DIM sum, a popular snack with countless ways of cooking and presenting not only in China but in different parts of the globe. But what do we know about this dish? Though there are various stories, versions, and legends about this snack, we can only agree with one thing—its taste.
According to stories, dim sum was an exclusive luxury prepared for the Emperor and his family, but it was also enjoyed by the wealthy. Eventually, it was also served in tea houses, particularly the busy tea houses along the famous Silk Road.
One version and probably the most famous is held by Cantonese, specifically in Hong Kong. Dimsum means to “touch the heart.” Dim sum is traditionally and normally served in a basket used for steaming made out of bamboo. Dim sum (??) or dim2 sam1 in Cantonese could either be a breakfast or afternoon dish best served with tea. They are sold in the streets of Hong Kong via trolleys where one can choose from numerous styles.
Vendors yell the name of their products like a well-rehearsed poem, the same way as our magtataho or balut vendor used to do in the morning and afternoon. Eating Dim sum at a restaurant is usually known in Cantonese as going to “drink tea” (yam cha), as tea is typically served with dim sum.
Oxford English officially recognized dim sum as an English word in 2016 with the definition: “a Chinese dish of small steamed or fried savory dumplings containing various fillings.”
The most famous dim sum today is the Xiaolongbao originally from Jiangsu province and/or Shanghai. Xiaolongbao or literally “little basket bun” is associated with a man named Huang Mingxian, a restaurant owner in Nanxiang, District of Shanghai in 1870. It was said that he invented the dish by adding aspic (a savory jelly made out of meat stock) to his minced pork. Upon steaming, the aspic liquifies and thus become its soup. Mr. Huang sold his creation under the name Nanxiang da rou mantou. He purposely made the size smaller than the usual dishes so people would remember easily.
According to Zolima Magazine, “If you break the word dim sum into its components, the term has two meanings. First is the character dim2 (?), which is used as a verb to mean “touch,” refers to “appeasing the heart,” that is, to quell one’s hunger. If used as an adjective, dim2 also denotes “tiny,” “delicate” or “a small bit of”—and it can also be used as a noun to mean “dish.” The noun sam1 (?, “heart”) is a multi-functional word that connotes desire and pleasure. So the term dim sum is as stuffed with meaning as a har gau is with shrimp. It can refer to a dainty snack between meals, but also breakfast, the lighter meal of the day.
But why are these dishes called “touching hearts”? The answer goes back to the sweets and pastries that were consumed as snacks between meals during the Six Dynasties (220-589). In the latter part of that era, during the Liang Dynasty (502–557), all kinds of food became precious treats when a prince ordered food and garment rationing to save up for battle expenditures. Soldiers could only have small bites of food as meals which gave rise to the concept of food as a delicate pleasure worth savoring.”
Today, dim sum comes in different styles and flavors. Chicken feet or the tiger skin chicken feet, there is a similar dish named as tiger skin green peppers. It is named tiger skin because of the wrinkles on the surface. Hakaw or Har gow made out of shrimp, not ideal for those with shrimp allergy. Kutchay or the Pork & Chives dumpling. Siu mai, or siomai in the Philippines, a dim sum made out of ground pork/mutton. And the list goes on and on.
Dim sum is no longer just Chinese food as it already evolved in matching one’s palate from different locations. It is a dish we all know, we all love and we all look forward to.
There’s now a debate whether fried dumplings are classified as dim sum or not. It’s like pineapples over pizza. Are you team fried dim sum or team steamed dim sum?