Shrimp toast

Shrimp toast or prawn toast is a Chinese seafood dish, usually served as a canapé or hors d'?uvre. It is made from small triangles of bread, brushed with and coated with minced shrimp and water chestnuts, then cooked by baking or deep frying. It is a common appetizer in Australian and American Chinese cuisine. A common variant in the United Kingdom is sesame prawn toast. This involves sprinkling before the baking or deep frying process.

History

This dish has over 100 years of history, originating in , in China's Guangdong Province. It is called ''Hatosi'' in , ''Ha'' meaning shrimp. ''Tosi'' being a loan word from English meaning toast. The dish's range expanded along with foreign trade, making its way to Japan and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand.

Hatoshi in Japan

The dish was introduced to Japan during the Meiji Era through the port of , whose local Shippoku cuisine blended the cookery of China, Japan, and the West. In , shrimp toast is known as ''Hatoshi'' ハトシ, a loan word from Cantonese. Many Chinese restaurants and shops in Nagasaki's Chinatown still serve this dish. Some also serve a variant made with pork.

Shaomai

Shaomai is a traditional dumpling.

Varieties

There are two regional varieties of ''shaomai'': a version and a version from the Jiangnan region.

Cantonese ''shaomai''

As prepared in Cantonese cuisine, ''shaomai'' is also referred to as "pork and mushroom dumpling." Its standard filling is a combination of ingredients, consisting primarily of seasoned ground pork, whole and chopped shrimp, and Chinese black mushroom in small bits. The outer covering is made of a thin sheet of lye water dough. The center is usually garnished with an orange dot, made of roe or diced carrot, although a green dot may also be used. The decorative presentations vary from restaurant to restaurant.

Jiangnan ''shaomai''

''Shaomai'' prepared in the Jiangnan region are quite different. The wrapper is larger and tougher than the Cantonese version. The filling is similar to Zongzi with soy sauce/rice wine/sugar marinated pork pieces in glutenous rice and steamed with some lard. It is larger in size than the Cantonese version. However, most people in Western countries associate shaomai only with the Cantonese version due to the Cantonese diaspora. Recently, the Jiangnan version is starting to appear in areas with high-density new immigrants from mainland China, such the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Hon'gadan ''shaomai''

''Shaomai'' prepared with shrimp, beef and hard boiled egg filling. Similar to the Japanese gyoza it is initially prepard by frying in a small amount of oil, eventually finishing the cooking process by steaming. Flavoring for this dumpling include ginger, five spice, and star anise.

Serving

Within the dim sum tradition of southern China, ''shaomai'' is one of the most standard dishes. It is generally served alongside ''har gau'', another variety of steamed dumpling.

In food stalls in Indonesia, ''shaomai'' are eaten together with steamed vegetables and tofu, and served with spicy peanut sauce.

Rice noodle roll

A rice noodle roll is a dish from southern China and , commonly served as a variety of dim sum. It is a thin roll made from a wide strip of ''Shahe fen'' , filled with shrimp, pork, vegetables, or other ingredients. Sweet soy sauce is poured over the dish upon serving. The rice noodle is also known as chee cheong fun where ''chee cheong'' means pig intestine, and ''fun'' means noodle; this is because the noodle resembles the small intestine of a pig. A very similar dish to this is the Vietnamese ''bánh cu?n''.

Preparation

The rice noodle sheets are made from a viscous mixture of rice flour and water. This liquid is poured onto a specially-made flat pan in which it is steamed to produce the square rice sheets. ''Chee cheong fun'' can be served with different flavour of sauce.

Regional

Cantonese cuisine

In Cantonese cuisine, rice noodle roll is most often served in dim sum. The most common types offered as part of dim sum cuisine are:
* Rice noodle roll with shrimp
* Rice noodle roll with
* Rice noodle roll with beef
* Rice noodle roll with char siu

Other varieties that may be offered include:
* Rice noodle roll with chicken and bitter melon
* Rice noodle roll with conpoy and pea shoot
* Rice noodle roll with fish
* Rice noodle roll with Youtiao also known as Zhaliang

Vietnamese cuisine

In Vietnamese cuisine, it is called ''bánh cu?n'', and it is mostly eaten for breakfast. It is a crêpe-like roll made from a thin, wide sheet of rice noodle that can be filled with ground pork and other ingredients. Sides for this dish usually consist of ''ch? l?a'' and bean sprouts, while the dipping sauce is called ''n??c ch?m''. Sometimes, a drop of cà cu?ng, which is the essence of a giant water bug, Lethocerus indicus, is added to the n??c ch?m for extra flavor, although this ingredient is scarce and quite expensive.

Southeast Asian cuisine

In and Malaysian cuisine, In Malaysia, many people prefer serving ''chee cheong fun'' with a kind of black sweet sauce called . It is likely a variation of hoisin sauce. The popular Malaysian Penang version uses a shrimp paste called ''hae ko'' which is also black and sweet. Others prefer specially-made chili sauce or mix the two together. ''Chee cheong fun'' is a popular breakfast food in Singapore and Malaysia. ''Chee cheong fun'' is frequently served in kopitiams and Chinese restaurants.

