Dim Sum Saturday

Sui Mai and some regular Dumplings

For my brother John’s 24th Birthday, he picked Dim Sum for the standard family meal. For everyone’s birthday, my mom makes dinner and we do the whole family gathering thing, as I’ve added Josh and John has added Wendy, they’ve gotten larger. My brother wanted everyone to try something new, so he chose Dim Sum. We’d thought about just going out to a restaurant, but decided that it would be a lot more fun to try it ourselves at my parent’s house.

Wendy picked out several recipes of John’s favorites. They included Sui Mai – which are little dumplings that are open on top (like mini baskets). Har Gow – steamed dumplings with delicate almost transparent wrappers. Cheong Fun – Shrimp wrapped in rice noodles, and Wu Gok – Crispy Taro rolls. We also made regular pork dumplings, and of course Spring Rolls.

 

Just two of the fillings Wendy made

I have no idea how long it took her, but Wendy threw together all the fillings at home. There were so many bowls of raw fillings that it seemed impossible to make all of them! I started in on wrapping the Spring Rolls. I was pretty proud of my first attempt at making these. Next time I want to learn how to make the filling as well.

Peeling Wrappers for Spring Rolls

 

Spring Roll Filling - Chicken, carrots, mushrooms, etc.

 

Finished and Ready for Cooking!

While I was doing that, Wendy got the Taro Rolls started. First she cooked up the filling and got the Taro boiling. For those who have never heard of Taro (I never had until the last year or so), it’s sort of like a potato. It’s the root of a large leafed plant. It tastes kind of like a cross between a potato and a sweet potato. It also turns slightly purple when mashed. I will probably start experimenting with these where I’d usually use potatoes for something new and fun. But I digress.

Raw Taro Root (Thanks Wikipedia)

Diced Taro

Once we had the spring rolls made, and John started frying them, we moved on to other things.

Doesn't he look thrilled to be helping?

 I began stuffing the Sui Mai with a combination pork and shrimp filling while my grandma watched. These were incredibly simple as I didn’t have to seal the wrappers. I topped each with a bit of edamame.

Making Sui Mai

Wendy made the wrappers for the Har Gow, filled them and threw together the Cheong Fun (which were super easy, but REALLY good). My mom joined in the fun and started making some standard pork dumplings.

Wendy making Cheong Fun

Cheong Fun after steaming

Making Har Gow wrappers - very sticky

Har Gow - uncooked

Mom making Dumplings

While all this was going on, Wendy was systematically steaming the finished dumplings in the bamboo steaming racks (one of my favorite Christmas gifts!).

Steaming Dumplings

I finished by pinching off bits of mashed Taro (with flour and other things) dough, flattening it, filling it with pre-cooked pork and rolling it into a ball. These were then fried golden. Next time we’ll be adding more salt, as they were a little lacking.

Wu Gok filling

Taro Dough

Wu Gok

I have to say, while it was a LOT of work, it sure beat going to a restaurant. Us girls had a great time together and my mom and I got to learn a few new tricks. It was much more fun spending the time together to make a fabulous birthday lunch for my brother!

A Fine Place to Dine...

This is the first area of the apartment that is more or less complete. Well, for now anyway. The space is smaller than my old dining area, but I like it as much if not more. Instead of the rather crowded, double shelves from before; I used only one shelf and turned it on its side.

The old dining area

Then I hung two IKEA shelves on the wall. IKEA had discontinued the wine glass racks so I had to search elsewhere. Luckily Bed Bath and Beyond had them in stock. They just fit the width of the shelf, so we had to do a little bit of improvising to get them to work properly. I’m happy with the result though. I finally have a home for my wine glasses and assorted other barware. I also used the same sconces that had been in my dining area before, but put placemats behind them to emphasize them on the accented wall. I hadn’t been as happy with my accent wall previously, but with everything in place, I’m really pleased with the outcome.

Finally, my glasses have a place to hang.

I need to add something to the soffett, but have yet to decide what to put there. Possibly some plates, or mirrors. Time will tell.

View from the livingroom

The main thing I’m pleased with is the light fixture.We quickly removed the old one (our old landlord was thrilled with it in place of where the ceiling fan had been. We’ll have to buy something cheap when we move, but I’m okay with that). The placement was a little odd as well. If our table had been put right against the wall, than the fixture would have been directly above the table. However, with the table out where it is, the light was above one of the chairs. It was also too low, I'm not overly tall and managed to hit my head on it, which put it directly in Josh's face.

Reminder, here's the original light

That was nothing that a cheap ceiling hook couldn't fix though. Now it's the height we want, and in the proper location. I found the replacement fixture at Lowe’s for under $60. They had some with 5 – 7 lights, but decided due to the size of the apartment, to keep it smaller. The three lights make a big difference. One light in the old fixture just didn’t cut it. Since we are partially underground, lighting is going to be a big concern of mine. So this is the dining area so far. I have something fun planned for my huge floor to ceiling closet doors, but I need to find bulk magnet sheets first!

The new light, just where we want it.