Yum Yum Cha: Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii

Going for dim sum, known as yum cha in Cantonese, is a favorite culinary outing in Hawaii when all tastes can be satisfied among dozens of small plates that are shared and enjoyed with family and friends. It’s the perfect way to sample beautifully presented bites of food that are steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, rolled, and wrapped.

Yum Yum Cha: Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii has over 100 recipes that duplicate what you can order in restaurants serving dim sum or shops and bakeries specializing in dim sum in the Islands. Included are delicious favorites such as pork hash bites (siu mai), shrimp in translucent wheat starch wrap (har gao), steamed then pan-fried turnip cake (lo bak go) and tender steamed pork spareribs in fermented black bean sauce (dow see pai gwat).

There are also recipes for both steamed and baked barbecued pork buns (char siu bao) including their substitute fillings. Other succulent Top 10 Hawaii Favorites dishes are bean curd wraps (sin chet guen) and chicken feet. And of course there is the most popular dim sum dessert, the small custard tart (dan tat).

What you may have thought was complicated cooking or preparation is clearly explained so you can prepare the Islands’ favorite dim sum dishes for family and friends.

RECIPES:

Hawai‘i’s Top 10 Favorite Dim Sum

• Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gao)
• Pork Hash Dumplings (Siu Mai)
• Barbecued Pork Buns (Char Siu Bao)
• Steamed Rolls (Cheung Fun)
• Half Moon Dumplings (Gok Jai [Fan Gwo])
• Steamed and Pan-fried Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go)
• Black Bean Spareribs (Dow See Pai Gwat)
• Braised Chicken Feet (Fung Zaau [Phoenix Claws])
• Bean Curd Wrap (Sin Chet Kuen)
• Custard Tarts (Dan Tat)

Dumplings

• Fried Pork and Shrimp Dumplings (Gau Gee)
• Pork Dumplings (Wonton)
• Seafood Siu Mai (Hoi Seen Siu Mai)
• Soup Dumplings (Sui Gow)
• Beef Dumplings (Ngau Yuk Siu Mai)
• Potstickers (Guo Tip)
• Savory Stuffed Glutinous Rice Flour Doughnuts (Ham Sui Gok)
• Water Chestnut and Pork Pastry (Ma Tai Soo)

Bao (Buns), Rolls, and Bread

• Bun Dough for Steaming (Bao)
• Bun Dough for Baking (Bao)
• Steamed Plain Bread (Mantou)
• Chinese Sausage in Bun (Lap Cheong Bao)
• Chicken and Mushroom Buns (Doong Goo Gai Bao)
• Steamed Pork and Vegetable Buns (Choy Yuk Bao)
• Pan-Fried Chive and Shrimp Buns (Gau Choy Har Bao)
• Green Onion Cake (Chun Yau Bang)
• Mandarin Pancake (Bang)
• Spring Rolls (Chun Guen)

Other Dim Sum

• Turnip Pastry (Lo Bak Soo)
• Stuffed Eggplant (Yeung Ai Gwa)
• Leaf Tripe (Ngau Jup)
• Honeycomb Tripe (Ngau Bak Yip)
• Stuffed Tofu (Yeung Dow Foo)
• Steamed Beef Meatballs (Jing Ngau Yuk Yuen)
• Easy Curried Chicken Turnovers (Ga Lei Gok)
• Paper-wrapped Chicken (Ji Bao Gai)
• Taro Puffs (Woo Gok)
• Steamed Taro Cake (Woo Tau Go)
• Sticky Rice with Sausage and Mushrooms (Ho Ip Fan)
• Savory Ti Leaf Wrapped Dumplings (Ip Jai)
• Stuffed Mushroom Siu Mai (Doong Goo Siu Mai)
• Pearl Balls (Jing Ju Gee Yuk Yuen Zi)
• Seasoned Peanuts (Fa Sung)

