Alright, so today I’m gonna walk you through my “dim sum india” experiment. It sounds kinda weird, right? But trust me, it was a fun ride!
It all started with this crazy craving I had for both dim sum and Indian food. I was like, “What if I could combine the two?” The idea just stuck in my head. So, first thing I did was hit up Google to see if anyone else had tried this madness. Found a few bits and pieces, but nothing really concrete.
Okay, so I started listing out my favorite dim sum dishes: siu mai, har gow, char siu bao… you know, the usual suspects. Then I thought about Indian flavors that would kinda work. Turmeric, ginger, chili… the classics. My brain was already starting to hurt, but I was committed.
Next up: experiment time! I decided to tackle siu mai first. I figured, why not try to infuse the pork filling with some Indian spices? I grabbed some ground pork, ginger, garlic, green chilies (finely chopped), turmeric powder, garam masala, and a pinch of cumin. Mixed it all together, let it sit for a bit to marinate. Then, I wrapped it in wonton wrappers like you normally would for siu mai. Steamed them up and bam… they were actually pretty good! The Indian spices gave it a nice kick, but it still tasted like siu mai.
Then, I tried to do har gow but added some tandoori marinade to the shrimp before wrapping them. It was ok, but the spice was overwhelming and tasted nothing like a har gow. I tossed it and tried again with less marinade. This time it turned out better, but still not the best.
Char Siu Bao was next on the list. This one was tricky. I tried marinating the pork with a blend of char siu sauce and tandoori paste. The char siu flavor was masked by the tandoori. So, I tried again but this time I used less tandoori. It worked like a charm! Still tasted like Char Siu Bao, but had this little Indian twist. Everyone loved it!
After a day of cooking, I’m beat. It’s a successful experiment overall, but I learned that some combinations are better than others! And I should start with less Indian spices, since it tends to overpower everything else. I’m not sure I’ll be opening a “Dim Sum India” restaurant anytime soon, but hey, it was a fun culinary adventure!