Other variations

There is another kind of food which is similar to ''chee cheong fun'', called ''laicheong'' in Cantonese. This food is popular in Guangzhou.

Lo mai gai

Lo mai gai Nuo mi ji , also called steamed chicken in lotus leaf wrap, or glutinous rice in lotus leaf wrap, is a kind of food. It contains glutinous rice filled with chicken, s, Chinese sausage and sometimes dried shrimp. The ball of rice is then wrapped in a dried leaf and steamed. In North America, banana, lily, or grape leaves may be used instead. It is often served as a dim sum at .


In Malaysia and Singapore, there are two variants of ''lo mai gai''. The first is the original Cantonese version and the other a takeaway style served at coffee shops and speciality local ''dim sum'' shops. The takeaway style has glutinous rice served with chicken and are usually made by companies such as ''Kong Guan''.

Variant

Sometimes ''lo mai gai'' is divided into smaller wraps, which are known as chun chu gai .

Some restaurants use ground pork instead of chicken.

Due to the flexibility of the lotus leaf, Lo mai gai is typically wrapped to form a square. Zongzi is wrapped using bamboo leaves into a triangular shape.

Jiaozi

Jiaozi , gyōza , or mandu , is a dumpling, widely popular in Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea as well as outside of East Asia, particularly in the United States.

The corresponding Chinese characters for "''Jiaozi''" refer to the arrival of the Chinese New Year at midnight. According to the Chinese calendar system, "''Tiangan Dizhi''" is used to designate the time in accordance to the Chinese zodiac. "''Jiao''" in Chinese means "join," while "''zi''" is a reference to the first and eleventh hour of ''Dizhi'' - midnight on the Western clock.

Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by ing. Jiaozi should not be confused with wonton: jiaozi have a thicker, chewier skin and a flatter, more oblate, double-saucer like shape , and are usually eaten with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce ; while wontons have thinner skin, are sphere-shaped, and are usually served in broth. The dough for the jiaozi and wonton wrapper also consist of different ingredients.

Chinese version

Chinese dumplings '''' may be divided into various types depending on how they are cooked:

*Boiled dumplings; '''' literally "water dumplings" .

*Steamed dumplings; '''' literally "steam-dumpling" .

*Shallow fried dumplings '''' lit. "pan stick", known as "potstickers" in N. America, , also referred to as "dry-fried dumplings" .

Dumplings that use rather than dough to wrap the filling are called "egg dumplings" or .

Common dumpling meat fillings include pork, mutton, beef, chicken, fish, and shrimp which are usually mixed with chopped vegetables. Popular vegetable fillings include cabbage, scallion , leek, and Chinese chives. Dumplings are eaten with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce that may include vinegar, garlic, ginger, rice wine, hot sauce, and sesame oil.

Dumplings are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year, and year round in the northern provinces. Traditionally, families get together to make ''jiaozi'' for the Chinese New Year. In rural areas, the choicest livestock is slaughtered, the meat ground and wrapped into dumplings, and frozen outside with the help of the freezing weather. Then they are boiled and served for the Chinese New Year feast. Dumplings with sweet, rather than savoury fillings are also popular as a Chinese New Year treat.

Cantonese style Chinese dumplings are standard fare in dim sum. These are different from ''jiaozi''; they are smaller and wrapped in a thinner translucent skin, and usually steamed. Fillings include shrimp, scallop, chicken, tofu, mixed vegetables, and others. The most common type are shrimp dumplings, sometimes called as Haa Gaau . In contrast to ''jiaozi'', which are easy to make at home, ''gaau'' are rarely home-made as they are more difficult to prepare. Many types of fillings exist, and dim sum restaurants often feature their own house specials or innovations. Dim sum chefs and artists often use ingredients in new or creative ways, or draw inspiration from other Chinese , such as Chiuchow, Hakka, or Shanghai. More daring chefs may even incorporate a from other cultures, such as Japanese or Southeast Asian , while upscale restaurants may use expensive or exotic ingredients such as lobster, shark fin and . Another Cantonese dumpling is the jau gok.

Jiaozi were so named because they were horn shaped. The Chinese for "horn" is ''jiǎo'' , and jiaozi was originally written with the Chinese character for "horn", but later it was replaced by a specific character 餃, which has the food radical on the left and the phonetic component ''jiāo'' on the right.

According to folk tales, jiaozi were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, one of the greatest practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine in history. They were originally called "娇耳" because they were used to treat frostbitten ears.

Japanese version

The word ''gyōza'' was derived from the reading of 餃子 in the Shandong Chinese dialect and is written using the same Chinese characters.

