The art of Chinese culinary experts is known all over the world. Dishes prepared according to their original recipes always differ in their unusual appearance, and at the same time in excellent taste and wonderful aroma. Sometimes it’s difficult to repeat exactly, as this requires unique ingredients.
In the list of traditional Chinese dishes , Dim Sam occupies a special place. What is it and why did the product get such an unusual name? It is worth talking about this in more detail.
Original product
Arriving in the Middle Kingdom, tourists in each cafe or restaurant can order "Dim Sam." What is it, at first glance it is sometimes even difficult to determine exactly. Externally, the product is very similar to Russian dumplings or oriental khinkali. They are united by the same composition.
Each of these dishes is a product made from dough, in which various fillings are wrapped. However, one cannot say that they are very similar. How is Dim Sam different from its brothers? What it is? The name of this product can be translated from Chinese as “light the soul” or “touch the heart”. Indeed, those who have tried them will never be able to forget this unique feeling.
Chinese dumplings can be different:
- big and small;
- open and closed;
- cooked in a special broth or deep-fried.
But most often, these are miniature bags of dough with filling, steamed in special baskets made of bamboo. This is how this dish is remembered by those who come to China for the first time.
A bit of history
Each Chinese dish has its own history and special purpose. And if you look closely, you can say about Dim-Sam that it is a kind of semblance of modern fast food.
The history of its creation is rooted in the distant past. Since ancient times, the Chinese have a tradition called "Yam Cha." In Russian, it sounds like "drink some tea." Tired travelers or people exhausted by hard work, tried to find a place and time to relax and refresh themselves with freshly brewed aromatic tea. After all, this drink is best able to restore strength and give a boost of vitality. So in the country specialized “tea houses” appeared.
Initially, they did not serve food. It was believed that any product consumed during tea drinking could lead to obesity. Later, people realized that the situation was just the opposite. Good tea only helps digestion. Then in such establishments began to serve light snacks such as "Dim Sam", which appealed to many visitors.
Popular product
Today, in many cities, Chinese restaurants are opening in many cities, where everyone can try unusual products and feel the unique national flavor. There are many such institutions not only in Russia, but also in the countries of the Near and Far Abroad. The menu offers a large number of different dishes to visitors, among which Dim-Sum (Dim-Sam) is not the least. It can be ordered at any time of the day, from morning to evening.
This light and very tasty product has no time frame. At home, the Chinese consider it obligatory at least once a week to go to the restaurant on the Dim Sam with the whole family. As a rule, they order several types of these “dumplings” with different fillings at the same time.
So it is possible to get the maximum impression of this unique product. A similar habit is becoming a good tradition among many Russians as well. Those who visit such establishments for the first time remain simply indescribable delight. It is precisely these feelings that a product from a super-thin dough with an original filling causes in them. In addition, some types of such products are served directly in the same dishes in which they were prepared. This creates an additional effect and causes lively interest.
Cooking secrets
To get to know this dish more closely, you can try to make Dim Sam yourself. How to cook it? To do this, you may need the following products:
- for 3 cups wheat a tablespoon of cornmeal;
- 25 grams of sugar;
- 400 grams of peeled shrimp;
- a little ground black pepper;
- glass of water;
- 15-20 grams of vegetable oil;
- 2 tablespoons of rice wine and soy sauce.
The whole process consists of four stages:
- First you need to cook the dough. To do this, flour should be poured slide on the table, making a small depression in the center. Pour in there 100 milliliters of hot and 35 milliliters of cold water, add oil, and then knead. The finished semi-finished product should be covered with a napkin and set aside for 30 minutes.
- At this time, you can do stuffing. Finely chopped shrimp should be mixed with water (30-35 milliliters), and then gradually add sauce, wine, pepper and sugar. Last of all, cornmeal should be poured.
- Roll the prepared dough into a tourniquet, and then cut into pieces, each of which is then rolled into a thin circle with a diameter of not more than 6 centimeters. Put a little filling in the center and gently pinch the edges in any convenient way.
- Place the products on a double boiler lattice, covered with green lettuce leaves.
After 20 minutes, the product can be safely served, sprinkled with herbs and generously seasoned with soy sauce.
Chinese "dumplings" with chicken
Russian people are used to making meat dumplings. For the Chinese, this option is also acceptable. To make delicious Dim-Sum at home, you can make your own filling recipes or use the ones that others have already come up with. Take, for example, an option in which several stalks of leek are required, as well as for the dough:
- 200 milliliters of coconut milk;
- a pinch of salt;
- a glass of wheat flour.
For filling:
- 300 grams of chicken fillet;
- 1 pod of chili pepper;
- 4 feathers of green onions;
- ginger root (not more than 4 centimeters).
For the sauce:
- 4 tomatoes;
- salt;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- ground black pepper;
- and also ¼ part of three sweet peppers of different colors (green, red and yellow).
Such a dish is prepared in several stages:
- First you need to prepare the filling. To do this, the first thing you need to cut the meat into pieces and lightly fry them in a pan, only greasing it with vegetable oil. Chill the cooled chicken in addition with onion and ginger. The composition should not be very liquid.
