Okay, so yesterday I got this wild idea to try and make some dim sum at home. Specifically, the deep-fried kind, because let’s be honest, that’s the best kind, right? I’ve always loved hitting up dim sum places with my family, and there’s this one dish, Ham Sui Gok, these crispy, chewy, glutinous rice dumplings that are just to die for. I thought, “How hard could it be?” Turns out, it’s a bit of an adventure, but a fun one!
First off, I dug around for some recipes online. There’s a ton of stuff out there, but I wanted something that seemed doable for a regular dude like me, not some professional chef. I finally stumbled upon a couple that looked promising and kind of mashed them together to fit what I had in my kitchen and what I felt like doing.
Then came the shopping. I hit up my local Asian market – that place is a wonderland, by the way – and grabbed some glutinous rice flour, regular rice flour, some pork, shrimp, and a bunch of other stuff that looked interesting. I might’ve gone a little overboard, but hey, who doesn’t love options?
The Fun (and Messy) Part
Next up, making the dough. Let me tell you, glutinous rice flour is STICKY. Like, seriously sticky. I followed the recipe, mixing the flours with water, sugar, and a bit of oil, and ended up with this dough that was supposed to be smooth but felt more like a gooey monster trying to eat my hands. But after some intense, arm workout like kneading, I managed to get it to a somewhat workable consistency.
- Mixing flours with water, sugar, and oil: I mixed glutinous rice flour with regular rice flour and add a little bit of sugar and oil.
- Kneading the dough: I kneaded and kneaded until my arms were sore.
- Resting the dough: I covered the dough and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
While the dough was resting, I whipped up the filling. I finely chopped the pork and shrimp, mixed them with some soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and a few other seasonings. It smelled amazing, and I may or may not have snuck a taste – raw, I know, but it was good!
Now for the tricky part: assembling the dumplings. I rolled out little pieces of the dough, filled them with the pork and shrimp mixture, and tried to pinch them closed. This was way harder than it looked in the videos I watched. Some of them looked okay, others… well, let’s just say they were “rustic.”
Finally, fry time! I heated up a good amount of oil in a wok – because why not feel a little authentic? – and carefully dropped the dumplings in. They sizzled and turned this beautiful golden brown. I fried them in batches, so they wouldn’t overcrowd the wok, and soon enough, I had a plate full of what I hoped were delicious, crispy dumplings.
And you know what? They were pretty darn good! Not exactly like the ones at my favorite dim sum place, but hey, for a first try, I was proud. The outside was crispy, the inside was chewy, and the filling was flavorful. My family devoured them, which is always a good sign.
So, that was my dim sum adventure. It was messy, a bit chaotic, but totally worth it. I might even try making some other types of dim sum in the future, like maybe the shrimp dumplings, Har Gow. Anyone got any good recipes?