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A List of Popular Dim Sum Dishes
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Bean Curd Skin Rolls (San Juk Guen)
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A very thin wrapper made of dried bean curd, rolled around a meat filling into a cylindrical shape. The roll is deep-fried, and then steamed, which gives it a characteristic, wrinkled appearance.
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Congee (Chuk)
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A thick rice soup with a variety of savory ingredients added. Among the many popular additions are peanuts, dried or raw fish, gingko nuts, and ginger. Sometimes the congee must be ordered separately from the food brought on carts.
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Curried Beef Pastries
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Flaky pastry, resembling French puff pastry, wrapped around a curry-spiced beef filling to form a crescent, then deep-fried.
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Custard Tarts (Daan Tart)
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Tiny tart shells filled with sweet egg custard.
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Drunken Chicken
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A marinated whole chicken, steamed and then soaked in dry sherry or Chinese shao-shing wine for at least a day. Cut into bite-size pieces and served cold.
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Fried Fish Balls (Jar Yue Yuen)
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Bite-size balls of white-fleshed fish, deep-fried.
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Hot Mustard Greens (Szechwan Chung Tsai)
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Mustard greens stir-fried in peanut oil, flavored with scallion and ginger.
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Lotus Leaf Rice (Nor Mei Gai)
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Sticky rice with a mixed ingredient filling that might contain chestnut or hard-boiled egg, as well as chicken, pork, or sausage. Enough rice for two people or more is wrapped in a lotus leaf, forming a rectangular packet, then steamed.
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Pork Sausage Buns (Lop Cheung Bao)
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A square of yeast dough wrapped around a Chinese sausage in the same way that westerners make pigs-in-a-blanket, then steamed.
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Pork Spareribs
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Marinated spareribs cut into bite-size pieces and either steamed (seejup pai gwut) or glazed and barbequed (siu pai gwut).
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Pot Stickers (War Teep)
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Round wonton wrappers folded into a crescent or triangular shape around a meat or vegetable filling. They are lightly pan-fried on one side, then steamed, then pan-fried again until golden.
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Rice Noodle Rolls (Cheung Fun)
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Large, flat rice noodles rolled around meat or shrimp filling and steamed.
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Scallion Pancakes
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A dense, wheat-flour dough with chopped scallions kneaded in, rolled into pancake-shaped disks, and pan-fried. The pancakes are cut into wedges before serving.
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Sesame Seed Balls (Jian Dui)
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A traditional for Chinese New Years sweet made of rice dough filled with red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds, and deep-fried. Because it resembles a tangerine -- the Chinese word for which sounds like the word for "luck" -- both tangerines and sesame
seed balls are associated with luck.
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Spring Rolls (Cheun Guen)
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A traditional dish for the New Year, named "spring rolls" after the time of year. They are made by rolling a paper-thin egg and flour wrapper into a cylindrical shape around a meat and vegetable filling, and then deep-frying. In Cantonese, spring and "egg"
have a similar sound, which accounts for the fact that some people call them egg rolls.
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Steamed Barbequed Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)
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Yeasted wheat dough wrapped around a barbequed pork filling and steamed. Steamed buns are made with a variety of other fillings, including chicken, lotus bean paste, custard, and chestnut paste. There is also a version that is baked instead of steamed.
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Steamed Meat Dumplings (Siu Mai)
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The name of these very popular steamed dumplings, siu mai, means "cook and sell." They are made by pressing a thin, round egg-and-flour wrapper around a bite-size ball of meat filling, usually pork, leaving the filling exposed at the top. The shape has
been compared to little flower pots. One elaboration on the form is the four-color dumpling (sae sik siu mai). This involves pleating the wrapper at the top, so that there are four holes, each of which is filled with a different colored garnish.
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Stuffed Crab Claws (Yeung Hai Keem)
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For these, the snapper is used as a handle. A portion of shell is removed from the meaty end, leaving the meat attached. Shrimp and crab paste are then pressed around the claw meat, and the whole is dipped in flour and crumbs, then deep-fried.
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Tea Eggs
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Hard-boiled eggs with their shells cracked, but not removed, are brought to a boil in a mixture of tea, soy sauce, and spices. After being cooked in this bath, the shells are removed. The marinade colors the egg in a beautiful crackled pattern.
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Wontons
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Wontons are made by folding meat or vegetable filling in a square flour and egg wrapper. They are usually deep-fried when served as dim sum, although they are also often simmered and served in soup, along with other noodles.
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