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A dim sim is a
Chinese-inspired meat and vegetable dumpling-style snack food, popular in Australia
and to a lesser extent in New Zealand . It was popularized in the 1940s, by William Chen Wing Young, a Chinese immigrant in Melbourne who originally came from
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
, and the father of Australian celebrity chef, author and TV personality
Elizabeth Chong.
The name derives from the pronunciation ''diim syiim'' (
點心) in
Toisanese, the predominant dialect spoken at the time by Central Melbourne's Chinese community.
Description
The commercial snack food normally consists of minced meat, cabbage, and seasoning, encased in a wrapper similar to that of a traditional ''
siu mai'' dumpling. They are typically cylindrical, or sometimes a larger, globular shape. They can be
steamed or
deep fried, and are commonly dressed or dipped in
soy sauce
Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...
,
tomato sauce
Tomato sauce (; ; ) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes. In some countries the term refers to a sauce to be served as part of a dish, in others it is a condiment.
Tomatoes have a rich flavor, high water content, s ...
or
sweet chilli sauce. An alternative way of cooking dim sims is to barbecue them, by cutting the dim sim in half lengthwise and placing on a hot barbecue. A barbecued dim sim is known as a "Moe Crayfish", "Cray" or "Oyster" after the Victorian township of
Moe. Vegetarian dim sims normally contain cabbage, carrot, vermicelli, Chinese shiitake mushrooms or other vegetable fillings, along with seasoning, although these are not generally available in commercial outlets.
Dim sims differ from typical Chinese dumplings in that they are often much larger, have a thicker, doughier skin and are shaped more robustly.
They are primarily sold in
fish and chip shops,
service stations, corner shops, and some Chinese restaurants and takeaway outlets in Australia. Supermarkets, some Chinese
''yum cha'' wholesale outlets and Asian frozen food companies also commonly sell this snack frozen for home cooking. They can also be found at Chinese food outlets in New Zealand.
Melbourne's Chinatown in 1945 by entrepreneur William Chen Wing Young for his food processing company Wing Lee.
Original recipe
William Wing Young's "original recipe" for the dim sim was presented by Elizabeth Chong on the second episode of the ABC1 TV show '' Myf Warhurst's Nice'' (20 June 2012). It consisted of pork, prawns, water chestnuts, spring onions, and soy sauce wrapped in a soft skin-like wrapper.
See also
* Dim sum
* Chinese restaurants in Australia
References
{{Dumplings
Australian snack foods
Dumplings
Chinese-Australian culture
Australian Chinese cuisine
Cuisine of Victoria (state)