[.ca] Dim Sum: The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch (ISBN 0609608878)

From Amazon.com:
Who doesn't love dim sum, those enticing dumplings, buns, and pastries served in Chinatowns everywhere? But making it at home? This seemingly formidable business now proves infectiously doable, thanks to Ellen Leong Blonder's Dim Sum. Coauthor of the IACP-award-winning cookbook Every Grain of Rice, Blonder has found a way, through lucid explanation and her own telling illustration, to help readers reproduce dim sum favorites themselves. Ranging from Pork and Shrimp Siu Mai, Potstickers, and Chinese Chive Dumplings to Scallion Pancakes and Three-Mushroom Dumplings and more, these delicious nibbles--great cocktail fare as well as wonderfully tasty meals--are also fun to prepare. Beginning with a discussion of the dim sum restaurant experience and the kinds of tea involved, the book then offers concise data on setting up a steamer, making doughs, and advance preparation. The 80 recipes follow in chapters that include breads and baked dishes, such as Steamed Char Siu Bao (barbecued-pork-filled buns), and rice and rice flour specialties, like Chicken and Sausage Rice Bowl and Rice Flour Rolls with Beef. Greens and pan-fried dishes are also covered with the tempting likes of Pea Shoots with Garlic, as are deep-friend and bean curd specialties, including Deep-Fried Stuffed Eggplant and Salt-Fried Whole Prawns. Recipes for dim sum sweets like Almond Pudding and Egg Custard Tarts are also offered, as are interesting sidebars--A Trip to the Luk Yu Tea House is one--and ingredient notes, menus, and supply resources. This is one of those happy cookbooks that tackle a potentially problematical subject beautifully, delivering the kitchen ease and good eating it promises. --Arthur Boehm

the book I've been waiting for:
This book saves me from the isolation and longing only a trip to Calgary or San Francisco satisfies. Now I can make these wonderful treats at home. Clear and beautiful instructions make this possible. I was lucky to find this book in our small town Montana library. I need it in my own.

This book works!:
I've been burned by alot of promising cookbooks in the past. But the recipes in this book work, with great tasting and great looking results (okay maybe mine aren't the prettiest Dim Sum you've ever seen, but they taste FANTASTIC). Great little book. Simple, easy-to-follow instructions. I highly recommend it.

A Heartwarming Book, Very Worthy of its Small Subject:
This 'Dim Sum, The Art of Chinese Tea Lunch' is the second book from graphic artist Ellen Leong Blonder. The first three things which strike one about the book is that it is a smallish book for a fairly sizable subject, the author is neither a chef nor a culinary journalist, and that the design and illustrations in the book are exceedingly well done. I always have problems rating small books which commonly give half the value for about two thirds of the price of full sized books. Since this is Ms. Blonder's second book on a culinary subject, and since her first book won an IACP Cookbook award, her being an apparent culinary amateur should cause no concern about the quality of the book's contents. The book is divided into the following chapters: Steamed Dumplings Boiled and Pan-Fried Dumplings Breads and Baked Dishes Rice and Rice Flour Dishes Greens and Pan-Fried Dishes Deep-Fried and Bean Curd Sheet Dishes Meats Sweets Sauces and Condiments The book also contains small sections on types of tea, planning a menu, equipment and supplies, resources, and bibliography. In a book this small, the bibliography becomes an important resource. The text states that some Dim Sum restaurants offer over a hundred dishes, yet this book has barely 110 pages devoted to often two page recipes. The book makes up for this sparseness in two very important ways. First, it spends much of its space dedicated to Dim Sum cooking methods and equipment for steaming and deep-frying. It also gives excellent recipes for dumpling doughs and wrappers plus methods for folding dumplings. Second, this book succeeds very well as a 'feel good' book based on both the text and the color drawings, and the exceptionally good job of designing the book. The greatest personal attraction of the book is the fact that it includes excellent recipes for baked 'char siu bao' dumplings, something I often got at New Jersey Asian Markets, but which seem totally alien to the backwater Lehigh Valley. Having taken up cooking, this is one of the first things I wanted to try. The instructions for these baked filled rolls is a clean and you may wish. I have seen recipes in other books, which seem to require instructions on how to read the recipe. If you love well-designed books or Chinese cooking, this book will warm your heart and your tummy.

Surprisingly Authentic and Straightforward:
I was skeptical about the book because of the lack of photographs and fewer-than-usual pages, but I was happily wrong. The dim sum selection is comprised of authentic items found in restaurants, so you can use almost every recipe. The color illustrations are actually better than photographs because the details, such as how to wrap dumplings, are easier to see. The writing is very straightforward, and there are helpful tips along the way. This is a great book!

Delightful Pastry:
I just recieved my copy of Ms Blonder's wonderful "Dim Sum: The art of Chinese Tea Lunch". As with the earlier "Every Grain of Rice - this book is a visual delight. Intrigued by the recipe for Char-Siu Pastries I decided to try them as an appetizer for a lunch party. After first preparing the pork, I was surprised at how clear the instructions were and how well the pastries turned out, warm out of the oven with a light flaky crust - I found the sweet taste of the Char-Siu and the hot meat inside made these irresistable. Next time I will know to make more. I'm going to have fun with this book.