Sweets

• Nine Layer Pudding (Gau Cang Go)
• Black Sesame Pudding (Gee Ma Woo)
• Easy New Year’s Pudding (Nien Go)
• Easy Sweet Bean Pastry (Dow Sa Gok)
• Sweet Bean Buns (Dow Sa Bao)
• Mango Pudding (Mong Gwo Bou Din)
• Coconut Buns (Yeh Jee Bao)
• Chinese Doughnuts (Jin Dui)
• Sweet Chinese Pretzels (Tong Wan)
• Sweet Rice Flour Dumplings (Ip Jai)
• Chinese Flower Cakes (Gai Dan Gou)
• Steamed Sponge Cake (Jing Dan Gou)
• Peanut-Sesame Candy (Fa Sung Tong)
• Almond Cookies (Hung Yun Bang)
• Sesame Cookies (Gee Ma Bang Jai)
• Fortune Cookies (Hung Won Bang)
• Almond Float (Hang Yun Dow Foo)

OTHER DISHES

Seafood

• Fish with Black Bean Sauce (Dow See Jing Yu)
• Steamed Fish (Jing Yu)
• Canton Shrimp (Guang Dong Har)
• Salt and Pepper Fried Shrimp (Jui Yim Har)
• Black Bean Clams (Dow See Chow Heen)
• Seafood with Black Bean Sauce (Hoi Seen Dow See)

Pork and Beef

• Sweet Sour Pork (Tim Tsin Yuk)
• Crispy Roast Pork (Siu Jee Yuk)
• Steamed Pork Hash (Jing Jee Yuk)
• Stir-Fried Pork and Vegetables (Mu Shu Yuk)
• Barbecued Pork (Char Siu)
• Sweet Sour Spareribs (Tim Tsin Pai Gwat)
• Cantonese Ribs (Pai Gwat)
• Baked Hoisin Ribs (Hoy Tsin Pai Gwat)
• Curried Beef (Ga Lei Ngau Yuk)
• Beef Tendon Beef Stew with Turnip (Ngau Nam Ngau Yuk)
• Oyster Sauce Beef with Snow Peas (Lan Dow Ngau Yuk)

Chicken and Duck

• Crispy Chicken Wings (Chui Pei Gai Yick)
• Spicy Fried Chicken (Heung Lat Ja Ji Gai)
• Soy Sauce Chicken (See Yau Gai)
• Pot Roast Chicken (Mun Gai)
• Ginger Chicken (Bak Chit Gai)
• Peking Duck (Western-style) (Bak Ging Aap)
• Roast Duck (Siu Aap)
• Lemon Chicken (Ning Mung Gai)

Vegetables

• Chinese Chicken Salad (Gai Sa Luk)
• Basic Stir-Fry Formula Stir-Fry Sauces
• Chicken Broccoli (Gai Sai Laan Faa)
• Stir-Fried Asparagus with Beef (Ngau Yuk Lou San)
• Ginger-Garlic Baby Bok Choy (Siu Bak Choy)
• Stuffed Bitter Melon (Yeung Foo Qwa)

Rice & Noodles

• Fried Rice (Chow Fan)
• Beef Long Rice (Ngau Yuk Fun See)
• Chicken/Turkey Rice Porridge (Gai/For Gai Jook)
• Singapore Noodles (Sing Chau Mai Fun)
• Fried Noodles with Three Meats (Sam See Mein)
• Stir-Fried Chicken Noodles (Gai See Chow Mein)
• Baked Fried Noodles (Gon Lo Mein)
• Stir-Fried Flat Noodles with Pork (Chow Fun)

Sauces

• Hot Mustard
• Chili Oil
• Hot Pepper & Black Bean Sauce
• Spicy Soy Dipping Sauce
• Spicy Soy Vinegar Sauce
• Sweet Soy Sauce
• Sweet-and-Sour Sauce
• Sweet Chili Sauce
• Sweet Chili Aioli
• Salt and Pepper with Chinese Five Spice Powder Mixture
• Sweet and Hot Chinese Parsley Sauce
• Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce

 

ERRATA:

Pg 37: Use shortening instead of vegetable oil for both Dough #1 and #2.

Pg 40: Add ¼ cup shortening to ingredient list.