Dim Sum - Olympic Food Challenge : Hong Kong

Like many other entries in my trip around the culinary world, Hong Kong has such a mixed bag of influences that it has been difficult to pin down a dish and say 'this represents Hong Kong like Yorkshire Puddings represent Yorkshire'  Cantonese, western and other Asian styles mix together to form a melting pot of food, as you would expect from a region famous for its trading and port city. (ooh, I came over all 'rough guide' there, didn't I?)

To fully appreciate this meal, one has to picture themselves standing in a neon-lit, Blade Runner-esque street in the rain, eating Hong Kong street food from a vendor with a cart and a plastic umbrella, surrounded by sky-scrapers in a city perched between mountains and the sea. We did a mix of dim sum, sometimes referred to as Cantonese Tapas (As I'm not wikipediea, I refuse to cite any sources so you will just have to take my word for all of the above) as it is said that the best dim sum is served in Honk Kong, rather than mainland China.

A trip to the same supermarket that yielded Duck's tongue also provided us with wonton and dumpling wrappers, some straw mushrooms and char sui sauce.  I wanted to do steamed chicken's feet as well, but the store was fresh out (Much to Mrs Soup's joy, I suspect...)

At this year's Olympics, Hong Kong won a Bronze in the Women's Keirin, where she was beaten to the gold by the nation's sweetheart Victoria Pendleton


Ingredients

Char Sui Bao
Pork Mince
Char Sui Sauce
Self Raising Flour
Milk
Sugar

Prawn Wontons
Wanton Wrappers
Prawns
Spring Onions
Water Chestnuts
Ginger
Soy Sauce

Mushroom Pot Stickers
Dumpling Wrappers
Straw Mushroom
Coriander
Leaves and stems of Ungchoi
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Shaoushing Rice Wine

Chicken Wontons
Wonton Wrappers
Chicken Mince
Ungchoi
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Sesame Oil 

Method

1.  The Char Sui Bapoa was made by frying some pork mince and char sui sauce.  Flour, milk and sugar were used to make the dough for the buns, which were then steamed

2. The wontons and Pot Stickers were made by mincing and frying the ingredients of the different varieties, and them putting them in their wrappers.  Some were left open, some closed, and about 1tsp of filling was needed for each one.

3.  The wontons were steamed, along with the Bapoa, and the pot stickers fried in some oil, heated in a wok.

4.  The whole meal was served with soy sauce and sweet chili sauce for dipping