A Chinese Dim Sum Tea
Since tea originated in China, it is fitting to celebrate China’s gift to the world with a Chinese tea party. The dim sum style of cuisine is almost always eaten in restaurants rather than cooked at home. At a dim sum restaurant, employees roam throughout the room, pushing carts loaded with small bite-sized servings of a wide variety of tasty morsels, both savory and sweet. Customers can simply point to the dishes they want, and the server will place the food directly on the table. Hot tea always accompanies dim sum.
For your tea party, we suggest that you order the food directly from a good dim sum restaurant, rush it home (or have a friend serve as your pick-up and delivery person,) and serve it as quickly as possible, as dim sum tastes best immediately after it is prepared.
But first, why not treat yourself to several trips to your local dim sum restaurant to discover which items you like best. (You might hesitate to start with the chicken feet, but don’t be afraid to be adventurous.)
The foods we are suggesting for your dim sum menu are popular classics which we have eaten ourselves on numerous happy occasions. However, feel free to substitute your own favorites.
Haiku in China
|
In the autumn haze, At the Ming Tombs, two |
High in a hotel Piles of red paper |
In March fog, a night Even as darkness |
Menu
Beverages:
Green Tea
Jasmine Tea
Chrysanthemum Tea (a caffeine-free tisane)
Savories:
Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gao)
Steamed Pork Dumplings (Shumai)
Savory Turnip Cake or Taro Cake
Tea Marbled Eggs
(These are not normally served with dim sum, but they are delicious, and you can make them yourself the day before the party.)
Steamed Chinese Broccoli with Hoisin Sauce
Steamed Barbecued Pork Buns (Cha Shu Bao)
Sweets:
Steamed Egg Custard Buns
Deep Fried Sesame Balls Filled with Sweetened Bean Paste
Mini Mochi Balls with Liquid Black Sesame Filling (Warning! Eat these in one bite.)
Steamed Sponge Cake
Recipe Included:
Tea Marbled Eggs
Tea Marbled Eggs have been a popular snack in China for centuries. They are usually sold in teashops as a quick bite with tea, but we think they would be splendid with a more leisurely Dim Sum Afternoon Tea. They are a brilliant invention—boiled eggs with the shells cracked but not removed, and the eggs simmered again in strong Lapsang souchong tea to impart a decoratively marbled appearance and smoky flavor to the eggs. Encourage your friends to admire the beautiful marbled patterns on the eggs as they enjoy them with the savory vinegar and tea flavored mayonnaise topping.
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