Dim Sum Class

Guo Tie - start to finish...

I grew up around Chinese food and dim sum - my favourite was the difficult-to-make Har Kow that my grandma made. Last year for our Chinese New Year lunch we estimated we made over 300 dumplings!

Our dim sum courses are always popular. We have designed it so even the absolute beginner can definitely learn to make something that you will not only be able to eat at home and is easy enough to prepare for a simple supper, and also things that will impress as a starter in any dinner party. There will also be plenty of explanation of the more esoteric Chinese ingredients.

I find that although I know how to make some of the more difficult dim sum, I rarely cook them because it's so much easier to eat out in a restaurant. So I have picked the recipes to teach you with care; there's no point learning something you'll never cook again. I have also chosen things that have fairly easy-to-get ingredients.

Here are the recipes and how versatile they are:

Won Tons - using easily available ready made skins (yaay!) we will quickly and easily make some won tons. With these we can:

- deep fry them nice and crispy as a snack or dim sum or canape

- boil them in a soup

- add them to noodles which is a delicious and simple supper meal

Prawn Balls - always popular! beautiful, glistening balls of deliciousness, and very healthy too, as they are steamed.

Jiao Zi and Guo Tie - these are the same dumplings but the method of cooking changes the name. We will learn to make the skins ourselves, rolling out the dough, and filling it with a classic pork and chinese cabbage filling. Then, with these, we can

- boil them which make the classic Chinese New Year dish, Jiao Zi

- part boil and part fry them to make Guo Tie, or potsticker dumplings (these are similar to the Shanghai dumplings or Gyoza that you have probably had). There is an art to this (they are not called potsticker for nothing!! ;-)

Tang Yuen or Mochi - this is a sweet dumpling that is made with Glutinous Rice Flour and Red Bean Paste. Along with Jiao Zi, it is one of THE traditional dishes for Chinese New Year. With the dumplings we can

- boil them in the traditional manner in a hot sweet ginger soup

- serve them cold as a snack, like the Japanese Mochi which you may have eaten

The class will be very hands-on, you will make your own dumplings and doughs all on your own because there's nothing like getting your hands dirty! ;-) And you'll never learn to make a dumpling by watching someone.

Don't worry, you will DEFINITELY be able to make a Won Ton, Tang Yuen and a Prawn Ball, I guarantee it. Your Jiao Zi and Guo Tie might look a bit sorry at first, but at least they will taste nice!

Spaces are limited to 4 people so you can get individual attention, so please book early - mail us on info@parkholmesupperclub.co.uk to book or enquire about future dates for this course. Cost will be £60.

The class will start at 6.30 pm and I anticipate it will take around 3.5 hours. You'll be able to eat your creations for dinner and there will be plenty to take home!