Alright, so the other weekend, I got this sudden urge, you know? Just bam! Let’s make dim sum. No idea where it came from, probably saw something online or whatever. But once the idea hit, it was like go go go, couldn’t shake it.
Getting the Bits
First thing, had to hit the Asian market. Man, that place is always an adventure. Had a rough list, things like pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, mushrooms, wrappers… all that jazz. Spent a good hour just wandering the aisles, grabbing this, putting back that. Found some decent looking dumpling wrappers, the round gyoza kind and the square wonton ones. Grabbed some bamboo steamers too, figured might as well try and do it properly. Felt like a real chef for about five minutes. Then I got home and dumped it all on the counter. Reality check.
Making the Mess
Okay, the actual making part. This is where the “go go go” really kicked in, but maybe more like “oh no oh no”.
Started chopping stuff for the fillings. Pork, shrimp, veggies. Chopped everything kinda chunky ’cause I got impatient. Mixed it all up in a big bowl with soy sauce, sesame oil, bit of ginger, usual suspects. Looked okay, smelled pretty good. Felt confident again.
Then came the folding. Disaster. I watched a couple videos beforehand, looked easy enough. Little blob of filling, fold, pleat, done. Hah! My first few looked like sad, deflated blobs. Some ripped. Some wouldn’t seal. Fillings were squishing out the sides. It was chaos. Tried the gyoza wrappers first, then the wonton ones for siu mai. The siu mai were a bit easier, just wrapping the skin around a ball of filling, leaving the top open. Still looked wonky though.
- Chop chop chop
- Mix mix mix
- Fold… uh oh
- Pleat… nope
- Steam… maybe?
Got the steamers set up. Lined them with some cabbage leaves like someone suggested so they wouldn’t stick. Carefully placed my misshapen dumplings inside. Put the lid on, cranked up the heat, and hoped for the best.
The Big Reveal
After about 10-15 minutes of nervous waiting and pacing, I lifted the lid. Steam everywhere! And hey, they didn’t look half bad once cooked. They puffed up a bit, looked kinda rustic, let’s say. Definitely homemade.
We dished ’em up with some dipping sauce. Took a bite. You know what? They were actually pretty tasty! Not restaurant perfect, not even close. A bit clumsy, a bit messy. But the flavour was there. The pork and shrimp tasted good, the veggies gave a nice crunch. We ate the whole batch, the good-looking ones and the ugly ones.
So yeah, dim sum go go. It was frantic, messy, and I made some really ugly dumplings. But it was fun, trying something new, getting my hands dirty. And the eating part at the end? Made the whole crazy process worth it. Maybe I’ll even try it again sometime. Maybe.