Dim sum

Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisines. In the tenth century, when the city of Canton began to experience an increase in commercial travel, many frequented teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called "yum cha". "Yum cha" includes two related concepts. The first is "jat zung loeng gin", which translates literally as "one cup, two pieces". This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two delicately made food items, savory or sweet, to complement their tea. The second is dim sum, which translates literally to "touch the heart", the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the tea.
Teahouse owners gradually added various snacks called dim sum to their offerings. The practice of having tea with dim sum eventually evolved into the modern "yum cha". Cantonese dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Guangzhou. Cantonese dim sum was originally based on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China. Cantonese dim sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, and travel-friendly items, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late-night snacks.
Some estimates claim that there are at least two thousand types of dim sum in total across China, but only about forty to fifty types are commonly sold outside of China. There are over one thousand dim sum dishes originating from Guangdong alone, a total that no other area in China comes even close to matching. In fact, the cookbooks of most Chinese food cultures tend to combine their own variations on dim sum dishes with other local snacks. But that is not the case with Cantonese dim sum, which has developed into a separate branch of cuisine.
Dim sum restaurants typically have a wide variety of dishes, usually totaling several dozen. The tea is very important, just as important as the food. Many Cantonese restaurants serve dim sum as early as five in the morning, while more traditional restaurants typically serve dim sum until mid-afternoon. Some restaurants in Hong Kong and Guangdong province even offers dim sum all day till late night. Dim sum restaurants have a unique serving method where servers offer dishes to customers from steam-heated carts. It is now commonplace for restaurants to serve dim sum at dinner and sell various dim sum items à la carte for takeout. In addition to traditional dim sum, some chefs also create and prepare new fusion-based dim sum dishes. There are also variations designed for visual appeal on social media, such as dumplings and buns made to resemble animals.

Etymology

The original meaning of the term "dim sum" remains unclear and contested. Some references state that the term originated in the Eastern Jin dynasty. According to one legend, to show soldiers gratitude after battles, a general had civilians make buns and cakes to send to the front lines. "Gratitude" or 點點心意, later shortened to, of which dim sum is the Cantonese pronunciation, came to represent dishes made similarly.
Some versions date the legend to the Southern Song dynasty after the term's earliest attestation in the Book of Tang. Written in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the book uses 點心 as a verb instead: 「治妝未畢, 我未及餐, 爾且可點心」, which translates to "I have not finished preparing myself and am not ready for a proper meal; therefore, you can treat yourself to some small snacks." In this context, "dim sum" means "to barely fill your stomach". Dim sum dishes are usually associated with "yum cha", which is known as the Cantonese brunch tradition. Chinese food historian Yan-kit So has described dim sum as:

Literally translated as "so close to the heart", they are, in reality, a large range of hors d'oeuvres Cantonese people traditionally enjoy in restaurants for breakfast and lunch but never for dinner, washed down with tea. "Let's go yum cha" is understood among the Cantonese to mean going to a restaurant for dim sum; such is the twin linkage between the food and the beverage.

Cuisine

There are at least two thousand types of dim sum in total across China, and over one thousand available in Guangdong alone. Dim sum are usually eaten as breakfast or brunch. Cantonese dim sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients, and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, travel-friendly, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late night snacks.
The subtropical climate of the southeast quadrant of Guangdong partly influences dim sum's portion size. It can cause a decrease in appetite, so that people prefer eating scaled-down meals throughout the day rather than the customary three large meals. Teahouses in Guangzhou served "three teas and two meals," which included lunch and dinner, and breakfast, afternoon, and evening teas with dim sum.
Many dim sum dishes are made of seafood, chopped meats, or vegetables wrapped in dough or thin wrappings and steamed, deep-fried, or pan-fried. A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns, such as cha siu bao, rice or wheat dumplings, and rice noodle rolls that contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns, and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, stuffed eggplant, stuffed green peppers, roasted meats, congee and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and can be ordered at any time since there is not a set sequence for the meal.
It is customary to order "family-style", sharing the small dishes consisting of three or four pieces of dim sum among all members of the dining party. Small portion sizes allow people to try a wide variety of food.

Dishes

Dim sum restaurants typically have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen.

Dumplings

Rolls

Buns

Cakes

Name	Image	Chinese	Description
Turnip cake		cy=lòh baahk gōu	pudding made from a mix of shredded white radish, bits of dried shrimp, Chinese sausage and mushroom that is steamed, sliced, and pan-fried.
Taro cake		cy=wuh táu gōu	pudding made of taro.
Water chestnut cake		cy=máh tàih gōu	pudding made of crispy water chestnut; some restaurants also serve a variation made with bamboo juice.
Nian gao		年糕	glutinous rice flour cake, sweetened, usually with brown sugar.
Red Date Cake		紅棗糕	Dessert made with dried jujubes and tapioca flour.
Thousand-layer cake		cy=chīnchàhng gōu	a dessert made of many layers of salted egg dough.
Malay sponge cake		cy=máhlāai gōu	sponge cake consisting of lard or butter, flour, and eggs.
White sugar sponge cake		cy=baahk tòng gōu	steamed sponge cake made with white sugar.

Meats

Name	Image	Chinese	Description
Steamed meatball		p=niúròu wán	steamed meatballs served on thin tofu skin. Generally served with Worcestershire sauce.
Pearl meatballs		p=zhēnzhū wánzi	steamed meatballs coated with glutinous rice. Traditionally from Hubei and Hunan.
Lion's Head		t=獅子頭	pork meatballs or beef meatballs stewed with vegetables.
Phoenix claws		p=fèngzhuǎ	deep fried, boiled, and then steamed chicken feet with douchi. "White Cloud Phoenix Claws" is a plain steamed version.
Spare ribs		cy=pàaih gwāt	steamed pork spare ribs with douchi and sometimes garlic and chili.
Beef tendon		labels=no	Beef tendons are cooked for a long time until it is very tender. In Hong Kong, it is usually served together with beef brisket and/or radish.
Reticulum beef tripe		labels=no
Omasum beef tripe		labels=no
Shrimp toast		labels=no	Bread coated with a paste made from minced shrimp and cooked by baking or deep frying.

Seafood

Name	Image	Chinese	Description
Deep fried squid		labels=no	similar to fried calamari, the battered squid is deep-fried.
Curry squid			squid served in curry broth.

Vegetables

Name	Image	Chinese	Description
Steamed gai lan		labels=no	Steamed vegetables served with oyster sauce, popular varieties include lettuce, choy sum, gai lan, or water spinach.
Fried tofu		labels=no	deep fried tofu with salt and pepper.

Rice

Name	Image	Chinese	Description
Lotus leaf rice		cy=noh máih gāi	glutinous rice wrapped in a lotus leaf that typically contains egg yolk, dried scallop, mushroom, and meat. A lighter variant is known as "pearl chicken".
Chinese sticky rice		cy=noh máih faahn	stir-fried glutinous rice with Chinese sausage, soy sauce-steeped mushrooms, sweet spring onions, and sometimes chicken marinated with a mixture of spices including five-spice powder.
Congee		cy=jūk	many kinds of rice porridge, such as the "Preserved Egg and Pork Porridge".