Dim sum touches American hearts

Advertiser Staff and News Services

The many forms of dim sum in restaurants may seem a bit daunting but some recipes can be readily duplicated at home. Gannett News Service Dim-sum glossary Char siu bau: steamed pork buns. Cheung fan: steamed rice-noodle wraps filled with shrimp or pork. Dan ta: egg custard tarts. Fung jau: steamed chicken feet. Har gau: steamed shrimp dumplings. Jai gau: steamed vegetable dumplings. Lin yung bau: sweet buns filled with lotus-seed paste. Ngau yuk kao: steamed beef balls. Pai gwat: fried, then steamed, pork spareribs. Siu mai: egg-noodle wrappers filled with pork, shrimp or vegetables. Source: "The Food of China" by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds; Whitecap, $40

It's dim sum, which has moved out of Chinatowns into the hearts of foodies who may not know what the goodies are called, or even what's in them, but who appreciate the range of flavors, the small servings that encourage you to savor and not over-eat, and the various traditions that go with dim sum.

Dim sum means "touch the heart" in Cantonese, little dishes that are roughly equivalent to Spanish tapas or Mediterranean mezze — mostly bite-sized morsels that people eat while socializing. About 2,000 varieties of dim sum that have evolved in China since the 10th century and new ones are still being created.

Cantonese cooks began preparing dim sum for teahouses during the Sung dynasty (960-1280 A.D). Eating dim sum, reading the newspaper or racing form, and chatting with family and friends are still central to the Cantonese and Hong Kong custom of yum cha, which means "to drink tea." It's comparable to stopping by the coffee shop for coffee and a danish.

In Hawai'i and in the Chinatowns of the Mainland, dim sum for Sunday brunch is a bustling tradition. In Honolulu, Hee Hing, Legend Seafood Restaurant and Panda Cuisine are mobbed that day. But they and other restaurants —ÊMei Sum and Happy Day, for instance — serve dim sum every day.

Dim sum usually is served from early morning until early afternoon. You begin by choosing tea.

"Anyone from the table can fill up the tea cups during the meal," write the authors of "The Food of China" by Deh-Ta Hsiung and Nina Simonds (Whitecap, $40). "They are thanked by the tapping of fingers on the table, expressing gratitude even when mouths are full."

The dim sum tradition has a great deal of charm: servers pushing carts through packed rooms, calling out the names of the dishes in lilting Chinese and stopping to display their offerings. Order, eat, then stack the plates and your bill is based on how many dishes you've got piled up.

This is changing: Now it's common for the server to tote up the bill in a more conventional fashion, with different prices for different dishes. And some spots offer dim sum from the menu, buffet fashion or even to go.

As with Chinese cuisine in general, dim sum vary from region to region and from city to village. And while northern Chinese enjoy items such as jiaozi (meat dumplings) and the Sichuanese eat various spicy snacks, it is in the teahouses of Canton and Hong Kong that dim sum reaches its apotheosis with a profusion of baked, steamed or fried dumplings, meats, seafood, buns and desserts.

Most people wouldn't consider making dim sum at home — it's as much about socializing as dining, and the dishes are labor-intensive. But there are some dim-sum recipes that are within reach of the home cook, and that would be nice for a snack, or as a side dish or the first course of a Chinese-style meal.

Here's a sample:

Caramelized Yams

• 1 and one-third pounds yams
• 4 cups cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons roasted white sesame seeds
• A bowl of cold water for dipping

Wash yams, pare and cut into bite-sized pieces. Heat wok or large, deep pan; add four cups oil and heat to 250 degrees. Deep-fry yam pieces until tender. Heat another wok or pan, and add one tablespoon oil and sugar. Cook over low heat until sugar is melted and caramelized. Add fried yam pieces, mix well, sprinkle on sesame seeds before removing to plate. When serving, dip caramelized yams in bowl of cold water, one by one, while hot, then munch.

Makes about 4 servings.

Fried Pork and Vegetable Dumplings

For the filling:

• 1 cup cabbage
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cooking wine
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons ground pork
• 1/4 cup plus 3 teaspoons chives, minced
• 3 tablespoons green onions, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger root, minced

Wash cabbage and shred. Add salt and let stand. Squeeze out accumulated liquid. Mix sesame oil, sugar, salt, cooking wine and pepper; marinate pork in mixture for 10 minutes. Add cabbage, chives, green onions and ginger root, and mix well.

For the dough and to prepare:

• 5/8 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup hot water
• 1/3 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• 1 cup water

Sift flour, add hot water and mix well. Add cold water and knead until smooth and shining. Cover with damp cloth for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 40 equal portions. Press and roll each portion into an oval, put two teaspoons filling in center, fold in half and squeeze opening tightly closed.

Add oil to frying pan and heat. Add dumplings and fry for 20 seconds. Add one cup of water and cover. Turn heat to low and simmer until water is completely evaporated, about eight to 10 minutes, and dumplings are golden on bottom. Makes 40 dumplings.

Steamed Shrimp Bonnets

For the filling:

• 1 1/2 cups prawns, cleaned and minced
• 3/4 cup bamboo shoots, minced
• 1 spring onion, minced
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 4 teaspoons salt

Combine all filling ingredients and refrigerate for three hours.

For the dough and to prepare:

• 1 cup wheat starch
• 2/3 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 teaspoons cooking oil

Mix dry dough ingredients thoroughly, then add water and stir until a dough mixture forms. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Knead dough for five minutes on surface oiled with one-half cup cooking oil. Roll dough out as thinly as possible and cut into rounds about three inches in diameter. To make bonnets, pinch each round at three evenly spaced points on the edge to form pleats, the result of which will produce a little pouch. Fill each pouch with one teaspoon filling. Pinch edge as many times as needed to make enough pleats to close pouch. Place bonnets in cake or pie pan lightly oiled with two teaspoons cooking oil, pleats up, and then into a steamer for 15 minutes.

Egg Custard Tarts

For the pastry:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup lard
• 5 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease tart pans.

Sift flour into large bowl. Work lard into flour with fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add hot water and blend it into dough. Place dough on flour-covered board and keep kneading until dough can be gathered up into a firm ball.

Roll pastry on board to about one-eighth-inch thickness. Cut dough into 24 circles, using a three-inch round cutter. Fit circles into greased tart pans.

For the filling:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• yellow food coloring (optional)

Put filling ingredients into a small bowl and beat until smooth. Pour filling into pastry-lined tart pans, leaving about one-fourth inch at top.

Bake egg custard tarts for about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until custard has set. Custard is done when knife placed in middle comes out clean. Makes 24 tarts.

Johnathan L. Wright of the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal and Wanda Adams of The Honolulu Advertiser contributed to this report.