Alright folks, buckle up for today’s kitchen adventure – my first stab at homemade Lucky Dim Sum. Honestly, thought it’d be way easier grabbing those cute dumplings from my favorite spot downtown. Boy, was I wrong.
Started Simple (Or So I Thought)
Grabbed some basic stuff early this morning. Flour? Check. Water? Check. Minced pork filling chilling in the fridge? Yeah. Felt ready. Dumped two cups of all-purpose flour right into my big mixing bowl. Poured in boiling water slowly, thinking “Hot water dough, that’s the secret!” Started stirring like crazy with chopsticks. Ended up with lumps and dry spots everywhere. Got impatient and just dove in with my hands. Burned my fingers a little. Lesson number one: slow down and mix properly.
The Dough Battle
That dough fought back hard. Too sticky at first, stuck to everything – my hands, the counter, the spoon. Floured the counter like crazy, started kneading. Felt like punching wet sand. Kneaded for what felt like forever, maybe ten whole minutes. Arms got tired. Dough still felt… weird. Too tough? Maybe? Covered it with a damp towel, let it rest like the recipe said. Took a break, wiped flour off my face.
The Filling Fiasco
While the dough rested, tackled the filling. Thawed the pork, threw it in a bowl. Chopped some ginger super fine, minced garlic, sliced green onions. Added soy sauce, splash of sesame oil, pinch of sugar, white pepper. Mixed it all up. Looked a bit pale. Remembered seeing recipes mention cornstarch? Threw a spoonful in for good measure. Still looked… bland. Tasted it. Yep, seriously lacking flavor. Panicked. Added more soy sauce, another splash of sesame oil, maybe too much? Mixed again. Tasted salty now. Gah! Tried fixing it with a tiny bit more sugar and some chicken powder I found. Better? Sorta? Hoped the ginger and garlic would carry it.
Rolling (and Swearing)
Dough was finally rested. Divided it into pieces, started rolling them into balls. Goal: thin wrappers. Yeah, right. First few tries ended up thick and wonky shapes – looking like amoebas. Rolled them too big sometimes, too small other times. Floured the rolling pin so much it could slide on its own. Finally got a few somewhat circular and thin enough to see my fingers through. Plopped a spoonful of filling onto one. So messy – filling slid everywhere when I tried to pleat. My pleats? Sloppy. Barely closed the dumpling. Some looked like sad, deflated bags.
- Practice makes… slightly less awful?
- Less filling is easier to handle.
- Thin wrapper edges helped them stick together.
Steaming Time & The Sticking Nightmare
Got the bamboo steamer ready, water boiling below. Remembered the cabbage trick? Plopped some cabbage leaves onto the bamboo racks. Set my ugly dumplings on top. Covered it. Waited maybe 7-8 minutes, smelled like heaven. Opened the lid excitedly. Disaster. Half stuck hopelessly to the cabbage leaves. Carefully tried peeling one off. Ripped the bottom skin right off. Filling spilled out. So mad. Forgot to oil the leaves. Next batch? Brushed some sesame oil onto the leaves first. Much better! Still some sticking, but mostly intact. Win!
The Taste Test
Finally managed a batch that looked somewhat presentable and stayed whole. Dipped one in soy sauce with a tiny bit of vinegar. Bit into it. Hot! Pork tasted… okay. Maybe slightly over-seasoned? The dough? Surprisingly good texture! Chewy, soft bite. Not bad! My kid tried one. Said “Good Mum!” (The highest praise!)
Final Verdict?
Massive effort. Messy kitchen – flour on every surface, including the ceiling somehow. Looks nothing like the picture-perfect dim sum shop ones. Taste is honestly maybe 6/10. Homemade dough? Pretty satisfying win despite the chaos. Sticking disaster easily avoidable next time. Feeling kinda proud of the whole damn struggle though. Learned a lot by messing it all up repeatedly. Would I do it again? Yeah, probably. But maybe buy the wrappers next time!