Okay, so I tried making dim sum at home, and let me tell you, it was quite the experience! I’ve always loved those little bites of goodness you get at dim sum restaurants, and I figured, why not give it a shot myself?
First, I gathered all the ingredients. I decided to start simple with some dumplings. I grabbed some ground pork, cabbage, ginger, and green onions from the store, along with some pre-made dumpling wrappers. I mean, who has time to make those from scratch, right?
Next, I mixed all the ingredients together in a big bowl. I chopped up the cabbage, ginger, and green onions real fine, then threw them in with the pork. I added a dash of soy sauce, some sesame oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. I got my hands dirty and mixed it all up until it was nice and combined.
Then came the fun part – filling the dumplings! I laid out the wrappers on the counter and spooned a bit of the filling into the center of each one. This was trickier than I thought it would be. I might have overfilled a few, but hey, more filling, more flavor, right?
- First, I wet the edges of the wrappers with a little water.
- Then, I carefully folded them over and pinched the edges together to seal them.
- Some of them looked pretty decent, but others, well, let’s just say they had character!
I decided to pan-fry some of the dumplings and steam the rest. For the pan-fried ones, I heated up some oil in a pan and placed the dumplings in, flat side down. I cooked them until they were golden brown and crispy on the bottom, then added a splash of water to the pan and covered it to let them steam for a few minutes.
For the steamed dumplings, I lined a steamer basket with parchment paper, arranged the dumplings inside, and steamed them over boiling water for about 10-12 minutes, I think.
The Results
Finally, it was time to taste the fruits of my labor! I served the dumplings with some dipping sauce I whipped up (just soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a little chili oil).
They weren’t perfect, but they were pretty darn tasty! Especially those pan-fried ones with the crispy bottoms. My family seemed to enjoy them too, which was a relief. It was a lot of work, but it was definitely a fun experience. I might even try making some other dim sum dishes next time, maybe some char siu bao. Who knows!
In the end, sharing food is all about having fun. Since dim sum is all about sharing.