Delightful Dim Sum

 

 As we travel my husband and I enjoy taking part in local customs and especially the sampling of local cuisine. So it was a treat when we had the opportunity to visit London's Chinatown for the Chinese new Year. The streets were packed with people from all over crowding into the district to visit their favorite shops, enjoy the wares offered by street vendors and delight in the firecrackers and wandering Lion Dancers. After a bit of wandering we were lured into one Chinese restaurant by the tantalizing smells wafting from it's kitchens. Inside we enjoyed a delightful Chinese tradition, Dim Sum.
  

Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for a type dish that involves small individual portions of food similar to appetizers. In fact we often see some of these delightful goodies on menus as appetizers. However, the custom of going to "Dim Sum" or to "drink tea" is not a precursor to a larger meal but an event unto itself.  So for our Lunar New Year's feast I chose a tasty but simple selection of dim sum type treats. I have listed the ingredients I used for each of these samplings (not all my ingredients match the base recipe exactly) but I can not take credit for the "how to" portion and I suggest you follow my links to the sources I used when making each.

Asian Spring Roll

Ingredients:

Rice Paper Wrappers
Lettuce
Rice Noodles
Shredded Carrots
Cilantro
Scallions
Shrimp (or your preferred cooked meat)

To learn more on how to assemble this dish visit Itkman's channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/ltkman#p/u/18/d4U-Zreo7ZU

When I make my spring Rolls I also add some sauce before rolling them. It can be a peanut sauce, chili sauce, or just some Hoisin. I also find it's nice to make it a contrasting flavor to whatever dipping sauce you use.

So now that we've got the easiest out of the way... Bring on the dumplings!

Steamed Dumplings

Ingredients:

1/2 Lb. ground pork
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded napa cabbage
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 egg

Dumpling wrappers (15-20)

To learn more on how to assemble this dish visit Itkman's channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ltkman#p/search/0/RI3bZ3kAwN4

Siu Mai

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup cooked shrimp, diced
1 cup carrots
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
pepper (to taste)
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
3 tsp cornstarch (used in 3 separate instances)
1 tsp salt

green peas (for garnish)
dumpling wrappers (15-20)

To learn more on how to assemble this dish with Cecilia Au-Yang from the Chopsticks Cooking Centre in Hong Kong, visit the cookingtipstv channel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/cookingtipstv#p/a/u/1/ushcvZV1k_Q

Steamed Meatballs

I had some leftover meat mixture after making the two pork dishes so I added some diced ginger, extra carrots, diced cabbage and green peas, formed them into balls and steamed them separately. Delicious!

For a sweet finale try this amazingly simple treat.

Sesame Balls

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/8 c rice flour
1/2 cup warm water (approximate, you may need more or less depending on humidity)
1/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
sweetened red bean paste (or the filling of your choice, these can also be savory)
1 cup sesame seeds
oil for frying

To learn more on how to assemble this dish visit yeqiang's channel on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JREj3fq8h4

 

I also found this tutorial from dimsumrecipes to be very helpful for technique:

http://www.youtube.com/user/dimsumrecipes#p/u/27/DM1hecbIXHQ 

 I hope your experiments in making Dim Sum are as sweet as mine, but just remember to enjoy the adventure and of course the delicious results!

Ravishing Radishes!

Planting a garden allows you to have beautiful fresh produce right at your fingertips, but sometimes you end up with more than you know what to do with such as the ranks of radishes that recently tried to take over my little garden plot. After I stopped the vegetable bullying I found myself with more radishes than I could eat in a month's worth of salads. So I went looking for other ways to fix the ravishing radish.

I settled on four distinctly different preparations. I also found that the radish seems to be a love hate food and most people have a very strong opinion whether good or bad. For those that love the radish, embrace this experience and welcome the new ways to enjoy this delightful root veg. For those who are not fans of the rolly poly radish I challenge you to give it another go, you just might be surprised.

Raw Radishes

Let's start with the most basic way to eat a radish, raw in a salad. This is adapted from a recipe found at epicurious.com.



Radish, Olive and Orange Salad

Ingredients (serves 2-4 as a small side)

2 oranges
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 bunch (about 8) radishes, trimmed and sliced thin
Some (about 12) oil-cured olives, pitted and chopped

Preparation

Cut peel and white pith from 2 oranges with a sharp knife. Segment the oranges. Whisk together lemon juice, oil, honey, cinnamon, and cayenne until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Add orange slices, radishes, and olives and gently toss. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

I served this as is but I think in the future it would be better served with a salad of arugula. In a pinch baby spinach or tender salad greens would also be great. Also I would use a tad more cayenne and less cinnamon but that is personal preference.

Roasted Radishes

I had a good long think on how to cook a radish before I tripped across the idea of roasting them. Looking back it seems like a natural conclusion since I love roasted turnips and they're all in the same family, but it just never occurred to me before. I had a salad recipe that incorporated some great Mediterranean flavors and after tweaking it a bit I came up with this delightful twist on a radish salad that would compliment any number of Mediterranean main dishes.



Green Pea and Roasted Radish Salad

Ingredients (Serves 3-6)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp dill seeds
3 cups fresh shelled peas or 1 pound frozen peas
1 bunch radishes, trimmed, halved
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 tsp allspice
1 small bunch of fresh mint finely chopped or 1tsp dried mint
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Place halved radishes in a baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and add cumin, dill, allspice, salt and pepper. Toss gently. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until tender. If using fresh peas, cook in pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water, then drain well. If using frozen peas, defrost in cool running water and rinse well. You can cook them if you choose I do not.) Transfer to large bowl. Add radishes, feta, and mint; toss. Adjust seasoning as needed. Serve.

The freshness of the mint is a wonderful accompaniment to the peas and will help balance the earthy sweetness brought out by roasting the radishes. Now onto something completely different.

Braised Radishes

I had never considered braising a radish or any other vegetable for that matter but this recipe is a keeper. It's a recipe from Rachel ray and I made it as directed with the exception of using beef stock instead of chicken stock. The result was a delicious rich sauce and tender sweet radishes that would be perfect served in Yorkshire puddings alongside a juicy beef roast.



Sweet and Savory Braised Radishes

Ingredients (Serves 2-4)

2 bunches radishes, (about 1 pound) trimmed of tops and roots
1 1/2 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
2 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Preparation

Place radishes in a skillet with stock, butter bits, shallots, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Uncover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook radishes 10 to 15 minutes and if the stock has not cooked away, remove radishes (when tender) and cook until thickened.

This was such a delightful surprise and I could not get enough. At first I thought it would surely need more flavor but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was just perfect as is. This next dish I already knew would be wonderful before I tried it but I had no idea how easy it was to make.

Sauteed Radishes

If you've ever been to a Bulgogi house and ordered the Bulgogi, you have probably tried the variety of small side dishes that come with the meal. These range from exotic roots to kimchee and yes the humble radish. Usually made with a daikon, or white radish this Korean side dish is so simple yet eminently satisfying.



Sauteed Radish Side Dish (Serves 2-4 as a small side)

Ingredients

1 Bunch of radishes,
salt to taste
garlic to taste or about 1 tbsp. minced (2-3 cloves)
sesame oil (a drizzle)
vegetable oil (just enough to coat the bottom of the pan to keep the radishes from sticking)

Preparation

Grate radish into thin strips. Heat up a pan and the vegetable oil then add the radish strips, salt and minced garlic, and sauté it for a few minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water and close the lid and lower the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add a few drops of sesame oil and mix it gently. Transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

I hope you have as much fun exploring the radish as I did and don't be afraid to put your own twist on this tasty treat from the garden!