heart's content. It is also translated as touch the heart, dotted heart, or snack; or it may be derived from yat dim sum yi, meaning a "little token". Though the English word "dim sum" refers to the Cantonese variety, the idea of a wide variety of small dishes for lunch also holds for other regions of China.
Equivalent terms, such as dian xin in Mandarin, exist in other varieties of Chinese, as a generic term for any of a variety of snacks or small food items. The terms "northern dian xin" or "Shanghai dian xin" have thus come into use. These dian xin are, however, not necessarily Cantonese dim sums, although the two still share the same written script in traditional and simplified characters.
In Australia the variant name dim sim is used for a particular kind of dumpling.
Service
Classical dim sum includes buns such as bau (baozi), dumplings and rice rolls, which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. People go yum cha when they are having meals in a Chinese teahouse or a dim sum restaurant, and tea is always served along with dim sum.
Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.
Dim sum dishes can be ordered from a menu or sometimes the food is wheeled around on a mobile cart by servers. Traditionally, the cost of the meal is calculated based on the number and size of dishes left on the patron's table. Some modern dim sum restaurants record the dishes on a bill at the table. Not only is this tidier, it also prevents patrons from cheating by concealing or stealing the plates. Servers in some restaurants use different stamps so that sales statistics for each server can be recorded.
History
Travellers on the ancient Silk Road needed a place to take a nap, so teahouses were established along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would also go to teahouses for a relaxing afternoon of tea. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding more variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum evolved[[Citing sources citation needed]].In Hong Kong, and most cities and towns in Guangdong province, many Chinese restaurants start serving very early in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises, often enjoying the morning newspapers. For many southerners in China, yum cha is treated as a weekend family day. Consistent with this tradition, dim sum restaurants typically only serve dim sum until the afternoon; other Cantonese cuisine are served in the evening. Nowadays, various dim sum items are sold in a takeaway manner for students and office workers on the go.
Drinking tea
- Main article: Yum cha
It is customary to pour tea for others during dim sum before filling one's own cup. A custom unique to the Cantonese is to thank the person pouring the tea by tapping the bent index and middle fingers together on the table. This is said to resemble the ritual of bowing to someone. Given the number of times tea is poured in a meal, it is a timesaver in loud restaurants, as an individual being served might be speaking to someone else and/or have food in their mouth.
In ancient times, a Chinese emperor disguised himself as a commoner and went to yumcha with his servants[[Citing sources citation needed]].
In a first variation of this legend, the emperor poured tea for his servants to hide his superiority and it is customary for the servants to thank the king, else they would be punished. In such a circumstance, the emperor told the servants to tap three fingers on the table to represent kowtow, bowing.
In a second variation of this legend, the disguised emperor wanted to thank somebody for pouring him tea. Since the emperor does not bow to anyone unlike the others, the disguised emperor tapped his fingers on the table in thankful receipt of the tea.
Food
Dim sum restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen. Among the standard fare of dim sum include:
- Gow (餃, Dumpling) (or Gow gee, Jiaozi; 餃子 gau zi, 饺子):Gow is a standard in most teahouses. They are made of ingredients wrapped in a translucent rice-flour or wheat-flour skin. Though common, steamed rice-flour skins are quite difficult to make. Thus, it is a good demonstration of the chef's artistry to make these translucent dumplings. The most common type is har gao, which is a shrimp dumpling with rice-flour skin. There are also dumplings with vegetarian ingredients, such as tofu and pickled cabbage.
- * Shrimp Dumpling (蝦餃 har gao): An especially delicate steamed dumpling with whole or chopped-up shrimp filling and especially thin (almost translucent) rice-flour skin.
- * Chiu-chao style dumplings (潮州粉果 chiu-chau fun guo, 潮州粉果 cháozhōufěnguǒ): A dumpling said to have originated from the Chaozhou prefecture of Kwangtung province, it contains peanuts, garlic chives, pork, dried shrimp, shiitake mushrooms in a thick dumpling wrapper made from glutinous rice flour, or Tang flour. It is usually served with a small dish of chili oil.
- * Potsticker (Simplified Chinese: 锅贴; Traditional Chinese: 鍋貼; Hanyu Pinyin: guōtiē; literally "pot stick") Northern Chinese style of dumpling usually with meat and cabbage filling. Note that though pot stickers are sometimes served in dim sum restaurants, they are not considered traditional Cantonese dim sum.
- Siu Maai (燒賣 siu maai, 烧卖 shāomài): Small steamed dumplings with pork inside a thin wheat flour wrapper.
- Bau (包 bau, 包): Baked or steamed, these fluffy buns are filled with different meats and vegetables. The most popular type is cha siu baau (叉燒包, 叉焼包, chāshāobāo), a bun with Cantonese barbeque-flavoured pork meat and onions inside. It can be either steamed to be fluffy and white or baked with a light sugar glaze to produce a smooth golden-brown crust.
- * Sweet cream buns (奶皇包 naai5 wong4 baau1): Steamed buns with milk custard filling.
- * Shanghai steamed buns or Xiaolongbao (上海小籠包 seong hoi siu lung bau, 上海小笼包 Shànghǎi xiǎolóngbāo): These "little juicy dumplings" are filled with meat or seafood and are famous for their flavour and rich soup inside. These dumplings are originally Shanghai-nese cuisine so they are not considered traditional Cantonese dim sum.
