A dim sim is a Chinese

Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...

-inspired meat dumpling

Dumpling

Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...

-style snack food popular in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The dish normally consists of a large ball of pork or other meat, cabbage and flavourings, encased in a wrapper similar to that of a traditional shumai dumpling. They are usually deep-fried

Deep frying

Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....

 or steamed, but can be barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

d. Dim sims differ from typical Chinese dumplings in that they are often much larger, have a thicker skin and are shaped more robustly. They are primarily sold in Fish and chip shops

Fish and chips

Fish and chips is a popular take-away food in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada...

, service stations, corner stores and Chinese or Asian takeaway outlets in Australia.

History

Dim sims were developed in Melbourne by Chinese chef William Wing Young for his restaurant "Wing Lee". According to Young's daughter, celebrity chef Elizabeth Chong

Elizabeth Chong

Elizabeth Chong is a prominent Australian celebrity chef, author and television presenter.She came to Australia when she was 3....

, her father was the first to create the popular snack's style and shape in 1945, and to begin manufacturing them in commercial quantities:

"He chose the thick skin for ease of transport; he used to deliver them in his Chevy

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 to the football

Australian rules football

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...

 where he set up in competition with the Four-and-Twenty pie

Four'N Twenty Pie

The Four'N Twenty Meat Pie was invented in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia by LT. McClure in 1947. The meat pie is a very popular food product in Australia as strong demand for the pie saw production grow from 50 pies per day to 50,000 pies per hour in between the years of 1948 to 1998.McClure took a...

. Before long, his factory was producing thousands of them for sale throughout Australia.

The dim sim has become a part of Australian culture, and is considered by many locals as an Australian food. The term 'dim sim' has planted itself so firmly into Australian English

Australian English

Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....

 that even the traditional smaller Chinese-style dumplings are wrongly referred to as such. An Australian colloquial term for a dim sim is "dimmy".

Chinese view dim sims as Westernised food, as the dim sim has very strong gingery taste to it that is uncommon in authentic Chinese food. Also, the deep fried version has a skin very unlike the skin of deep fried authentic Chinese food. Despite this, Dim Sims are primarily found in Chinese takeaway outlets as well as fish and chip shops.

Variants

There are four variants of the dim sim commonly found in takeaway stores today. These are described briefly below.

Confusion Dim Sim A mixture of all types, including meat and garlic.

Tofu Dim Sim This is an unusual variety found at Japanese take away in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 and Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

.

Meat Dim Sim This is the regular and most common variety. It may be served steamed or deep fried and is usually slightly cheaper than other varieties. The filling is mostly a mixture of ground pork and lamb/mutton. When folded correctly, one end of the meat dim sim is left slightly open and the overall appearance is a cylindrical shape.

Garlic Dim Sim The garlic, or Hong Kong dim sim is the most strongly flavoured dim sim. It is much rounder in comparison to vegetable or meat dim sims and is fried to a distinctive dark golden brown colour. The overall size is similar, or perhaps slightly larger than the meat dim sim.

Chicken Dim Sim Larger than the meat dim sim, it contains chicken mince and cabbage and is folded to resemble more of a parcel shape.

Vegetable Dim Sim This is the largest dim sim available and is nearly twice the size of a meat dim sim, and in comparison is quite soft to touch, even after deep frying. It is mostly cabbage and carrot, but may include other ingredients such as noodles. Vegetable dim sims are unlikely to be served steamed.

South Melbourne Market Dim Sim A variant of the 'Garlic Dim Sim' sold originally in the South Melbourne Market

South Melbourne Market

The South Melbourne market is located in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began operating in 1867.The market has recently undergone an upgrade, which includes a new design and refurbishment....

, now often sold in takeaway shops and fish and chip shops along side the regular Meat Dim Sim.

External links

• Australian Flavour - Recipe