The most prominent differences of Japanese-style gyōza from Chinese style jiaozi are the rich garlic flavor, which is less noticeable in the Chinese version, and the fact that Japanese-style gyōza are very lightly flavored with salt, soy, and that the Gyoza wrappers are much thinner than the Chinese counterpart. They are always served with soy-based dipping sauce seasoned with rice vinegar and/or . The most common recipe found in Japan is a mixture of pork, garlic, cabbage, and ''nira'' , and sesame oil, which is then wrapped into thinly-rolled dough skins.

''Gyōza'' can be found in supermarkets and restaurants throughout Japan. Pan-fried ''gyōza'' are sold as a side dish in almost all ''ramen'' and Chinese restaurants in Japan.

The most popular preparation method is the pan-fried style called ''yaki-gyōza'' in Japan, in which the dumpling is first on one flat side, creating a crispy skin. Then, water is added and the pan sealed with a lid, until the upper part of the ''gyōza'' is . Other popular methods include boiled ''sui-gyōza'' and ''age-gyōza'' .

They are best enjoyed while still steaming hot. In Japan, they are considered Chuka (中華）, which despite the literal translation meaning "Chinese", it is Japanese style Chinese dishes.

Korean version

The Korean name of the dish is , a cognate derived from Chinese steamed bread ''mantou'' , but culinarily closer to jiaozi. Popular fillings for Korean dumplings include pork, beef, cabbage, squash, cellophane noodles and kimchi. They are often deep fried for a lighter, crispier texture. Steamed mandu is also very popular, and can come in various shapes: a "horn", crimped edges, a horn with the sides pressed together for a prettier, rounder look, etc. Generally mandu are dipped in soy sauce with vinegar and red pepper flakes.

''Guotie''

Guotie is pan-fried ''jiaozi'', also known as potstickers in North America. They are a Northern Chinese style dumpling popular as a street food, appetizer, or side order in , , and Korean cuisines. This dish is sometimes served on a dim sum menu, but may be offered independently. The filling for this dish usually contains pork , cabbage , scallions , ginger, Chinese rice wine or cooking wine, and sesame seed oil.

The mixed filling is sealed into a dumpling wrapper, until golden brown, then for a few minutes. If done correctly, they don't stick as much as their name suggests, if a non-stick frying pan is used, they do not stick at all.

An alternative method is to steam in a wok and then fry to crispness on one side in a shallow frying pan.

The ''guotie'' is similar to the Japanese .

Other names for ''guotie'':
* Peking Ravioli — In Boston, ''guotie'' are known as "Peking ravioli", a name first coined at the in , in 1958.
* Wor tip is the Cantonese name for ''guotie''.
* Chinese perogies in parts of Western Canada where the influence of Eastern European cuisine is strong.
* Pork Hash, in Hawaii, although it is not actually hash.

History

The ''guotie'' is said to date back to the Song Dynasty in ancient China.

In popular culture

In North American hacker culture, this convenient food became popular as "ravs" or "pot-stickers". Gyoza are a popular dish served at the Wagamama restaurant chain in the United Kingdom. They come in Duck, Chicken, Ebi and Yasai . In Canada they are normally referred to as "Chinese perogies", due to the ubiquity of Ukrainian food in parts of Western Canada.

Har gow

Har gow is a dim sum staple in Cantonese cuisine. It is prepared by filling wrappers with shrimp, bamboo shoots, and seasonings. The pouch-shaped dumpling is then steamed in a bamboo basket until translucent. When the dough for the wrapper is properly prepared and cooked, the dumpling has a slightly sticky, chewy texture. Ingredients vary regionally, but most versions contain sesame oil, salt, sugar, and sherry. Other versions may contain oyster sauce, water chestnuts, , scallions, or ginger.

The dumpling is sometimes called a shrimp bonnet for its pleated shape. Traditionally, ''har gow'' should have at least seven and preferably ten or more pleats imprinted on its wrapper. Many dim sum customers refer to ''har gow'' as the test of quality when judging a dim sum establishment, though much less in more modern times.

Fun guo

Fun guo, or Chaozhou fun guo sometimes spelled fun quor, fun gor, fen guo, Chiu Chow dumpling or Teochew dumpling is a variety of dumpling from the Chaozhou area of coastal eastern Guangdong, a province in Southern China.

Ingredients

They are typically filled with chopped peanuts, garlic chives, pork, dried shrimp, dried radish and shiitake mushrooms. Other filling ingredients may include cilantro, jicama, or dried daikon. The filling is wrapped in a thick dumpling wrapper made from a mixture of flours or plant starches mixed together with boiling water. Although the recipe for the wrapper dough may vary, it typically consists of de-glutenized wheat flour , tapioca flour , and or potato starch . The dumplings are usually served with a small dish of chili oil.

Teochew cuisine

In the Chaozhou dialect of Min Nan, the dumplings are called ''hung gue'' , but they are more widely known by their Cantonese name. They are also eaten in non-Chaozhou regions of Guangdong.