Okay, here is my sharing about making a dim sum set:
So, I decided to try making a dim sum set at home. I’ve always loved going out for dim sum, but sometimes you just want to chill at home, you know? Plus, it seemed like a fun challenge.
Getting Ready
First, I had to figure out what I wanted to make. I went with some classics: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), and char siu bao (barbecue pork buns). I found some recipes online, they looked kind of intimidating, but I figured, why not?
Next, the shopping. This was an adventure in itself. I hit up my local Asian grocery store and wandered the aisles. It’s packed with stuff. I managed to find most of what I needed, like shrimp, pork, and the right kind of flour. Some things were a bit tricky to find, like specific sauces, but I made do with some substitutes. I grabbed everything and head back home.
Prepping the Ingredients
Back in my kitchen, I started with the char siu bao filling. I chopped up some pork shoulder, marinated it in a mix of hoisin, soy sauce, honey, and some other stuff. While that was marinating, I got to work on the har gow and siu mai fillings. Both involved chopping up shrimp, and for the siu mai, I also used ground pork. This was a lot of chopping, let me tell you. My hands got pretty tired, but I pushed through.
Then came the dough. I started with the char siu bao dough, which is a yeasted dough. I mixed the flour, yeast, sugar, and water, and kneaded it until it was smooth. It was kind of sticky at first, but it came together nicely. I set that aside to rise.
For the har gow and siu mai, the wrappers are different. Har gow has these translucent wrappers, and siu mai has thin, yellow ones. I ended up buying pre-made wrappers for these, because making them from scratch seemed like a whole other level of difficulty that I was not ready for.
Assembly Time
Once the char siu bao dough had doubled in size, I punched it down and divided it into smaller pieces. I rolled each piece out, put a spoonful of the barbecue pork filling in the center, and pinched the edges to seal them. They looked a bit wonky, but I was hopeful they’d turn out okay.
Then I assembled the har gow and siu mai. I put a spoonful of filling in the center of each wrapper, then pinched and pleated the edges to form the dumplings. This was fiddly work, and my dumplings definitely didn’t look as pretty as the ones in restaurants. But hey, I was learning!
Steaming
Finally, it was time to steam everything. I don’t have a traditional bamboo steamer, so I used a regular metal steamer basket. I put the char siu bao in first, since they take the longest to cook. After about 15 minutes, I added the har gow and siu mai. They only took about 8-10 minutes.
The Result
When I took the lid off the steamer, the smell was amazing. The char siu bao had puffed up nicely, and the har gow wrappers were translucent, just like they should be. I was so excited to try everything!
- Char Siu Bao: These were the stars of the show. The buns were soft and fluffy, and the filling was sweet and savory. They weren’t perfect, but they were pretty darn good for a first attempt.
- Har Gow: The wrappers were a bit thicker than I would have liked, but the shrimp filling was delicious. I definitely need to work on my pleating skills, though.
- Siu Mai: These were probably the most successful of the bunch. The filling was flavorful, and the wrappers held up well.
Overall, it was a lot of work, but it was also a lot of fun. I’m definitely going to try making dim sum again, and next time, maybe I’ll even attempt to make the wrappers from scratch. We’ll see! It’s a good day!