With their blistered golden exterior and juicy filling of shredded vegetables. this classic dim sum dish can be either vegetarian or include shrimp or pork. Thin sheets of soy skin enclose the filling in what looks much like a Spring Roll, which is then fried to make the outer layer bubbles and crisp up, while the inner layers of soy skin remain soft and pliable.

 Yields 12 pieces,

Wrapper

2 big sheets     bean curd sheets, cut into square pieces in a dimension of 12cm. 豆腐衣剪成方块状, (make sure you get the plain one not the salty one. The plain one may need to be stored in the fridge.)

 Filling

• 1 Half carrot, thinly sliced，胡罗卜切丝
• 2                      Eggs, beaten and scrambled
• 30g                  Wood ear fungus (after dehydration)，水发后的重量
• 30g                  Dried shiitake mushroom (after dehydration) 水发后的重量
• 60g                   Mung bean sprouts 绿豆芽
• 3 sprigs            Chives韭菜

• 2 tablespoons  cooking oil (for frying the filling)
• 1 tablespoon   light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon     sesame oil
• 1/3  teaspoon  salt
• 1 teaspoon     caster sugar
• ¼ teaspoon     white peppercorn powder
• 3 tablespoons    water starch (1 tablespoon of corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water)

2 tablespoons of plain flour mixed with 3 tablespoons of water to make the flour paste

Method

1. Prepare and thinly sliced all the vegetable ingredients for the filling.
2. Cut the bean curd sheets/soy skin sheets into small square pieces.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan and make the scrambled eggs over low medium heat. Set scrambled eggs aside.
4. Use the same pan, place another 1 tablespoon of oil, fry carrots, mushrooms, mung bean sprouts and chives for 3-4 minutes till soft. Return scrambled eggs. Then add light soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar and white peppercorn powder, mix well. Pour into water starch. Stir well till the filling becomes thickened. The filling is done.
   

   

   
5. Now let’s assemble the soy skin rolls. Pick up a piece of small soy skin sheet, place a tablespoon filling in the middle. Fold it up towards the other end, then fold it again from left and right and then roll it up again. Then soy skin is dry, you will need apply flour paste to seal the edges.
   

   

   

   

   

   
6. Heat the deep-fry oil to 200C°. Gently place the rolls. Deep fry over low-medium heat for about 4-5 minutes till golden.

A vegan version of the gorgeous Kung Pao dish. The Sichuan Cuisine boasts 24 different types of ‘complex flavours’复合味. The Kung Pao (the sweet-sour-scorched chili flavour) taste is obviously the most beautiful one. The two spices (Sichuan Peppercorns and Dried Chillies) are sizzled in oil until the chillies are darkening. Throw in a bit of sweet and sour. And you have Kung Bao Flavour, a truly marvellous taste.

Serves 3-4,

• 250g                             fried tofu puff (豆泡)，cut into cubes; or 500g extra firm tofu, cut into cubes and pan fried till golden
• 6 tablespoons              cooking oil
• 3 tablespoons               Sichuan peppercorns四川花椒
• 1.5 tablespoons           garlic, minced蒜末
• 1 tablespoon                ginger, minced姜末
• 10g                               dried red chili, roughly chopped干红辣椒
•  60g                              leek (only white part), cut into small sections. Try to get 2 small-size of leek if possible. If not, just use 1 big-size one. Slice them into small pieces of 1.5 cm in length. Split the big-size one then slice it into the same length. 大葱切宵 段（只用葱白）

 Seasoning Sauce

• 1 tablespoon                 dark soy sauce老抽
• 2.5 tablespoons           light soy sauce生抽
• 1 tablespoon               Chinkiang vinegar镇江香醋
• 2 teaspoons                caster sugar白糖
• 1 tablespoon                corn flour玉米淀粉

Coriander                       for garnish(optional)

Method

1. Cut fried tofu puff into cubes. If you use extra firm tofu, then cut the tofu into cubes, pan fry them till golden.
2. In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients of seasoning sauce (dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, caster sugar and corn flour). Stir and mix well to make sure sugar is dissolved. Set aside.
3. Add 6 tablespoons of cooking oil in the work over high heat. When the oil is heated, add Sichuan peppercorns in the wok over LOW heat. Stir fry for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Skim and remove the cooked peppercorns if you feel them annoying when enjoying the food later. (Be sure of using low heat and be patient. Over-fried peppercorns bring a bitter taste. Pour the oil in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Now place 1/3 of the peppercorn oil in the wok, turn up the heat to medium heat, add garlic, ginger, leek and cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Then add dried chili and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the cooked mixture into the seasoning sauce. Mix well. Set aside.
5. Add rest of the oil in a clean wok, turn up the heat over high heat. When the oil becomes very hot, add into tofu puff cubes. Stir fry for about 2 minutes. Mix the tofu cubes with the cooked seasoning sauce. This process should take about less than 1-2 minutes.
6. Transfer out on a plate and serve with rice.

Click Kung Pao Chicken and Kung Pao Shrimp for recipes

 

Let’s have a couple of these soft, chewy dumplings filled with a sweet black sesame seed mixture to wrap up the 15-day celebrations of the Lunar Chinese New Year. The glutinous rice ball, or 元宵 in Chinese, is actually the name for the Lantern Festival that occurs on the fifteenth day of the lunar new year. Eating the sweet delicacy together with family, you and your loved ones will have a sweet life throughout the year!

