Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch (Hardcover)

~ Ellen Leong Blonder (Author) "Legend has tea being discovered accidentally around 3000 B.C., when tea leaves blew into an outdoor cooking vessel being used to boil water..." (more)
Key Phrases: wheat starch dough, rice flour sheets, sweet red bean filling, Hong Kong, Steamed Bao Dough (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Who doesn't love dim sum, those enticing dumplings, buns, and pastries served in Chinatowns everywhere? But making it at home? This seemingly formidable business now proves infectiously doable, thanks to Ellen Leong Blonder's Dim Sum. Coauthor of the IACP-award-winning cookbook Every Grain of Rice, Blonder has found a way, through lucid explanation and her own telling illustration, to help readers reproduce dim sum favorites themselves. Ranging from Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Potstickers, and Chinese Chive Dumplings to Scallion Pancakes and Three-Mushroom Dumplings and more, these delicious nibbles--great cocktail fare as well as wonderfully tasty meals--are also fun to prepare.

Beginning with a discussion of the dim sum restaurant experience and the kinds of tea involved, the book then offers concise data on setting up a steamer, making doughs, and advance preparation. The 80 recipes follow in chapters that include breads and baked dishes, such as Steamed Char Siu Bao (barbecued-pork-filled buns), and rice and rice flour specialties, like Chicken and Sausage Rice Bowl and Rice Flour Rolls with Beef. Greens and pan-fried dishes are also covered with the tempting likes of Pea Shoots with Garlic, as are deep-friend and bean curd specialties, including Deep-Fried Stuffed Eggplant and Salt-Fried Whole Prawns. Recipes for dim sum sweets like Almond Pudding and Egg Custard Tarts are also offered, as are interesting sidebars--A Trip to the Luk Yu Tea House is one--and ingredient notes, menus, and supply resources. This is one of those happy cookbooks that tackle a potentially problematical subject beautifully, delivering the kitchen ease and good eating it promises. --Arthur Boehm

From Library Journal

Most Chinese cookbooks include some recipes for standard dim sum dishes such as scallion pancakes and potstickers, but as Blonder (Every Grain of Rice) found, there is little devoted solely to these popular brunch/tea snacks and certainly nothing as charming and accessible as her little book. She provides 60 recipes, from Pork and Chinese Chive Dumplings to Salt-Fried Prawns, along with sweets and condiments, all illustrated by her own lovely watercolors. The recipes are clearly written, with step-by-step drawings of various techniques, and most include make-ahead suggestions. Recommended.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1st edition (April 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609608878
• ISBN-13: 978-0609608876
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gentle, informative, delightful, April 13, 2002

By A Customer

I couldn't help myself: barely had this cookbook arrived when I greedily read it from cover to cover. Containing information I had been hungering for ever since I first tasted a succulent, meat-filled dumpling, it proved a delight to the eye as much as to the imagination.

From the first page, you know you are in the presence of a connoisseur with a passion for the art of dim sum -- whether at a restaurant in Hong Kong or in your own home. She gently leads you through the process, from getting your own basic equipment, through the making of dumplings, potstickers, meatballs, rolls, and dozens of other tasty morsels, plus a section on the vital sauces you'll want to try. It even features several dessert recipes that make you smack your lips in anticipation. The instructions are thorough and easy to follow, with just the right amount of personal insights. Several vegetarian dishes are interspersed, as are options for making other recipes meatless.

This book is not an encyclopedia on making dim sum, so you might not not find some recipes here you may have wanted, such as one for preparing chicken feet. Yet, its bounty of recipes and loving presentation make this the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn the basics of the art of the Chinese tea lunch.

As if tantalizing recipes weren't enough, the author has blessed us with exquisite watercolor drawings that accent nearly every page. As cook, you can experience the double pleasure of feasting your eyes on mouth-watering artwork while you prepare a feast that will touch the heart.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Pastry, May 10, 2002

By	Julie Leong (Lake Oswego, OR United States) - See all my reviews

I just recieved my copy of Ms Blonder's wonderful "Dim Sum: The art of Chinese Tea Lunch". As with the earlier "Every Grain of Rice - this book is a visual delight.

Intrigued by the recipe for Char-Siu Pastries I decided to try them as an appetizer for a lunch party. After first preparing the pork, I was surprised at how clear the instructions were and how well the pastries turned out, warm out of the oven with a light flaky crust - I found the sweet taste of the Char-Siu and the hot meat inside made these irresistable. Next time I will know to make more.

I'm going to have fun with this book.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Heartwarming Book, Very Worthy of its Small Subject, January 30, 2004

By	B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This `Dim Sum, The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch' is the second book from graphic artist Ellen Leong Blonder. The first three things which strike one about the book is that it is a smallish book for a fairly sizable subject, the author is neither a chef nor a culinary journalist, and that the design and illustrations in the book are exceedingly well done.

I always have problems rating small books which commonly give half the value for about two thirds of the price of full sized books. Since this is Ms. Blonder's second book on a culinary subject, and since her first book won an IACP Cookbook award, her being an apparent culinary amateur should cause no concern about the quality of the book's contents.

The book is divided into the following chapters:

Steamed Dumplings
Boiled and Pan-Fried Dumplings
Breads and Baked Dishes
Rice and Rice Flour Dishes
Greens and Pan-Fried Dishes
Deep-Fried and Bean Curd Sheet Dishes
Meats
Sweets
Sauces and Condiments

The book also contains small sections on types of tea, planning a menu, equipment and supplies, resources, and bibliography.

In a book this small, the bibliography becomes an important resource. The text states that some Dim Sum restaurants offer over a hundred dishes, yet this book has barely 110 pages devoted to often two page recipes. The book makes up for this sparseness in two very important ways.

First, it spends much of its space dedicated to Dim Sum cooking methods and equipment for steaming and deep-frying. It also gives excellent recipes for dumpling doughs and wrappers plus methods for folding dumplings.

Second, this book succeeds very well as a `feel good' book based on both the text and the color drawings, and the exceptionally good job of designing the book.

The greatest personal attraction of the book is the fact that it includes excellent recipes for baked `char siu bao' dumplings, something I often got at New Jersey Asian Markets, but which seem totally alien to the backwater Lehigh Valley. Having taken up cooking, this is one of the first things I wanted to try. The instructions for these baked filled rolls is a clean and you may wish. I have seen recipes in other books, which seem to require instructions on how to read the recipe.

If you love well-designed books or Chinese cooking, this book will warm your heart and your tummy.