Traditional Chinese Dim Sum

Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for breakfast and lunch by the local Chinese. Most traditional Chinese dim sum dishes come from Guangzhou in southern China, and they are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine. Today, there are over one thousand traditional dim sum dishes, and they have a wide range of flavours, textures, ingredients, and cooking processes. Traditional dim sum dishes can be classified into regular dishes, holiday dishes, house signature, travel-friendly, breakfast, luck, and late-night snacks.

If you are looking for traditional dim sum dishes, your best bets are standard Cantonese restaurants; they have a wide variety. Let us now take a brief look at some of the traditional Chinese dim sum dishes.

Common Traditional Chinese Dim Sum Dishes

Teochew dumplings. This traditional Chinese dim sum dishes also known as fun guoor Chaozhou fun guo. This traditional dish is a kind of steamed Chinese dumpling from the Chaoshan area of Southern China. Its main ingredients are chopped peanuts, garlic chives, ground pork, dried fish and dried radish for the filling. While the wrap is made up of de-gluttonized wheat flour, tapioca flour, and corn or potato starch. It is a kind of late-night Chinese snack.

Pot stickers. They are also known as guotie. They are a northern Chinese style dumpling which are commonly taken as appetizers, regular street food, or side order in a Chinese Dim sum cuisine. Pot stickers are different from pan fried dumplings, or jianjao because they are usually elongated with the two ends often left open. Though it is a side dish mostly, but you can take them alone; they are very delicious! The filling of this regular side snack usually contain pork, chicken, or beef (mostly by Muslim manufacturers), cabbage or spinach, green or spring onions, ginger, Chinese rice wine or cooking wine, and sesame seed oil.

Taro dumpling. This traditional Chinese dishes also known as wuhgok. It is a variety of a Chinese dim sum lunch cuisine. You would this dish as a standard meal in many Chinese restaurants as traditional Chinese pastries. The main ingredients of this traditional pastry are Taro and ground pork. Taro is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms. The outer shell of the taro dumpling is made from a thick layer of taro that has been boiled and mashed. It is then filled with seasons ground pork, and then deep fried until the outermost layer becomes fluffy, light, and crisp.

Tofu skin roll. This is another traditional Chinese dim sum dish. This traditional dish can be found in Chinese restaurants at home and abroad. It is usually served on a small plate. The outer layer is made of tofu skin. The main ingredients of this dish are bean curd, various vegetables, or meat vegetables.

Zhaliang or jaléung. This is a Chinese dim sum dish made by tightly wrapping rice noodle roll around a fried dough. Of course, the main ingredients of the zhaliang are fried dough and rice noodle roll. This dish is served as breakfast.