Dim Sum Party Recipes Part 3: The Rolls

These were the actual recipes used during Scamper’s recent weekend get together… you can read all about it here:

Dim Sum is a Chinese rolling buffet. Traditionally, carts of delicacies are rolled through a packed hall of hungry fans. Some are steamed. Some are fried. There are varieties that are baked and roasted too. Dumplings, pork buns and noodles are accompanied by spare ribs and roasted duck. If you like Chinese food, you’ll love dim sum. We recently discovered that a dim sum party is tremendous fun. Everyone can participate in making something wonderful.

Spring Rolls

These crispy little buggers are addictive. They disappeared almost immediately. Serve them with the sauce included below.

Ingredients

7 oz cellophane noodles
1 lb cooked and cleaned shrimp, chopped
2c shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and fine chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c grated carrots
1 lb ground pork
1/4 c fish sauce
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
25 spring roll wrappers
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 c warm water
Oil to fry

spring rolls

Preparation

Sauté the pork with carrot, fish sauce, sugar, salt and pepper
Set aside to cool
Immerse the cellophane noodles in hot water for about 10 min or until softened
Drain them and place them in a large bowl
Mix in the mushrooms by hand
Pulse garlic, shrimp and shallots in a food processor
Make it coarse not paste
Mix into noodles
Mix in pork
Chill for 1 hr
Combine the cornstarch and warm water
Lay a wrapper in front of you like a diamond (they come square shaped. Just tilt it so there’s a point at the top and a point at the bottom)
Place about 2-3 Tbsp of the filling in the widest area. It’s about equivalent to a small handful
You want them to be filled but not overstuffed. After a couple of tries you’ll figure out what works for you.
Fold the side corners in toward the filling
Roll them up tightly and seal the edge with the cornstarch water
Heat the oil. When you wet your hand and shake off a drop of water, it should sizzle. Do that from a few feet above the oil. Hot oil splashes.
Fry 4-5 min per side until crispy and golden

The Sauce

This is a traditional sauce. Frankly, we used duck sauce too. Other people used hot mustard. Have a jar of each at the ready if you’re having a gathering. Lots of people judge the spring rolls and egg rolls based on the specific way that they’ve doctored their dipping sauce.

Ingredients

5 1/2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 c hot water
1/4 c + 1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar (plain)
1-2 tsp lime juice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small, fresh red chilies, sliced thin

Preparation

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water
Whisk all ingredients together
Cover and chill

Spring roll sauce for dim sum party

Summer Rolls

These are the cold fresh ones, served with peanut sauce. They are clean and healthy. They’re also incredibly tasty. If you’re having a party, most people will eat the fried bites because they’re delicious but you’ll subject yourself to any number of guests lifting up their shirts to display their ” food babies”. FYI, some of them will go on about it for months. If you serve summer rolls, you all know that they had a healthy option and you can feel free to wave them off when they groan about overindulging. Serve them with peanut sauce. You can use the peanut sauce for chicken sates too.

Ingredients

Peanut sauce

3/4 c smooth peanut butter
1/3 c water
3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1-2 Tbsp lime juice
4 1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp chili paste
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 garlic clove, crushed

Combine everything in a food processor until it’s smooth

Summer rolls

1 lb cooked and cleaned shrimp, split in half lengthwise
4 oz rice sticks or bean threads, placed in hot water until soft. About 10 min
16 round rice wraps for summer rolls
2/3 c bean sprouts
32 fresh mint leaves
32 fresh basil leaves if you can, mix purple and green basil leaves
16 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 English cucumber slices into 32 sticks
3 scallions, sliced thin
8 leaves of Bibb lettuce cut in half

Preparation

Lay all of the ingredients in front of you in separate bowls
Have a bowl of hot water next to you
Dip a sheet of rice wrap into the hot water for about 20 seconds
Place a bit of the rice noodles in the center (you will need 16 bits, one per wrap)
Lay 3-4 slices of shrimp in a row down the middle of the wrap
Continue to layer in all of the ingredients, 2 basil leaves, 2 mint leaves,1 piece of lettuce and so on
Wrap the ingredients tightly in the wrapper by rolling it and tucking in the edges.
Place them, seam down on a plate or baking sheet and chill before serving with peanut sauce

summer rolls

Egg Rolls

These are the standard egg rolls that you get from take out, only better. Serve them with hot mustard, soy sauce and duck sauce for dipping.

Ingredients

12 egg roll wrappers
1/2 lb ground chicken
1/2 lb ground pork
2 tsp fresh minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp dark sesame oil
16 oz shredded cabbage and carrot mix (you can find it in the salad section of the supermarket as Cole slaw cut salad)
4 scallions, sliced
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
Oil to fry

egg rolls for dim sum party!

Preparation

Brown the meat with the ginger, garlic and sesame oil
Drain the fat and remove from heat
Combine sugar, salt and soy sauce
Mix into meat, while hot
Combine thoroughly
Stir in carrot/ cabbage mix
Let it cool enough for you to touch it to fill the egg rolls.
Place the wrapper in front of you like a diamond (tip the square so that one point is on top and one’s on bottom)
Place 3 Tbsp of filling in the center, but slightly closer to you
Fold the bottom corner over the filling
Tuck in the edges and roll it up
Seal the seam with a brush of the beaten egg
Place them seam down as you continue with the rest
Heat oil to hot enough that a droplet of water sizzles
Fry the egg rolls in batches
About 2-3 min per side
Let the extra oil whisk off by laying them on paper towels as they come out of the oil