Dim Sim

Ingredients

Filling

• 500 gpork mince, about 20% fat
• 300 gcabbage, finely shredded, salted and squeezed dry
• 100 gwater chestnuts or bamboo shoots, finely chopped
• 4spring onions, finely sliced
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tspfresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspoyster sauce
• 1 tbspShaoxing wine
• 2 tspsesame oil
• 1 tspcaster sugar
• 1 tspground white pepper
• 2 tbspcornflour

Wrappers

• 20large square wonton or gow gee wrappers, at least 10 cm
• 1small bowl of water for sealing

To cook and serve

• cabbage or baking paper to line the steamer
• 2 litrescanola oil, if deep frying
• soy sauce for dipping

Directions

1. Salt the shredded cabbage with 1 tsp salt, leave 20 minutes, then squeeze it hard in a clean tea towel until no more water comes out; wet cabbage is the reason home dim sims collapse.
2. Combine the pork, drained cabbage, water chestnuts, spring onion, garlic, ginger, soy, oyster sauce, wine, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper and cornflour in a bowl.
3. Stir the mixture vigorously in one direction for 3 minutes until it turns sticky and pastelike and holds together in a clump; this protein extraction is what gives the bouncy texture.
4. Chill the filling for 30 minutes so it firms up and is easier to pack.
5. Sit a wrapper in your palm, load it with 2 heaped tablespoons of filling, which is far more than a Chinese siu mai takes, and gather the wrapper up around it, pleating loosely and leaving the top open.
6. Squeeze gently at the waist and flatten the base on the bench so it stands upright, then tap the top of the filling flat; a dim sim is deliberately big, squat and cylindrical.
7. To steam, line a bamboo or metal steamer with paper, space the dim sims 2 cm apart and steam over rapidly boiling water for 12 to 15 minutes, until the wrapper is translucent and a skewer into the centre comes out hot.
8. To fry, steam them first for 10 minutes, cool slightly, then deep fry at 180°C (350°F) for 3 to 4 minutes until the wrapper blisters into a crisp golden shell. Eat with soy sauce, or with the sauce squirted straight into the top.

Technique

• The dim sim is an Australian invention, generally credited to William Chen Wing Young at Wing Lee in Melbourne in the 1940s; he scaled up siu mai for Australian appetites and sold them through fish and chip shops and milk bars.
• Size and shape are what make it a dim sim rather than a siu mai: bigger, denser, squatter, with a thicker wrapper and far more cabbage.
• Steaming then frying gives the classic takeaway texture, cooked through and shatteringly crisp. Frying from raw browns the outside before the pork is safely done.
• Squeezing the cabbage and stirring in one direction are the two techniques that separate a firm, juicy dim sim from a wet, crumbly one.

Substitutions

• No oyster sauce: use an extra tablespoon of soy with 1 tsp sugar, or a mushroom stir-fry sauce for a meat-free savour.
• Chicken or prawn can replace the pork, though neither is the classic takeaway version.
• Round gow gee wrappers work; trim them square or simply gather them, as the fold is loose anyway.

Variations

• The South Melbourne Market dim sim, sold since 1949, is the most famous version and is steamed and eaten with a paper bag and soy.
• A curry dim sim, with curry powder and more onion in the filling, is common in Queensland.
• Some shops sell them dipped in batter and fried, which is a step further again.

History

Created in 1940s Melbourne by Chinese-Australian cook William Chen Wing Young, who scaled up a Cantonese dumpling for local appetites.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dim Sim?

Dim Sim is a street food from Australia: oversized pork-and-cabbage dumpling, steamed or deep-fried at fish-and-chip shops. Created in 1940s Melbourne by Chinese-Australian cook William Chen Wing Young, who scaled up a Cantonese dumpling for local appetites.

How long does Dim Sim take to make?

Dim Sim takes 45 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 20 large dim sims. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Dim Sim?

Yes, within limits. No oyster sauce: use an extra tablespoon of soy with 1 tsp sugar, or a mushroom stir-fry sauce for a meat-free savour. Chicken or prawn can replace the pork, though neither is the classic takeaway version. Round gow gee wrappers work; trim them square or simply gather them, as the fold is loose anyway.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dim Sim?

Size and shape are what make it a dim sim rather than a siu mai: bigger, denser, squatter, with a thicker wrapper and far more cabbage.