So, the other day, I got this wild idea to try making bao and dim sum at home. I’ve always loved these little bites of heaven when I go out to eat, so I thought, why not give it a shot myself? I’m no chef, mind you, but I do enjoy a good kitchen adventure.
First thing I did was hit up the internet to find some recipes. I mean, there’s a gazillion of them out there, right? I settled on a couple that looked simple enough – famous last words, huh? For the bao, I needed to make the dough. It involved flour, yeast, a bit of sugar, water – the usual suspects. I mixed it all up, and let me tell you, kneading dough is a workout! I felt like a proper baker, though, getting my hands all messy and stuff. Once the dough was all smooth and elastic, I covered it up and let it sit to rise. That was going to take some time and I was so boring that I decided to start making the fillings for the bao at the same time.
While the dough was doing its thing, I moved on to the fillings. I decided to go classic with one pork filling. I chopped up some pork, added some soy sauce, a little ginger, garlic – you know, the flavor boosters. I cooked that up in a pan, and oh boy, the smell was making my stomach rumble. Also, I chopped up some veggies I had in the fridge – carrots, cabbage, and some green onions and mixed them together with some seasoning. Easy peasy, right?
- Dough ingredients:
- Flour
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Water
- Pork filling:
- Pork
- Soy sauce
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Veggie filling:
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Green onions
Then, when the dough had doubled in size, which felt like forever by the way, I punched it down – that’s the fun part – and divided it into little balls. I rolled each ball out into a circle, put a spoonful of filling in the center, and then came the tricky part: sealing them up. Let’s just say my first few attempts were… interesting. They looked more like deformed blobs than those perfect little buns you see in restaurants. But hey, I got the hang of it eventually. With a bit of practice, I was pinching and pleating like a pro – or at least a semi-pro.
Once all the baos were assembled, I popped them into a steamer. I didn’t have one of those fancy bamboo steamers, so I just used a regular one with a lid. I steamed them for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I started getting the dim sum ready. I had bought some pre-made wrappers, so that saved me some time. I made a simple filling with some ground chicken, shrimp, and some seasoning. I filled the wrappers, shaped them into little pouches. And they also went into the steamer, and I made sure to keep them separate from the bao.
Finally, the moment of truth. I took the bao and dim sum out of the steamer, and they actually looked pretty good! The bao were fluffy, and the dim sum were all cute and bite-sized. I served them up with some dipping sauces I whipped up – a soy sauce-based one and a sweet chili one, for variety.
And you know what? They tasted amazing! Sure, they weren’t perfect, and the process was a bit messy, but it was so worth it. I felt a real sense of accomplishment, having made these little delicacies from scratch. Plus, I had a bunch of leftovers, which was a bonus.
So, that’s my bao and dim sum adventure. It was a fun, delicious, and slightly chaotic experience. Would I do it again? Absolutely! Maybe next time I’ll try some different fillings, or even attempt to make the wrappers from scratch. Who knows? The kitchen is my oyster!
That is it!
If any of you guys are feeling adventurous, I say go for it! It’s a great way to spend an afternoon, and you get to eat some yummy food at the end. Just be prepared for a bit of a mess, and don’t get discouraged if your first attempts aren’t perfect. It’s all part of the learning process. Happy cooking!