My youngest just graduated from college. This has set off a flurry of Chinese food. We are a bi-racial family. If this was pre- or post-pandemic times we would have had a Chinese banquet to celebrate, inviting friends and family. Since they graduated in summer then they were to attend the spring ceremony but it was cancelled and it was only online. So last weekend we ordered Dim Sum take out. We fortunately have a great place nearby. We got all our favorites. Our household is 3 right now. If you have had Dim Sum you know it works well with larger groups so this was quite a feast for just 3 but then 3 is a good number for Dim Sum or for Yum Cha since most items come in 3 to a dish.
However this hasn’t ended with that feast. The recent grad has been cooking up a storm and that means mostly Chinese food. We have had Char Siu Bao, and last night it was jung. Since there was pork belly left over from I woke up to jook this morning. What a treat.
My mother-in-law makes the best bao but I am glad to have someone to continue the tradition in our nuclear family. My favorite Dim Sum dish is cheung fun. My youngest also made dark chocolate chip banana bread. Are you wondering about the spray water bottle on the table? It is not Chinese. This is how we keep our almost twin kittens from getting on the table and eating our food.
Dim Sum: a meal served at brunch/lunch time of several small dishes. Often servers come around in carts for you to pick from. Yum cha means drink tea.
Char Siu Bao: Bbq pork filled chinese bun. We prefer steamed but there is also baked bao.
Jung (Zhongzi): Sticky rice dumpling with pork belly and duck egg wrapped in ti leaves and steamed.
Jook: Also called congee is a Chinese breakfast dish. It is a savory rice porridge. Often served with Chinese donuts. We put cilantro and green onions on top.
Cheung fun: Steamed rice noodle roll with Char siu, beef or shrimp filling.
My husband’s family was originally from the Zhongshan area in Guangdong (Canton) province so the names and spelling and romanization is based on this culture.