- Rice noodle rolls or cheong fun (腸粉 cheong fan, 肠粉 chángfěn): These are wide rice noodle that are steamed then rolled. Often filled with different types of meats or vegetables inside, but can be served without any filling. Fried rice noodle rolls are fried after they are steamed, then sprinkled with sesame seeds. Popular fillings include beef, dough fritter, shrimp and barbequed pork. Often topped with soy sauce.
- Mooli cakes or lo bak go (蘿蔔糕 lo bak go, 萝卜糕 luóbogāo): These savory cakes are made from mashed daikon radishes mixed with bits of dried shrimp and pork that are steamed and then cut into slices and pan-fried.
- Phoenix talons (鳳爪 fung zau, 凤爪 fèngzhuǎ): These are actually chicken feet that deep fried, boiled, marinated in a black bean sauce, and then steamed. This results in a texture that is light and fluffy (due to the frying), while moist and tender. Fung zau are typically dark red in color. One may also sometimes get clear, steamed chicken feet that is served with a vinegar dipping sauce. This version is known as "White Cloud Phoenix Talons" (白雲鳳爪; baiyunfengzhua; Cantonese: bak wun fung jau)
- Steamed meat balls (牛肉球 ngau4 juk6 kau4, usually simplied as 牛肉): Finely ground beef is shaped into balls and then steamed. Often topped with Worcestershire sauce.
- Steamed spare ribs (排骨 paai4 gwat1): Pork spare ribs are chopped into bite-sized pieces and then steamed with black bean sauce.
- Lotus leaf rice (糯米雞 lo mai gai, 糯米 nuòmǐjī): Glutinous rice is wrapped in a lotus leaf into a triangular or rectangular shape. It contains egg yolk, dried scallop, mushroom, chestnut and meat (usually pork and chicken). These ingredients are steamed with the rice and although the leaf is not eaten, its flavour is infused during the steaming. Lo mai gai is a kind of rice dumpling. A very similar variant which is lighter is known as 珍珠雞/珍珠鸡.
- congee: Rice porridge served with different savory items.
- Mango pudding (芒果布甸 mong guo bo din, 芒果布丁 mangguobuding): A sweet, rich mango-flavoured pudding usually with large chunks of fresh mango, and served with a generous shower of condensed milk.
- Chien chang go (千層糕 cin cang gou, 千层榚 qiāncénggāo): A special dim sum dessert, the sweet "thousand-layer cake" with egg topping or chien chang go is a piece of artistry as well. As suggested by its name, the cake is made up of many layers of sweet egg dough (though not usually a thousand).
- Sesame seed balls (麻糰 , 麻糰 mátuǎn): Especially popular at Chinese New Year, a doughy bread filled with red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds, and deep fried.
- dou fu fa (豆腐花, doù fǔ huā): A dessert - silky tofu served with a sweet ginger-flavored syrup.
- Malay Steamed Sponge Cake (馬拉糕 ma5 lai1 gou1): A very soft sponge cake with the flavor of molasses.
- Sou (酥 sou, 酥 sou): A type of flaky pastry that crumbles with flakes. Fillings such as char siu, century egg, lotus seed paste, cream and seafood are used. Most commonly, char siu sou is served at dim sum restaurants.
- *Cha Siu Sou (叉燒酥 cha siu sou, 叉燒酥 chāshāossou): A baked flaky pastry with sesame seeds and honey on the top of the pastry. It has char siu or barbequed pork with onions which is somehow similar with Chasiubao.
- Taro root dumpling or woo kok (竽角 wu gok, 竽角 yùjiǎo): This is made with mashed taro, stuffed with diced shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and pork. It is surrounded by a light and fluffy, crispy-brown dough.
- Spring rolls (cheon gyun, 春卷 chūnjuǎn): Spring rolls consist of various types of vegetables such as sliced carrot, cabbage, mushroom and wood ear fungus, and sometimes meat, are rolled inside a thin flour skin and deep fried for a crispy outside.
- Egg tart (蛋撻 dan tat, 蛋挞 dàn tà): Egg tarts are composed of a flaky outer crust with a middle filled with egg custard which is then baked. Some high class restaurants put bird's nest soup on top of the custard.
- Crispy fried squid: Similar to Fried calamari, the battered squid is deep-fried and normally served with a sweet and sour dip. One may also get a variation of this dish prepared with a salt and pepper mix.
Fast food & Premade Dim Sum
Certain kinds of instant dim sum have come onto the market in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore. People can enjoy snacks after a 3-minute defrosting and reheating of the instant dim sum in a microwave oven.
Some stalls serve "street dim sum" which usually consists of dumplings or meatballs steamed in a large container, but served on a bamboo skewer. The customer can dip the whole skewer into a sauce bowl and eat while standing or walking.
Dim Sum can be purchased from major grocery stores in most countries with a Chinese population. These dim sum can be easily cooked by steaming or microwaving. Major grocery stores in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Mainland China, Malaysia, USA and Canada have a variety of dim sum stocked at the shelves. These include dumplings, siu maai, bau, cheong fun, lo bak go and steamed spare ribs. In Singapore as well as other countries, dim sum can also be purchased from convenience stores, coffee shops and other eateries. In Malaysia, halal-certified dim sum with pork being replaced by chicken are sold. However, it is common these days to have dim sum with chicken as the meat ingredient.
See also
- Dim sim - an Australian variant
- Egg tart
- Conveyor belt sushi
External links
- [Pictures of common dim sum dishes with English names and chinese characters]
- [Hong Kong Tourism Board Guide to Dim Sum]
- [KimDimSum - Dim Sum Recipes, Links, and Discussion Forums]
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