 Yields about 35 Yuan Xiao Dumplings

Fillings

100g          black sesame seeds 黑芝麻

40g           caster sugar

20g           unsalted butter

2 tablespoon    peanut butter (optional) 花生酱

 

Wrappers

250g    glutinous rice flour 糯米粉

180g    water in room temperature

 

Method

1. In a small skillet, toast the sesame seeds over low heat for a few minutes, shaking the pan and stirring continuously to keep the seeds from burning. Use a small food processor. Add toasted sesame seeds and sugar and grind to a fine, sandy mixture. Melt the butter over low heat and cool it off. In a mixing bowl, combine the ‘sandy mixture’ with butter to form a big ball. Add peanut butter as it would help you bring the mixture together.
2. Form the mixture into small balls with your hands. Each sesame ball weights about 6gram.
3. In another mixing bowl, place the glutinous flour. Add the water, a small amount at a time, working and shaping the dough until it has a texture similar to playdough – not too soft, but smooth and easy to manipulate. If you find the dough is too dry and it is hard to bring bits of dough together, simply place a piece of dough (1/6 of the mixture) to a boiling water over high heat. Cook until the small dough float to the top of the water. Take the piece out and combine it with remainder in the mixing bowl. The ‘cooked’ dough piece plays the role of ‘glue’ to bring the dry bits of dough pieces together.
4. Roll the dough into a log of about 2cm and divide it into small equal pieces. Each piece weighs about 10gram to 12gram. Roll the piece into a ball. Use your thumb to make a deep indentation in the dough, and place a sesame ball into the hole. Close it up. It is important to make sure the sesame ball is completely covered with the dough. Gently roll the dumpling between your two hands to a perfect round shape. Continue with the remainder of the dough. Sprinkle some dry glutinous rice flour over the dumplings to prevent them from sticking to each other.
5. To cook the dumplings, bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat and gently drop the dumplings in. Use a wooden spoon to gently nudge the dumplings and make sure they’re not sticking to the bottom of the pot. When the dumplings float to the top of the water, add 1 cup of cold water (this will keep the skins from splitting), cover the pot and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove the dumplings from the pot with a slotted spoon and scoop a couple spoonfuls of the cooking water over them to keep them from sticking to each other.
6. To serve, place 3 to 4 dumplings into a small bowl for each person and add a couple of the remaining cooking water.

A delicate and light-tasting dim sum. It is not that difficult to make your own at home. The most challenging part is handling the dough because it is largely made from gluten-free wheat flour (澄粉), which is commonly used in making Chinese Dim Sum. A good tip is coating your work area with vegetable oil or using parchment paper.

 Yields about 24 Har Gows,

Filling

150g                                                    deveined and unshelled shrimp  鲜虾去皮去虾线
60g                                                      minced bamboo shoots (blanched)竹笋
60g                                                      minced pork fat (cooked) 肥肉
1 and 1/2 teaspoon                          salt
2 teaspoons                                       caster sugar白糖
1 and 1/2 tablespoon                       sesame oil香油
1/8 teaspoon                                      white pepper powder 白胡椒粉
1 teaspoon                                         corn flour 玉米淀粉

 Har Gow Wrappers

120g     wheat flour  澄粉
40g       potato starch 土豆淀粉(或者叫太白粉)
140ml  boiling hot water
20ml    vegetable oil

Method

 Step 1         Make the filling

1. Slice the bamboo shoots. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the bamboo shoots in the boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain the bamboo shoots. Cook the pork fat in the same pot for 2 minutes. Drain. Mince bamboo shoots and pork fat. Set aside.
2. Use kitchen towel to pat dry the unshelled and deveined shrimp. Mince half of the shrimp and cut the remaining ones into smaller pieces. Different cuts result in contrasting mouthfeels.
3. Add chopped and minced shrimp in a mixing bowl. Place into 1 teaspoon of corn starch and 1 and half teaspoon of salt and stir in one direction for 2-3 minutes until mixture becomes quite sticky. Then add sugar, sesame oil, white pepper powder, minced bamboo and minced pork fat. Mix well. Set aside, covered and in fridge for 30 minutes.

Step 2          Make the wrapper

1. Mix the 120g wheat flour and 40g potato strach in a mixing bowl. Use a chopstick to stir into 140ml boiling hot water. Mix well and cover with a lid, set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Add 20ml vegetable oil into the mixing bowl. Use your hand to mix it well with the flour mixture. Knead the dough on a working surface for 5 minutes. Shape the mixture into a ball. Then cover it with kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. (Wheat flour helps create the translucent skin of the dumplings while potato starch helps add some strechability to the dough.)
   

   

Step 3         Assemble

1. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces.
2. Pick up a piece, shape it into a small ball. Place the ball onto a piece of parchment paper. Then use your palm to press it down to create a circular disc. Use rolling pin to smooth it out each disc till it is about 9cm in diameter. The wrapper is very delicate so handle it carefully when rolling out the wrapper and moving it onto your hand for assembling.
   
   

   

3. Spoon a teaspoon of filling into the center of the wrapper, form taco shape and start pinching one end of the wrapper to seal, heading towards the middle.

 

Step 4 Cook

Bring water to a boil on your stove.  Place all the dumplings onto the lined parchment paper. Steam the dumplings for 8 minutes with high fire.

Then serve hot! No dipping sauce is required. If you insist, just go with light soy sauce.