Dim sum and other Cantonese food

[garcia1000]

Hey guys

I know a bit about Cantonese food. I know the most about Hong Kong/Guangzhou style traditional food, and a bit about Chiuchow and Hokkien (Fujianese) food but not much.

Anyone interested? I plan to post a bit about the different kinds of dim sums. Then I could post about the ways of making food (such as steaming fresh fish or double-boiled soup)

One advantage of this food is that it tastes good, so that gourmets will like it. I can start off with barbecued pork buns (cha xiu bao). Tell me if this topic interests you!

Barbecued pork buns

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha_siu_baau

This consists of a bun made of dough, with a filling of barbecued pork (I'll write another entry about barbecued pork later, as it deserves its own section).

A good bun has the following characteristics:

The bun must be soft. A hard bun indicates staleness and is unpleasant to the palate. A soft bun is easy to chew.

The bun must not be excessively moist or dry. Excessive moisture causes dough to stick to the roof of the mouth. Insufficient moisture makes it a struggle to chew.

The bun must be hot. These should be eaten as soon as they arrive at the table. Steam should be visible.

The barbecued filling must be sufficient in quantity. Not a lot is required, but it needs to be enough to flavour the bun.

The filling must also be hot and contain the right amount of gravy/sauce. When the bun and the filling mixes together in the mouth, it should not feel too dry. Also, the taste should not be overwhelming. It is analagous to mashed potatoes and gravy, you want the right amount of both.

Usually, these are served in a wicker container containing two or three buns. These are considered the cheapest items on the menu and will be rated a 'small'. (Small, medium, large, extra-large, special, other are the ratings, each category has ascending prices.)

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