Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
CHEF'S CORNER
The dim sum stuff
RAKESH KUMAR
|
Going beyond the “authentic”, find the old dim sum in new guises
|
Photo: S Subramanium
Infinite Variety Rakesh Kumar shows off his dim sum platter at the Crowne Plaza
I have made 17 varieties of dim sums for this three-month festival (at the Crowne Plaza). Dim sums should look good. And, I like innovations. I don’t believe in “authentic dim sums;” if we stuck to authenticity we’d be still flying in the Wright Brothers plane!
Any stuffing can be used in dim sums. It could be cheese, tofu and even chickpeas. The more variety the better. Why, we can even create aloo chaat dim sums as well! Dim sums are not hard to make at home. All you need is a steamer and if you don’t have one, a good pressure cooker will work just fine.
Concept wise, dim sums come from the popular tea drinking procedure in China. In India, we eat bread pakoras and samosas with chai, similarly they eat dim sums with their tea.
Here are the recipes for three special dim sums.
Dim sum
For the dough
Ingredients
1 cup plain flour 2 tbsp corn flour
Salt to taste
Water to knead
For lemon sole and Tasmanian salmon dim sum
4 paper thin sole fish slices1/6 lemon4 thin Tasmanian salmon slices
Mint and galangal broccoli dim sum
1/4 cup chopped broccoli1 tbsp chopped mint leaves1 tbsp chopped baby ginger
Salt to taste
Method
For the outer covering Take plain flour and mix it with corn flour. Add salt and knead it adding water, a little at a time. Knead well till the dough is firm but kneadable with little extra pressure from a rolling pin. Divide this dough into 12 parts. Shape each part into round balls and roll them with help of a rolling pin so that they are very thin and still thick enough to hold the stuffing. These are your “dim sum sheets”
Preparing lemon sole and Tasmanian salmon dim sum
Peal the lemon and cut it into thin slices, making sure all the seeds are removed. Place one lemon slice on a piece of paper thin sole and roll the slice ensuring that the lemon slice remains inside only.
Place each rolled fish slice in the centre of “dim sum sheet” and fold it in a roll to the size of a gherkin.
Spread the Tasmanian salmon slice on a clean chopping board and place the roll on top. Roll the salmon slice with delicate hands all around the lemon sole roll. Place these rolls in a steaming basket. Steam the rolls for only three to four minutes and eat hot with a sauce of your choice, ideally coriander root and sweet onion sauce.
Mint and galangal broccoli dim sum
Mix together the chopped broccoli, chopped mint, chopped ginger and salt. Add a dash of water. Take a dim sum sheet and place a tablespoon of the broccoli mix in the centre. With wet hands fold the dim sum sheet into a pouch or a gujiya shape. Place it gently in the steaming basket and steam it for a good two to three minutes. The dim sum festival at the Crowne Plaza will go on for three months. Costs Rs.650 (plus taxes) per head for unlimited dim sums and a beer.
Rakesh Kumar, the Executive Chef of the Crowne Plaza, spoke to Nandini Nair. He can be reached at chefrk@crowneplazadelhi.com
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
