Designer Agnimitra Paul and son Vighnesh try out the dim sum and tea combo at Mainland China

Did you know that the Chinese have dumplings at least twice a day with piping hot cups of tea? “It’s a Chinese tradition to have a bowl of assorted dim sums as morning and evening tea-time snacks,” said chef Gao Fuliang from Beijing who is hosting Yum Cha, a dim sum and tea pairing festival at Mainland China (all outlets) till September 30. The 47-year-old chef, who has travelled the world as a dim sum specialist for the past 22 years, is dishing out his signature steamed delicacies with Chinese fermented tea.

There will be three varieties of dim sums on offer — the classic steamed, pan-fried and baked, seasoned with sesame oil and herbal spices. Find your favourite filling with choices like Steamed Corn and Pinenut Dumplings, Pan-Fried Spinach and Pakchoy Dumplings and Tofu Puffs for vegetarians. Meat eaters can take their pick from Curried Chicken Puff, Juicy Lamb Dumplings, Fried Prawn Dumplings and Crab Cake Singaporean Style.

Kept hot and juicy in bamboo baskets, the dim sums come in small servings of two pieces a plate with tongue-tickling dips like the black bean sauce, a light soya dip and the hot black pepper with pickled ginger sauce. In traditional style, sip on a detoxifying Green Tea, an aromatic Jasmine Tea or a cooling White Tea while feasting on these “delicate” dumplings.

“People are very health conscious these days; they prefer non-greasy to deep-fried. So, we decided to have a pre-Puja dim sum festival,” said Indraneel Bhattacharya, chef de cuisine, Mainland China.

Appetisers for two, lunch or dinner, would cost Rs 1,000 (taxes extra).

Radhika Sen

Steamed Corn and Pinenut Dumplings

Ingredients for stuffing

Corn kernel 140g

Chinese pinenut 20g

Salt to taste

White pepper powder ½tsp

Sesame oil 1tsp

Ginger powder ½tsp

Mix all the above and keep aside.

Ingredients for dough

Dim sum flour 100g

Potato starch 50g

Tapioca starch 50g

Boiling water 100ml

Method

1. Knead the ingredients together to make a smooth dough.

2. Roll the dough into round balls of 15g each.

3. Stuff in the corn mixture and shape accordingly.

4. Steam and serve.