That Dim Sum Craving Hit Me
Alright, so I opened my freezer tonight looking for something easy. Bingo! Saw a bag of those frozen shu mai dumplings I grabbed last week during a grocery panic. Figured, how hard could this be? Looked at the bag instructions real quick – steam or pan fry. Steam sounded cleaner, less fuss. Grabbed my metal steamer basket thing and my deepest pot.
First Fail
Poured maybe an inch or two of cold water in the pot, plonked the steamer basket in. Was feeling pretty organized. Went to line the basket with parchment paper like a genius, except I cut the hole WAY too big. Like, steam escape route size. Tried to salvage it by kinda crumbling it around the edges. Terrible idea. Water started boiling, dropped the frozen dumplings straight onto the parchment disaster zone. Closed the lid, waited.
The Waiting Game… Was Boring
Checked after like 8 minutes? Bag said 10-15. Poked one with a fork. Still frozen-solid core surprise. More waiting. Started smelling good though! Another five minutes later, lifted the lid carefully – hello steam burn danger! They were looking plump-ish. Used my tongs to try and pick one up for a test bite. Disaster. That stupid parchment paper? It got soggy from my bad water level judgement earlier. The paper AND three dumplings fell straight through the basket holes into the boiling water below. Complete mess. Cat jumped down scared. Had to fish them out – soggy dumpling soup.
Operation Dumpling Rescue
Alright, panic mode off. Scooped the drowning victims into a bowl – maybe they’d survive? Emptied the pot, got pissed off. Threw the rest of the survivors (still in the steamer basket) into a bigger frying pan. Splashed in maybe two tablespoons of water and a glug of oil. High heat. Covered that sucker tight. Heard loud sizzling after a minute. Did a peek. Bottoms looked golden. Flipped the stubborn guys. Gave ’em another minute uncovered to crisp up more.
Finally, Dim Sum Victory?
Okay, salvaged plate looked like:
- Four decent golden pan-fried dumplings (winners!)
- Three soggy, waterlogged ones on the side (RIP texture)
- And a pile of sticky wrapper remnants stuck to my parchment paper scrap still in the basket.
Doused everything in soy sauce with extra chili oil. Honestly? The pan-fried ones saved dinner. Super crunchy bottoms, decent filling. The boiled ones tasted sad. Lessons learned the hard way:
1. Line the steamer basket PROPERLY. Small hole only! Or maybe use cabbage leaves next time?
2. Water level BELOW the basket, not kissing it.
3. Pan-frying frozen dumplings? Actually kinda idiot-proof once you figure out the water/oil splash thing. Faster results usually too.
Next bag? Probably skipping the steamer drama. But hey, dinner happened!