My Dim Sum Fears

Ok. I live in the Bay Area. San Francisco is the single large Chinatown outside of Asia. And Oakland's Chinatown (which begins less than 5 blocks from my house) is the fourth largest.

So I need someone to explain to me my ridiculous fear of dim sum. Don't get me wrong. I love the stuff. I am just terribly intimidated by it, and can't bring myself to explore it without a guide. My poor husband still hasn't tried it because yours truly still doesn't know where to start.

Is there a "Dim Sum for Dummies" book I should know about???

Comments

[Ann]

dim sum is very easy. You just pick anything u see that we want to try. If you're Caucasian, you'll get better service than Asian, cuz they'll explain stuff to you in English.

My favorites are chicken feet (don't knock it until you try them), pork buns, chicken stuffed in lotus leaves, custard tarts (don tots).

Think someone did write a Dim Sum book..check Amazon.

[Merle]

Or go to one of the downtown Oakland chowhound lunches? I think there have been four or five in the last year in that area.

It's *hard* to go if you're not with at least one person who knows what's going on. Better is to go regularly with someone who knows both how to order, and what you like. Otherwise you're stuck watching carts go by and touristy food waved at you. When you ask what it is, they say something really useful like "chicken!" when clearly it is not.

Some of the restaurants have english menus. Tin's Tea House (probably closest to you) has a nice, easy to read one. Good safe things to order are har gao, sui mai, bbq pork buns, and possibly chive dumplings (if you like chives).

[Gastronomie]

Hey Merle -

Unfortunately, I don't work in the E. Bay, but I have been wanting to go to one of the Chowhound lunches. :-(

Maybe I'll try to organize a weekend morning Chow event!

[Rachel]

Merle, I know you wrote this a while back and I'm not sure if you've since managed to conquer your fears. But your problem troubles me greatly, since dim sum is one of the yummier foods known to humankind.

I actually tried searching for some kind of dim sum glossary with nice big pictures--you would think *someone* would have done it--but...nothing!

So I'm going to describe a few of the more common dim sum dishes:

1)*Har gao
-white roundish dumplings with whole shrimp inside
-the outside is made from rice flour; it's very thin, delicate, and a bit chewy
-the shrimp, visible through the wrapper, is pink, plump, and juicy

2) *Siew mai
-short cylinders of minced pork, shrimp, mushroom, etc.
-cupped in a thin, yellow egg wrapper

3) Charsiew bao
-fluffy, almost cakelike white bun filled with a red, somewhat sweet filling of barbecued pork

4) Ling yong bao
-again the fluffy white bun, but this one's for dessert
-filled with golden-brown lotus seed paste: rich, smooth mouthfeel; somewhat flowery/nutty aroma; this stuff should be bottled

5)Nor mai gai
-you have to like sticky rice to enjoy this one
-this usually looks like one big sickly green or yellowish hump of soggy vegetation
-the rice is steamed in a little pouch made from lotus or bamboo leaves
-in the very middle is usually chunks of roast pork

I hope you'll abandon your fears and report on your findings!

PS: The first two dumplings with asterisks taste even better, in my opinion, with chilli sauce. Usually, what you'll find is a little pot of oil-based chilli sauce on the table. Don't be scared by all that dark red oil. Scoop out the aromatic chilli at the bottom and add a little dot to your dumpling.

[Fatemeh]

Hi Rachel!

Thanks for the primer... I do sort of know the basics, but it's the more unusual items that I don't know what to do with.

That said, we've done Sunday morning dim sum a few times now, and it turns out, it's not so scary as I thought!

[Rachel]

Ack! I called you Merle--I'm so sorry! And sorry for dumping all the basics on you.

Have you had cow stomach? It's simmered in a thin brown sauce, and kind of has a honeycob pattern. It's light and chewy and quite delicious.

Well, I'm glad you conquered your fear!

[Gary Soup]

Chronicle Books published a nifty little pocket guide to dim sum last year, with pictures. It's intended to be a "field guide."

There's also an excellent photo gallery of dim sum from some of Hong Kong's finest dim sum restaurants by blogger chaxiubao, with cantonese names and some explanations. It begins at this link:

http://chaxiubao.typepad.com/photos/the_sum_of_hong_kong/p6210023.html