Guide to Chinese food #1： Dimsum
Growing up in a Chinese restaurant, food was always one scoop from the buffet table away. Naturally, my taste buds are now addicts of soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, you name it, if it's Chinese, I would be happy eating it.
Over the years, my friends have asked me some hilarious questions about Chinese diet and Chinese food. The most common is always, "Do Chinese people eat dog? Se comen perros en China, no?" And I explain that dog is not a common meat in China, and it's only served as a dish in certain places. This is usually followed by a puzzled look and then nodding, "so yes, they do eat dog there". Well... si.
In Colombia a student told me he had read in a well-known book on Chinese culture that Chinese people "comen todo que vienen con cuatro patas, menos las mesas" = "eat everything that has four legs, except for tables". As a general rule, it's true that we eat a huge variety of things. Turtles and snakes? Sure. Bugs on sticks? Yep.
Shark fin soup? Delicious. Yet it's important to realize that these dishes are considered "exotic" for us as well, and the average Chinese person probably sticks more to pork and chicken, animals that are easier to raise than sharks.
Food varies a lot in different regions within China, and dimsum is a Cantonese tradition. It's popular in Guangdong province (previously called Canton) and Hong Kong, but most Chinatowns around the world will probably have a dimsum house.
Dimsum is similar to brunch, Chinese style, and usually people go in a big group and drink tea while they munch on little plates. Last Sunday Jack and I went to Chinatown (Barrio Chino) with a couple of friends, located on Calle Capon here in Lima. They had never tried dimsum before, so we ordered an entire round table full of bocaditos.
Here are some of my top picks:
虾肠粉 xia chang fen = shrimp rice rolls (my favorite, shrimp with soft rice roll)
烧卖 shao mai = pork dumpings (steamed with pork meat inside)
叉烧包 cha shao bao = pork buns (soft dough with roasted pork meat inside)
凤爪 feng zhua = chicken feet (sounds weird, but very flavorful)
小笼包 xiao long bao = pork dumplings (steamed, and juicy)
皮蛋瘦肉粥 pi dan shou rou zhou = congee with preserved egg and pork (salty Chinese porridge)
And for dessert...
金银馒头 jin yin man tou = steamed buns with condensed milk (ask for extra condensed milk)
蛋挞 dan ta = egg pastries (flaky on the outside, sweet and custard-like inside)
豆腐花 dou fu hua = sweet tofu dessert (very soft tofu lathered in sweet syrup)
Eating has to be one of my favorite pastimes, so hopefully these tempt my dear friends into dining with me!
