Okay, let me tell you about my little adventure trying to figure out the price of a dim sum basket.
Why I Started Looking
So, the other day, I was really craving some homemade siu mai. You know, the good stuff. And I realized my old bamboo steamer was looking a bit worse for wear. It’s served me well, honestly, years of steaming goodness. But it was time. I thought, “Alright, simple enough, just need to get a new dim sum basket.” That’s when I decided to actually check out the prices these days.
The Hunt Begins
First off, I did what most folks do – I hopped online. Typed in “dim sum basket price”, “bamboo steamer”, that sort of thing. Wow, okay. A whole range popped up immediately. Saw some on big retail sites, some on more specialized Asian cookware places.
Then, I thought, maybe I should check out local spots. I remembered there’s an Asian supermarket not too far from me, and a couple of kitchen supply stores downtown. So, the next time I was out running errands, I made a point to swing by.
What I Found Out
Here’s the gist of what I discovered:
- Material Matters: Most are bamboo, which is traditional and what I wanted. But the quality of bamboo seemed to vary. Some looked flimsy, others felt really sturdy. There were also stainless steel ones, usually pricier.
- Size is Key: They come in different diameters, obviously. Smaller ones, maybe 6 or 8 inches, were cheaper. The standard 10-inch ones, which fit nicely in my wok, were mid-range. Then you have the big boys, 12 inches or more.
- Sets vs Singles: You can often buy them as a set – usually two steaming tiers and one lid. Sometimes buying a set was a better deal than buying pieces individually.
- Price Range: This was the interesting part. Online, I saw cheapo single bamboo layers for maybe five or six bucks. But they looked like they’d fall apart after one use. Decent quality 10-inch bamboo sets seemed to hover around $15 to $30 online and in the Asian market. The kitchen supply store had some fancier, perhaps reinforced ones, pushing closer to $40. Stainless steel ones started higher, maybe $25-30 for a single tier.
Wrapping Up My Search
In the end, I went to the Asian supermarket again. I liked being able to actually touch and feel the baskets. Found a nice, solid-feeling 10-inch bamboo set – two tiers and a lid. It felt well-made, not too rough, and smelled like good bamboo. It cost me about twenty bucks, maybe twenty-two? Felt like a fair price for something I’ll hopefully use for years.
So yeah, that was my little quest for dim sum basket prices. Not too complicated, but definitely a range out there depending on what you want. Happy I got a new one, already planning the next dim sum session!