Tricky art of making dim sum - DIM SUM - Traditional Favourites and Innovative Creations

DIM SUM - Traditional Favourites and Innovative Creations
By Chan Chen Hei
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

THERE is already a slew of dim sum cookbooks out there, so why pick this one up? Because it has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award in 2005? Because it is authored by Guangdong - born chef Chan Chen Hei? Because Chef Chan’s restaurant in Singapore, Jue San Chu Shen, is continually raved about for its innovation and outstanding food?

Most people would pick up the book based on just the above reasons alone. But dim sum is always a tricky subject to write about. It is an art form, something that can be hard to learn from following a recipe.

Just for the preparation of the skin of some of the dim sum dishes, there are probably a hundred different ways, and as many variations in ingredients.

Take the simple steamed radish cake, for example. My grandmother has a family recipe and because I grew up eating that, I’m always going to think that is the most delicious. The same goes for every family recipe you may have.

Making the radish cake takes some practice and the recipe needs to be adjusted accordingly, much like making bread from scratch. The secret is in the kneading and handling of the dough before baking. So you can add all the ingredients in the portions stipulated in the recipe, but if you miss a step, or handle the dough wrongly, the bread comes out different.

So I tried the radish cake in the book. The steps are simple enough, and the ingredients easily obtainable. But the first glaring mistake - the recipe does not ask you to cook the white radish! It just says to peel, grate and combine with the rest of the dry ingredients.

If not for my grandmother’s recipe, I would have followed the recipe and be very disappointed with the end result.

The cooking recipes, such as the dumplings in superior stock and the dried vegetable congee are better, with less room for error if an ingredient or step is missed out. The book has its merits - the recipes are from the chef’s personal collection, and he does inject some creativity into some classic dim sums.

Among the offerings are White Jade Roll with Crab Sauce, Steamed Pork Dumpling topped with Crab Roe, Deep-fried Chewy Dumpling, Sugar Cane Jelly, Green Tea Dumpling and Ginger Egg Tart.

But after the radish cake fiasco, I’m left wondering whether he divulges the complete recipe for the 60 dishes showcased. You might want to use this book as a jumping off point for further experimentation. Take his ideas and recipes, but do a bit of research and combine a few recipes for the same dish to get the desired result.

The photography throughout the book is faultless but the binding of the book can be improved. When you open the book flat, the binding shows signs of coming out.

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