- To prepare the sauce, send all the vegetables to the oven for several minutes. This will help to remove the peel from them easier. Then peeled tomatoes need to be rubbed through a sieve to remove seeds, and transfer the resulting mass to a stewpan and put it on fire. After the liquid has mostly evaporated, add slices of peppers and mashed garlic.
- Cooked sauce must be combined with the filling, and after mixing, add chopped chili. The composition is ready.
- Combine the ingredients of the dough together and mix them well with a blender. The semi-finished product will have a pleasant coconut flavor.
- Divide the dough into pieces and roll them into discs with a diameter of 6 centimeters.
- In the middle of each of them put a teaspoon of the filling and carefully pinch the edges.
- Cover the grate of the bamboo double boiler with the stalks of leeks from the inside and then carefully lay the cooked dumplings on top.
5-10 minutes after boiling water, the products can be served directly on the table in the same dishes in which they were prepared. As an addition, barbecue sauce is great.
Dim Samy in the slow cooker
In modern families, the hostess has a lot of different kitchen appliances. Therefore, for example, the lack of a special bamboo double boiler cannot make her refuse to make the famous Chinese snack.
You can verify this if you consider the step-by-step recipe "Dim-Sam" for the multicooker. For work you will need:
- 20 sheets of rice paper ;
- 450 grams of lean beef;
- hot pepper pod;
- clove of garlic;
- 4 stalks of green onions (their white part);
- 30 milliliters of soy sauce.
For decoration, you can use ground paprika, red hot pepper and herbs.
For the sauce:
- 1 teaspoon of sugar;
- 2 limes;
- a tablespoon of soy sauce.
Cooking Technology:
- Pass the beef with onions, peeled garlic and pepper through a meat grinder. It is better to do this twice, so that the composition is softer.
- After this, you can add a little soy sauce and 1-2 drops of vegetable oil, and then mix everything thoroughly. The filling is ready.
- Soak sheets of rice paper in warm water for a few seconds.
- Minced meat divided into several equal parts and say them in the form of balls.
- Spread a sheet of rice paper on the table, and then wrap a meat ball in it. Repeat the steps until the food runs out. So that the paper does not stick to the surface, the worktable must first be moistened with plain water.
- Grease the grid in the multicooker with vegetable oil and carefully place the blanks on it. After that, close the lid, set the mode to “steam” on the panel, and set the timer for 15 minutes.
- To make lime sauce, squeeze the juice and mix it with the rest of the ingredients until they are completely dissolved.
After the signal, the multicooker can be turned off, and the finished products can be taken out with tongs and gently laid out on a plate, pouring them with sauce and decorating with products left for that if desired.
Dumplings from Hong Kong
Each province or administrative region of China has its own habits and traditions. In Hong Kong, for example, they like to fry Dim Sam. The recipe for cooking in this case will be slightly different.
The following components will be required:
- for 0.5 kilograms of flour, 200 grams of shrimp and pork;
- 50 grams of spinach or Chinese cabbage ;
- a teaspoon of vinegar;
- 50 milliliters of chicken stock;
- salt;
- ginger;
- a little white pepper;
- as well as 50 milliliters of vegetable and 2 tablespoons of sesame oil.
The entire cooking process takes no more than one hour. To do this, you need:
- Combine the flour with water, and then, adding vinegar, knead the dough.
- For the filling, first you need to chop the pork into minced meat, and then add the finely chopped shrimp with cabbage and broth. After this, the mass must be salt, add ginger, pepper, sesame oil, onion and mix well.
- Roll out the dough into a thin pancake and divide it into parts.
- Fill each part with filling and pinch the edges in any way convenient for this. The Chinese use many different sculpting options.
- Fry the workpieces first in vegetable oil, and then, adding a little broth to the pan, simmer under the lid for 6-7 minutes.
In principle, such "dim sums" do not need to be supplemented. But if desired, you can use any of your favorite sauces.
Khinkali from China
Many chefs, seeing a clear resemblance to oriental cuisine, believe that the ancient Asian snack is nothing more than Chinese khinkali. "Dim Sum" is really very similar to them. The only difference is in the preparation of the dough. The finished product should be practically transparent. This can be achieved using a rather original recipe.
Minimum amount of ingredients required:
- For the test - for 300 milliliters of boiling water, 150 grams of wheat and 112.5 grams of corn starch.
- For the filling - 0.5 kilograms of fresh shrimp in a pinch of salt and sugar, as well as a little sesame oil, white pepper and broth in powder.
The technology of this dish is extremely simple:
- First you need to make the filling. To do this, all the ingredients must be thoroughly kneaded by hand. Oil and pepper are added last. The mixture should contain sufficiently large pieces.
- To prepare the dough, starch must be mixed with boiling water, and then put the finished product in the refrigerator for an hour.
- After that, it must be rolled up into a thin bundle, which is then divided into several parts.
- Roll each piece into a pancake of the smallest possible thickness, put a little filling in the center, and then squeeze the edges tightly, making it advisable to make 12 folds.
- Put the products in a double boiler and cook until the dough becomes transparent.
Such "dim sums" are served to the table most often with soy sauce.