Peppery Squid

The Best Deep Fried Squid

from ILoveDimSum by nobody@flickr.com (knightbefore_99)

knightbefore_99 has added a photo to the pool:

Now officially my favourite in Vancouver , the Mui Garden Deep Fried Squid is worth travelling thousands of miles for

Shrimp Roll

Deep Fried Spring Rolls with Minced Prawn

from ILoveDimSum by nobody@flickr.com (Kwong Eats)

Kwong Eats has added a photo to the pool:

Crispy Taro Dumpling

Deep Fried Yam Dumpling

from ILoveDimSum by nobody@flickr.com (Kwong Eats)

Kwong Eats has added a photo to the pool:

Unagi Puff

What kind of delicious looking animal is this one ?

First of all, it's not exactly Chinese. It's a Dim Sum (actually, Dim Sim can be literally translated as "Snacks"), but it's a fusion between Japanese eel (Unagi) and Chinese pastry, the puff and the sauce (you should pretty familiar with this one, it's the general purpose Chinese BBQ sauce).

What it tastes like ?

If you love Chinese BBQ Pork and you like fluffy pastry, then I imagine you will love this one.

Recommended ?

Yes. But chances are you won't find it in most Chinese restaurants. This is a fusion invention by some creative chefs, something you may try to create at home. If you know how to bake, just get a can of Unagi from an Asian supermarket, wrap it up using a greasy dough (I forgot the official name for this kind of fatty dough) that give you the puffy or fluffy sensation when you put it in your mouth ... It's fatty but its tastes good.

I'll try to create a recipe ... Just like most things on earth, good culinary is all about creativity.

Chiu Chow Dumpling

Chiu Chow Dumpling 潮州粉果 

"Chiu Chow" is the Cantonese pronunciation of Chaozhou 潮州 in Hanyi Pinyin.

Chiu Chow in my opinion created some of most stunning Chinese dishes that are really yummy except most of their dishes are not that well presented. They're otherwise amazingly tasty.

For practically, all my article on Dim Sum will refer the food by its Cantonese name. This is because Dim Sum is basically Cantonese and most restaurants that serve Dim Sum are run by Cantonese speaking Chinse. For example, if you trying to order this Dim Sum by calling it Chaozhou Dumpling, chances are you won't get very far.

This is very tender dumpling stuffed with water-chestnut, green pea and minced pork & shrimp. The skin is made of tapioca flour, that explains why it's almost transparent in appearance.

Is it delicious ? You gotta try it to appreciate.

Recommended ? Yes, but I suspect some find it so so.

The Dragon Dumpling

Dragon Dumpling 小籠包 

If there is anything Shanghainese can be proud of when it comes to food, this is it.

For those who are not familiar with Chinese food culture and history. Here is a rough idea ... Generally, Cantonese food rules. For some historical (imperial) reasons, southern Chinese are foodies and they have created some of the tastiest dishes that are renown all over the world. The northerners are generally not into food, not as much as southerners. The northern dishes are generally consider as "bland" (to the southerners"). Please excuse me if you are a northerner. I shall explain everything on a culinary topics why so ?

Right now, I just wanna introduce the Dragon Dumpling, the pride of Shanghai, so to speak. Why should Shnaghainese be proud of this particular plain looking dumpling ? Simple. Because no one else can make this as good as Shanghainese ... By the way, Dragon Dumpling is a pork dumpling, and what make it stand out from the rest is the technology !

No kidding. The Shanghainese invented a technology to retain 'juice' right in the dumpling itself. Therefore, the right way to eat this juicy dumpling is the suck it prior to gobbling it into your tummy ! I am ashamed to say although I am a chef, I still don't quite know the secret behind this lil juicy babe. Those that I made arte never as juicy. For this reason, ht tip to the Shanghainese guru.

Is it recommended ? I would say yes. Personally, I love the juice. Dip it in vinegar and eat it with ginger ... Yum !

Tips: If you're serving it at home, try using a good vineger such as Balsamic Vinegar ... It tastes superb !

Lil Boat Congee

Lil Boat Congee or rice porridge is one the Cantonese Dim Sum specialties.

History

The name 'Lil Boat Congee' came about because it's originated from the boats ! In Hongkong, especially back in the 60s where lots of its inhabitants couldn't afford a home, many actually live on the boats (converting from fishing boats ?). They not only live there, some even operate eateries on the boat. And Lil Boat Congee is one of the so called all-in-one food they serve.

The dish ended up as a Dim Sum celebrity of some sort and before long, mainstream restaurants adopted this 'cheap snack' as one of the signature Dim Sim dishes.

Ingredients

Basically, you may put add anything that goes with plain congee. Typically, you will find pork ham, century egg, salty duck egg, fried peanuts, tong cai (a kind of Chinese pickle), green onions, dog bone (Chinese long donut of some sort), deep fried white noodles and even potato chips !

Recommendation

Unless you have a Chinese tongue, I wouldn't recommend this dish. The century egg alone may put you off. Else, no harm to check it out.

Sweet Potato stuffed with Pork & Mushrooms

Something unusual today ... Sweet Potato filled with Pork & Mushrooms !

To be honest, I have never sampled such an exotic din sum. It makes me wonder who invested this one ?

What it tastes like ? Imagine a sugar laced potato with stuffed with say, burger ?