You know, sometimes you just get a craving, right? And last weekend, it was dim sum. Proper dim sum. Not the frozen stuff, though that has its place, I guess. I wanted the real deal, the kind you get at those bustling restaurants on a Sunday morning. But getting everyone out the door? Nah. So, I figured, why not try making it myself? How hard could it be? Famous last words, let me tell you.
Getting Started – The Big Idea and The Mess
So, I decided I’d document this whole adventure, maybe share some “recipes with pictures” in my own way, you know, through my own trial and error. First things first, I had to figure out what to even attempt. Har Gow (those shrimp dumplings) and Siu Mai (pork and shrimp dumplings) seemed like the classics. Can’t go wrong there, or so I thought.
I hit the Asian supermarket. Man, that place is an adventure in itself. I grabbed shrimp, ground pork, shiitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, all the usual suspects. Then came the wrappers. I thought about making my own har gow wrappers from wheat starch and tapioca starch. I’d seen it done online, looked so easy. Ha! We’ll get to that.
The Siu Mai Saga – A Small Victory
I decided to tackle Siu Mai first. Seemed a bit more straightforward.
I chopped and mixed. Here’s roughly what went into my pork filling attempt:
- Ground pork, of course
- Chopped shrimp (gotta have that texture)
- Rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, finely diced
- Water chestnuts, for the crunch – don’t skip these!
- A bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, a touch of sugar, and some cornstarch to bind.
The mixing part was easy. Getting it into those little wonton wrappers (cheated a bit, didn’t make these from scratch first round) and making them look like proper Siu Mai? That took some practice. My first few looked like sad, lumpy sacks. But I got the hang of cupping the wrapper in my hand and squishing the filling in. A little green pea on top, or a dot of carrot, for color. If you saw the picture of my first batch versus my last, you’d see the improvement. Steamed them for about 8-10 minutes. They actually tasted pretty darn good! A small win, boosted my confidence a bit.
Har Gow Wrappers – The Real Challenge
Okay, then came the Har Gow. The filling wasn’t too bad: mostly shrimp, some bamboo shoots, a little pork fat for moisture, seasoning. Pretty standard. But the wrappers. Oh, those translucent, chewy wrappers. This is where things went sideways for a bit.
I tried the wheat starch and tapioca starch dough. Watched a dozen videos. The first batch was too sticky. The second was too dry and cracked when I tried to roll it. I was about ready to throw the whole bowl out the window. You’re supposed to use boiling water, mix it in, then knead it while it’s hot. My fingers were not happy. And then rolling them super thin? And cutting perfect circles? Let’s just say my “circles” were more like abstract shapes for a while.
I must have made three or four batches of dough. My kitchen looked like a flour bomb had gone off. But I’m stubborn. Eventually, I got a dough that was somewhat workable. Not perfect, mind you. If I showed you a close-up picture, you’d see they weren’t as delicate as a restaurant’s, but they held together! The pleating? That’s an art form. My first few Har Gow looked more like… well, let’s just say they had character. Lots of character.
Steamed those too, and when they came out, some were actually translucent! You could see the pink shrimp inside. I almost cried. Okay, not really, but I was pretty chuffed. The taste? Pretty close! The texture of the wrapper was almost there. Not bad for a home job, if I do say so myself.
Was It Worth It?
So, after a whole afternoon of chopping, mixing, rolling, pleating, and steaming (and a fair bit of cleaning up), I had a platter of homemade dim sum. Not a huge variety, but enough for a decent feast. The Siu Mai were definitely the winners in terms of ease and reward. The Har Gow were a labor of love, and honestly, I appreciate them so much more now when I eat out.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I think so. Maybe try some char siu bao next, those fluffy BBQ pork buns. But I’ll definitely set aside more time. And maybe buy pre-made har gow wrappers next time, just until I master that tricky dough. It’s a process, right? And it’s pretty satisfying to eat something you’ve wrestled into existence. No fancy pictures needed when the taste is that good, though I did snap a few on my phone, just to remember the chaos and the eventual, tasty triumph.