Dim Sum: What It Is, Yum Cha, Types and Recipes
Dim sum (點心, Cantonese dim sam) are small portions from Cantonese cuisine: steamed dumplings, filled yeast buns, rice noodle rolls, fried items and sweets, served in bamboo baskets or on small plates. You eat them at yum cha (飲茶, "drinking tea"), a long meal in the late morning or at midday, with tea and many small dishes on the table.
Dim sum and yum cha: the difference
Dim sum is the food, yum cha is the occasion. The tradition comes from Guangdong and Hong Kong, where teahouses have long served small bites with tea. A portion is usually three or four pieces, so everyone at the table can try it. Families like to order ten baskets or more and share everything.
Translated literally, dim sum means roughly "touch the heart". It describes a snack that is not meant to stuff you. In Germany, some Chinese restaurants serve dim sum only at weekend lunch. At home, you cook it on a smaller scale, with two to four types.
Steamed dim sum
No other tool stands for dim sum like the bamboo basket. You stack two or three baskets over a wok of boiling water and steam several types at once. Line the baskets with perforated parchment paper or cabbage leaves, or the dumplings stick.
- Har Gow: shrimp dumplings with a translucent wrapper of wheat starch and tapioca starch. They need 6 to 8 minutes in the steam.
- Siu Mai (燒賣): open-topped dumplings with pork and shrimp in a yellow egg wrapper. The recipe with quantities and folding technique is in our Siu Mai.
- Char Siu Bao (叉燒包): fluffy yeast buns with sweet-savory barbecued pork. You combine the dough of the Baozi with a filling of diced Char Siu, bound with a little oyster sauce, sugar and cornstarch.
- Xiao Long Bao: dumplings with broth inside the filling. They come from Shanghai and strictly speaking are not Cantonese, but they appear on almost every dim sum menu. They come with black vinegar and ginger strips.
- Cheung Fun (腸粉): wide rice noodle rolls with shrimp or beef, drizzled with sweetened soy sauce.
- Lo Mai Gai (糯米雞): sticky rice with chicken, sausage and shiitake, steamed in a lotus leaf.
For wheat dough dumplings, the dumpling dough with folding technique shows you the folds step by step. Ready-made wonton wrappers from the refrigerated section of an Asian grocery store save you work, for example for a wonton soup.
Fried and pan-fried dim sum
Between the steamed baskets, fried pieces bring variety to the table. Fry at 170 to 180 °C (340 to 355 °F) and drain the pieces on a rack so the underside stays crisp.
- Spring rolls: thin wheat wrappers filled with vegetables and meat, fried golden brown.
- Turnip cake (Lo Bak Go): a block of grated daikon, rice flour, dried shrimp and sausage. You steam it, let it set overnight and pan-fry the slices.
- Taro cake: works on the same principle with taro instead of daikon.
- Wu Gok (芋角): taro croquettes with a meat filling and a lacy, airy crust.
Baked and sweet dim sum
From the oven come Dan Tat (蛋撻), small egg tarts with shortcrust or puff pastry, and Char Siu So, puff pastry pockets with barbecued pork. A yum cha ends sweet with steamed Nai Huang Bao with a vanilla custard filling, with sesame balls of glutinous rice flour and bean paste, or with tofu pudding in ginger syrup. In Hong Kong, you find mango pudding on many menus.
Tea for yum cha
At yum cha, the pot is on the table from the start. The tea washes away the grease of the fried pieces and warms you between courses. Four types often appear on the table:
| Tea | Flavor | Pairs with |
|---|---|---|
| Pu-erh (Bo Lei) | earthy, dark, mild | rich and fried dim sum |
| Jasmine tea | floral, light | Har Gow and other shrimp dishes |
| Oolong (Tieguanyin) | floral to roasted | almost everything |
| Chrysanthemum tea | mild, slightly sweet | sweet dim sum, caffeine-free |
A few gestures belong to yum cha. You pour for the others first and then for yourself. When someone pours for you, you tap two fingers lightly on the table to say thanks. In a restaurant, you set the lid of the empty teapot ajar, and the staff bring hot water.
Planning dim sum at home
- Choose types: For four people, pick three or four types, such as a steamed dumpling, a yeast bun, a fried item and a dessert. Count on 10 to 12 pieces per person.
- Prepare the day before: Make the fillings, char siu and turnip cake a day ahead. Cold filling is easier to portion.
- Freezing: Put folded, raw dumplings on a tray lined with parchment paper, freeze them solid and then transfer them to bags. Steam them from frozen for 2 to 3 minutes longer, without thawing first.
- Order: Steam first, fry last. Covered steamer baskets stay warm for a few minutes, while fried pieces turn soft quickly.
- Dips: Put out light soy sauce, chili oil and black rice vinegar with ginger. The difference between light and dark soy sauce is explained on the page light and dark soy sauce.
Allergens and shopping
Dim sum often contain wheat (gluten), shrimp and other crustaceans, soy, sesame and egg. Har Gow and Cheung Fun are made of starch and rice flour, but their fillings and sauces usually contain soy sauce with wheat. If you have allergies, ask about each type at the restaurant.
Wheat starch, tapioca starch, wonton wrappers, lotus leaves and bamboo baskets are available at an Asian grocery store and online. Frozen dim sum are also on offer there in the freezer in a large selection. Bamboo baskets come in several sizes. A diameter that just fits in your wok is enough to start.