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Dim sum -- Baozi

Dim sum (点心) is a variety of small Chinese dishes traditionally served in restaurants for brunch and often associated with Cantonese cuisine. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs brought in influences and traditions from other parts of China and it became present in other Chinese cuisines as well. For example, like the xiaolongbao, which originated in Jiangsu province, but has also become a type of dim sum. The xiaolongbao I made  My hometown is Ningbo, very close to Jiangsu province, so xiao long bao is one of the very common dim sum meals. This is the first time I made xiaolongbao, and possibly the last, because the process is just too complicated! Xiaolongbao in dim sum restaurant Many dim sum dishes are made from seafood, minced meat or vegetables wrapped in dough and then steamed, fried or pan-fried. Traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed duns (baozi), similar but different from dumplings. If you can't have ice cream or bread in your freezer, I can...
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Mooncake -- The food carries thoughts

 

Full Moon
Full Moon

This photo was taken last month when I accidentally looked up and found it. 

Although every month has a full moon, the most special one is on the 15th August of the lunar calendar, because it is the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Today's blog will talk about the food associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival - mooncakes.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has a long history , like other traditional festivals, and it is one of the main festivals in China. There are many mythological stories about the Mid-Autumn Festival, but the most impressive one, which my grandparents told me when I was a child, is Chang'e Flying to the Moon.

This story tells of a woman named Chang'e who flew to the moon after stealing an immortal pill and was separated with her husband from heaven and earth. Since then, every year on the 15th August of the lunar calendar, her husband would host a banquet under the moon in the hope of reuniting with Chang'e. When the people heard about this, they did so, praying for good luck and peace to Chang'e. 

Originally, mooncakes were used as an offering on the banquet, but later people gradually took the mooncake as a symbol of family reunion.

Because of this symbolic meaning, mooncakes are essentially round in shape. With some innovative ideas, bakeries are now turning some mooncakes into money bags with the same good wishes.

Whenever there is a festival, mooncakes are sent between relatives and friends to convey good wishes

mooncakes
Mooncakes
This is a mooncake I made in China last year. As you can see from the picture, there are many different flavours of mooncakes, both sweet and salty, and the flavours change from region to region.

Mooncakes Gift Box
Mooncakes

The four most common types of Chinese mooncakes are "Cantonese style mooncakes", "Chaoshan-style mooncake", "Suzhou-style mooncake" and "Beijing style mooncakes".

The picture above shows Cantonese style mooncakes, while the recipe I'm going to share is Suzhou-style mooncake, which is relatively simple.


Ingredients for the Suzhou-style mooncake:

Puff pastry
250g   Minced pork
2 tsp   Soy sauce
1 tsp   Sesame oil
1/8 tsp   Ground white pepper
1/2 tsp   Oyster sauce 
1/8 tsp   Sugar
Chopped spring onions


1. Mix everything together

Wrap the meat with puff pastry
2. Wrap the meat with puff pastry, brush with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame seeds
*Make sure the puff pastry is soft, otherwise it will show up cracked.

3. 180°C bake for 15mins

The easiest way to perfectly recreate the taste I had at home!

Why not give it a try?

If you have any questions or if you have some interested Chinese dishes, don't hesitate to leave comments!

See you next time! :D






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