Top 5 Dim Sum

Shrimp Dumplings and Dipping Sauce

What is Dim Sum?

Dim Sum is small portions of cooked foods served hot and always with a cup of tea. They are made to take small bites as snacks not a full meal. The reason you don’t want to just pop a whole piece in your mouth all at once is because they can be very hot and you’ll miss all the savory flavor that these snacks have to offer.

One of my favorite tea cups that I bought on a trip to China Town in L.A.

Where Did Dim Sum Come From?

Dim Sum originally began in China as “yum cha” which in English translates to drinking tea. Tired Travelers would stop in for a cup of tea and as the tradition grew in popularity tea houses started popping up all over the roadsides. Later when people started to learn that tea helps with digestion the owners of the tea houses started offering snacks to go with their tea. The reason they started calling it Dim sum is because the words mean ‘Touch the Heart’ and that’s exactly what these little snacks are meant to do .

Wasabi Chicken Feet With Bonito Flakes

Why is Dim Sum served for brunch?

When I first tried Dim Sum, in a ridiculously big restaurant in San Francisco, I had so many questions. I couldn’t believe how many people were there for Sunday Brunch! I’ve had many different Asian type snacks in many restaurants over the years but never served in the morning and it was all a very strange experience for me at first. What I soon found out was that many people in the food industry believe that tea time or as they would call it “Yum Cha” inspired brunch. To me that makes perfect sense because growing up in my home, we always started the morning off with a hot cup of tea. So, why not add some yummy snacks to it too, right?


Spicy Szechwan Red Sauce Wontons

What kind of snacks are considered Dim Sum?

To help you understand what kind of snacks are considered Dim Sum we’ve put together a video playlist of our Top 5 Favorites! All of which we have individually filmed for you as well! I hope you enjoy watching them and learning how to cook them for yourselves. Potstickers, Shrimp Dumplings, Red Sauce Wontons, Wasabi Chicken Feet, Crab Wontons(Rangoons).

PMGK’s Top 5 Dim Sum Recipes – PoorMansGourmet


Chicken and Dumplings Recipe

chicken-and-dumplings-main-pic

If you want to talk about an incredible recipe, let’s talk about these Chicken and Dumplings, because, wow.  These are Drop Biscuit style dumplings with fresh chopped vegetables and breast meat from a roasted chicken.  The dumplings are seasoned with herbs and the roasted chicken was marinated in a 24 hour brine, so this recipe is incredible.

chicken-and-dumplings-in-the-pot

Growing up, I didn’t much like dumplings; at least the way my Mom made’em.  I’d dare say they even made me feel sick.  So when I started out recreating this recipe I had one simple goal in mind; make something I LOVE!  So I roasted the best chicken I could make, I made the best vegetable soup I could come up with and I added the best drop biscuit recipe I had and Viola, this Chicken and Dumplings recipe was born.

If you need a roasted chicken recipe or you need to learn how to carve one, check out the few listed below:

Tin Can Chicken Brine
Jerk Chicken
Cantonese Chicken
Beer Can Chicken
How to Carve a Whole Chicken

Chicken and Dumpling Ingredients:

Dumpling Dough

2 1/2 cups Flour, plus more if needed
3/4 cup Milk,
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 tsp Ground Sage
1/2 tsp Dill

Chicken Soup

2 1/2 qts Chicken or Vegetable Broth(water and Bouillon is fine)
2 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tblsp Butter
1/2 Cup carrots, grated
4 Garlic Cloves, chopped
2 Celery Stocks, chopped
1 large leeks, white part only, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
2 tbsp Flour, up to a 1/2 cup for thick soups
1/4 Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 tsp Sage, ground
1 tsp Rosemary, ground
1/2 tsp Dill

Shrimp Dumplings and Dipping Sauce

Shrimp Dumpling

Amazing Shrimp Dumplings

If you love Shrimp, you’re going to love these Shrimp Dumplings.  They’re a lot like Gyoza, or what most people call Pot Stickers, only better.  Just imagine biting into one of the largest seasoned Prawns you can think of.  Now picture it wrapped in a Steamed Wonton Wrapper and pan fried to perfection.  I don’t know about you but that’s my idea of great recipe.  The only thing missing is something to dip them in but don’t worry I’ve got you covered.  As a bonus, I’ve included a Potsticker/Shrimp Dumpling Sauce recipe down below, with a video tutorial to go along with it, so there’s no room for error.  After you try that you’ll never eat Pot Stickers or Shrimp Dumplings again without it!

Shrimp Dumplings Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground or Minced Shrimp
1 pkg Wanton Wraps (Nasoya)
1 chopped Green Onion
1 tbsp fresh Cilantro
2 tsp fresh chopped Ginger
1/4 cup chopped julienne Bell Pepper
1/4 cup chopped Carrot
2 chopped Garlic Cloves
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp White or Black Pepper (Which ever you have)

Potsticker and Shrimp Dumplings
Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

1 part Sugar
1 part Warm Water
1 part Soy Sauce
1/2 part Rice Wine Vinegar
1 chopped Garlic Clove
1/2 fresh chopped Cilantro
1/8 tsp Chili Flakes or Chili Oil

Follow the video tutorials and enjoy your Shrimp Dumplings and Dipping Sauce.