A
dim sim is a
ChineseChinese cuisine originated in China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world — from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa. In recent years, connoisseurs of Chinese cuisine have also sprouted in Eastern Europe and South Asia...
-inspired meat
dumplingDumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes, bread or matzoh meal, and may include meat, fish, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. Ingredients may be as a part of a filling, or mixed throughout the dumpling. Dumplings may be...
-style snack food popular in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
. The dish normally consists of a large ball of pork or other meat, cabbage and flavourings, encased in a wrapper similar to that of a more traditional dumpling. They are usually
deep-friedDeep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....
or steamed, but can be
barbecueBarbecue or barbeque is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, with the heat and hot gases of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of charcoal or a propane gas grill, and may...
d. Dim sims differ from typical Chinese dumplings in that they are often much larger, have a thicker skin and are shaped more robustly.
History
Dim sims were brought to Australia by Chinese chef William Wing Young for his restaurant "Wing Lee". According to Young's daughter, celebrity chef Elizabeth Chong, her father was the first to create the popular snack's style and shape in 1945, and to begin manufacturing them in commercial quantities:
- "He chose the thick skin for ease of transport; he used to deliver them in his Chevy
Chevrolet is a brand of automobile produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant in 1911, Chevrolet was acquired by General Motors in 1917...
to the footballAustralian football, also commonly referred to as Australian rules football, football, or Aussie rules, colloquially as footy, and historically as Australasian football or Victorian football, is a variant of football played between two teams of 18 players, plus four interchange players, outdoors on...
where he set up in competition with the Four-and-Twenty pieThe Four'N Twenty Meat Pie was invented in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia by LT. McLure in 1947. The meat pie is a very popular food product in Australia as strong demand for the pie saw production grow from 50 pies per day to 50,000 pies per hour in between the years of 1948 to 1998.McLure took a...
. Dim sims can be bought at most Westernised Chinese takeaway shops.
The dim sim has become a part of Australian culture, and is considered by many locals as an Australian food with little connection to Chinese culture. The term 'dim sim' has planted itself so firmly into
Australian EnglishAustralian English is the form of the English language spoken in Australia.-Socio-historical linguistic context:...
that even the traditional smaller Chinese-style dumplings are wrongly referred to as such. An Australian colloquial term for a dim sim is "dimmy".
Chinese view dim sims as Westernised food, as the dim sim has very strong gingery taste to it that is uncommon in authentic Chinese food. Ginger is added as westerners associate it with Chinese food, whereas Chinese use ginger during cooking but do not eat it. Also, the deep fried version has a skin very unlike the skin of deep fried authentic Chinese food.
Variants
There are four variants of the dim sim commonly found in takeaway stores today. These are described briefly below.
Meat Dim Sim This is the regular and most common variety. It may be served steamed or deep fried and is usually slightly cheaper than other varieties. The filling is mostly a mixture of ground pork and lamb/mutton. When folded correctly, one end of the meat dim sim is left slightly open and the overall appearance is a cylindrical shape.
Garlic Dim Sim The garlic, or Hong Kong dim sim is the most strongly flavoured dim sim. It is much rounder in comparison to vegetable or meat dim sims and is fried to a distinctive dark golden brown colour. The overall size is similar, or perhaps slightly larger than the meat dim sim.
Chicken Dim Sim Larger than the meat dim sim, it contains chicken mince and cabbage and is folded to resemble more of a parcel shape.
Vegetable Dim Sim This is the largest dim sim available and is nearly twice the size of a meat dim sim, and in comparison is quite soft to touch, even after deep frying. It is mostly cabbage and carrot, but may include other ingredients such as noodles. Vegetable dim sims are unlikely to be served steamed.
See also
Australian Flavour - Recipe
South Melbourne marketThe South Melbourne market is located in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began operating in 1867.The market has recently undergone an upgrade, which includes a new design and refurbishment....