photo by Tracy Hunter

Dim sum started out as modest tea house snacks.  That is really not the way Americans partake, but that shouldn't surprise anyone.  Dim sum has become something else entirely - an active weekend brunch where you try to convince the waiters to bring just one more order of Xiao Long Bao or Salt & Pepper Shrimp while carts of buns and dumplings whizz by.  Seating is tight, the wait staff is busy and after a while anyone would be convinced they are hoarding the soup dumplings for their best customers.

I decided to try Dim sum as a breakfast, since I intended to do breakfasts for the month of September.  Sometimes I already know how to make something, its just a matter of getting it down.  This was not one of those times.  It never occurred to me that Dim Sum was something to try at home, and there is probably good reason...

Honestly, the real deal, the fancy little dumplings in nearly translucent wrappers are more than a little intimidating.  I know how they are made, but I am not ready to dive off the cliff of perfection required to get them right.  This is a good first step, but doesn't hold a candle to the delicate little dumplings that really made dim sum such a fantastic experience.

Unless I am thrust into a Dim Sum kitchen or asked to participate in a Dim Sum pot luck, I doubt I will ever make these again.  Sure, there is justice and satisfaction in abusing a staple of the southern kitchen (white bread), but these little buns land on my table with about the same impact as fried empanadas.  That said, here they are.  I obviously need to make those beautiful little dumplings now.

Chicken Curry Bun - Dim Sum

1/2 a large sweet potato, diced

5 Tbsp oil

1 medium onion, diced

14oz can fire roasted tomatoes

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 in grated ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup water or chicken broth

1 Tbsp white wine or sherry

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into pea sized pieces

1 Tbsp corn starch blended with 1 Tbsp water

Loaf of soft white sandwich bread

1 egg

Oil for frying

Spice Mix:

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper

Filling

1. Dice the potatoes, boil for 25 minutes, strain and set aside.


2. At the same time, cook the onion in the oil until translucent.


3. Add the tomatoes, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, water, wine and spices.  Cover and cook for 12 minutes.


4. Add the chicken, stir and cook for 12 minutes.


5. Uncover, add the potatoes and corn starch blend.  Cook for 1 minute and remove from heat.

The buns

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat, but do not let it smoke (not over 400 degrees)


2. Trim the crusts off the bread.  Separate the yolk from the egg and beat with a little water.


3. Roll the bread out flat with a rolling pin until they are very flat.


4. Put some filling  in each piece.  Brush the edge of the bread with the egg wash and fold the bread over on itself to form a bun.  Trim the bun back with a knife (I use an empanada cutter)


5. Fry each bun in the oil.  It only takes about 1 minute each side.  Drain on paper towels.

An interesting street food morsel - Trinidad street food has more in common with Mumbai than some of its Caribbean neighbors.  Granted, there's the Shark and Bake, but the curries and pickles have a remarkably Indian taste.  This roti is really meant to be carried about as you head toward the beach.  Roti stands are fairly common, and very simple.

This is a fairly simple curry recipe that can be cooked a couple different ways.  I like to use canned tomatoes so that I can use roasted without burning anything.  There are a couple different ways to do the curry too, and you can choose whether to use whole seeds or ground.  Depends what you have handy - we tend to have plentiful ground cumin, so that's what I use.

Shrimp Curry

Your choice - for the curry, use:

1 Tbsp curry paste or powder

- or -

3/4 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp coriander

3/4 mustard

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp red pepper

You can either grind this from seeds or use ground spices

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 in. grated ginger

 1 can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 1b medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and cleaned

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Roti

Directions

1. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes


2. Add the spices or paste and cook 2 minutes more


3. Add the tomatoes, water and salt and stir.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until most of the water is boiled off.


4. Add the shrimp and stir well.  Cover and let the shrimp cook for 5 minutes.


5. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.