It wasn't called dim sum, but it was similar?!
It wasn't called dim sum, but it was similar?
I went to the Chinese buffet last night and ate something that I thought was Dim Sum. I took a bite of it and it seemed like beef rather than pork. I don't eat beef. It might have been called "Shao" something....I remember an "S". Does anyone know what this was or what was in it?
Answers: Actually it probably WAS a kind of Dim Sum, which just means "little snacks" and has nothing to do with whether they are made of pork or beef or nanny-goat!
It sounds like it was shao-mai, jiaozi or siu-mai, which are all just wrappers encasing meat or vegetables that are fried or steamed... You are correct about the name - they are made with beef, pork, or shrimp. Here's a recipe:
Cha Shao Pao (dumplings stuffed with roast pork)
1 1/2 pounds flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon powdered yeast
2 tablespoons shortening or lard
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 pound cha shao,(roast pork) diced small
1 small leek
1 sliced ginger root
2 teaspoons sugar
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (optional)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon sesame oil
pinch red food coloring
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
You can usually buy roast pork ready-to-go in a Chinese butcher
shop in your local Chinatown, but if you don't live near one, I've
included a recipe for cha shao after this recipe.
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the sugar in
the hot water, add the yeast, and mix well; leave to stand for 10
minutes. Add the yeast to the flour and mix in the melted shortening
or lard. Mix well, remove from the bowl and knead for about 3
minutes. Shape into a long sausage shape and cover with a cloth.
Blend the sauce ingredients together and set aside. Heat the oil
in a wok and fry the diced cha shao, the leek and the ginger over
a high heat for a minute. Remove the leek and ginger and discard;
pour in the sauce and then add the cornstarch and water to thicken.
Stir and cook until the mixture is smooth and homogenous. Leave
to cool.
Cut the roll of dough into 24 pieces, flattening each piece with
your fingers and shaping into a disk. Place a tablespoon of filling
in the center of each round of dough and enclose, pinching the
dough closed with the fingers. Place a piece of waxed paper of
foil under each dumpling and leave it to rise for 10 minutes.
Cook in a bamboo steamer for about 10 minutes taking care to leave
each dumpling enough space to expand. Do not open the steamer
while the dumplings are cooking. Serve warm.
Makes 24 dumplings Dim sum is a generic term for little appetizers, and there are different types. It was probably beef, but could have been chicken, pork or shrimp. Dim sum is a word that means something like little snack or appetizer. There are a zillion unique things that could be served as part of a dim sum meal. Taditionally it is not a buffet but a meal where fresh itsm are delivered by servers who offer you choices from their cart and then mark the price of each item (unfortuantely usually in Chinese) as you are handed the item. That means you can eat so many inexpensive unpriced thigns that your little snacks add up to a big bill.
A Chinese buffet may include a few of those traditional Dim Sum items like steamed buns.
Sha Cha is a stir fry of meat with a spicy sauce (Cantonese origin I think). It could be Sha Cha Beef or it could be Sha Cha Pork. Both were offered on a buffet I was at last night. Might be Shao Mai or Cha Shao Bao. As far as I know you can make them with shrimp, pork, or beef. It is a kind of Dim Sum. Dim Sum is just little snacks, that are usually similar to dumplings that you eat as brunch. I love Dim Sum but it's so oily don'tcha think?