Wonton
Dumplings filled with ground pork and chopped vegetables are a standard in Hawaii homes. In Yum Yum Cha; Let’s Eat Dim Sum in Hawaii, a recipe for wonton is presented. They can be simply boiled (pictured here), fried in a rectangular shape (called gau gee) or fried and then braised as potstickers. They are easily made and frozen. The filling can be made with ground chicken, turkey or tofu. Wonton wrappers are sold in stores around the country so you do not need to make your own. The cookbook shows how to fold wonton the traditional way, but the wonderful thing is that you can create your own folds and it will still taste great. The newest cookbook Yum Yum Cha is scheduled to be available early December 2021.
(Scheduled be available early December, 2021)
Going for dim sum, known as yum cha in Cantonese, is a favorite culinary outing in Hawaii when all tastes can be satisfied among dozens of small plates that are shared and enjoyed with family and friends. It’s the perfect way to sample beautifully presented bites of food that are steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, tolled, and wrapped.
Yum Cha (“drink tea” in Cantonese Chinese) refers to the experience of eating and enjoying dim sum. This cookbook has over 100 recipes that duplicate what you can order in restaurants. Included are such favorites as pork hash bites (siu mai), shrimp in translucent wheat starch wrap (har gao), steamed then pan-fried turnip cake (lo bak go) and tender steamed pork spareribs, in fermented black bean sauce (dow see pai gwat).
There are also recipes for both steamed and baked pork buns (char siu bao) including their many other fillings. Enjoy flour rolls filled dried shrimp (cheong fun) and the popular half moon (gok jai or fun gow), nicknamed ear “pepeiao” in Hawaii.
Other popular dishes include bean curd wrap (sin chet guan), pork and water chestnut in flaky dough (ma tai soo), chicken feet, custard tarts (dan tat) and sweet or savory deep fried balls of sweet rice flour (jin dui and ham sui gok). Short cuts are included, such as using store-bought refrigerated dough such as for sweet sausage buns (lap cheong bao).
Color, 224 pages, hardcover, wire-o, 6X9 inches, published 2021. $20.95, shipping is free.
