Dim sum : touch my heart! (點心)

Dim sum is supposed to be lunch food only, something you grab in between business appointments. At dinner you are expected to take your time with your family. Since I am not burdened with either, I can do as I please. So when I'm lazy I just fix me dim sum.

I line a bamboo sieve with a banana leave. Its gentle scent transfers to the dough with hot steam and make simple lowly buns a culinary delight.

While the pot is steaming away, I make my own Thai-style dip:

• a glub of Thai chili sauce;
• juice of one lime;
• a clove of garlic, crushed (NOT chopped!);
  
• a sprinkle of fish sauce;
• a wee splash of Kikkoman soya sauce;
  
• chopped fresh coriander.

Twelve minutes and, voilà, lazy bachelor's dinner is ready!

Russia meets the Steppe: manty

ozy or manty is another dish Russians borrowed from their steppe neighbours. It is enjoyed along a vast swathe of land from Mongolia to Russian Finn-Ugric Northwest.
The legend has it that Genghis Khan's hordes learnt this kind of cooking in China. The name is also said to derive from Chinese mantou (饅頭) even though manty is more like baozi (包子).

As is the case with most dishes from the area, the ingredients are simple and the outcome is well worth the labour-intensive and time-consuming preparation.

1. Mix 3 cups flour, 1/2 water, one egg, a tablespoonful of vegetable oil and a pinch of salt. You may need more water as flour types vary from country to country. Russian flour made from soft wheat requires less water.
   
2. Knead continuously for 30-40 minutes into perfect homogeneity which is essential for the right result. Cover and put in the fridge for at least 40 minutes.
   
3. Mix mince or, even better, finely shredded meat with an equal amount of finely chopped onions (apprx. 6 onions per 1 kg of meat) Originally, fatty chunks of meat were used, very much prized during the harsh winters of the inhospitable Eurasian interior. Modern urbanite life calls for healthier options: I suitably use Tartare mince. The only condiments really needed are salt and pepper, I use best quality: hand-raked Guerdaine sea salt and powerfully fragrant Vietnamese peppercorns.
4. Roll the dough into thin rounds apprx. 12 cm diametre. Wrap 2 tablespoonfuls of mine but leave a tiny hole left at the very top.
   
5. You can buy multi-level manty steamers in Russia but I don't have one. I use a bamboo sieve lined with a banana leave instead, that's my Asian background for you. Steam 40 minutes on a very high fire. This brings out juice from the onions and the beef to produce copious amounts of aromatic bouillon.
6. Manty are eaten with hands. The trick is to bite off the tip and drink the juice lest its splashes out. Be careful: it will be piping hot!
   

Traditionally manty are served with a mixture of melted butter and vinegar (tastes way better than it sounds) but I make a dip of sour cream and horseradish - also very Russian. To make them Turkish, you may add some sumac to the mince and serve with yoghurt and garlic.

Steamed Vietnamese tilapia with spicy dip (cá hấp xốt cay)

ietnam swept me off my feet with its culinary sophistication. A Vietnamese roadside hawker probably uses more types of herbs than a chef in a posh Western restaurant. And I really admire how the Vietnamese use chilis: just to let some spiciness linger in the background, bringing out the taste of the main ingredients.

This tilapia was grown in Vietnam so it deserves to be cooked according to the customs of its country of origin. The only foreign influence I allow is the traditional Japanese marinade for white fish. Mix equal shares of shoyu, sake and mirin and let the fish marinate for at least half an hour to enhance its natural flavour.

Then I lace a bamboo sieve with:

• circles of leek (preferably the white part)
  
• slices of carrots
• julienned celery root
• half-circles of daikon
• half-circles of topinambour (Jerusalem artichoke)
• slices of lotus root
• julienned shiitake
  

Do not stuff them too tightly, allow for the steam to get through later. Put tougher veggies like topinambour or carrots close to the bottom. Top it all with filets of white fish. Give it a good grind of black pepper.

Bring 5cm of water in a pot to boil, add a stock of lemon grass chopped, top it with the bamboo sieve. Don't forget to put the lid on!

While it all is steaming away - it takes just 5-7 minutes, really, prepare the dip:

• grated ginger, abt. 2 inches;
• one clove of garlic, crushed;
• one chilli pepper, finely chopped;
• juice of one lime;
• a tablespoonful of palm sugar;
• 3 tablespoonfuls of fish sauce
• 2 tablespoonfuls of water
  

Mix it all well until the sugar dissolves completely.

Serve with steamed rice and dry white wine or lemon grass tea.

Zongzi - Chinese bamboo leaf wraps (粽子)

In Ancient China, that is 4th century BC, a famous poet Qu Yuan was very unhappy about the policies of the government in his kingdom. In protest, he committed a ritual suicide by walking into a river. He was a major celebrity so distraught people tried to retrieve his body but to no avail. Every river for the Ancient Chinese was governed by a dragon king. To appease it and let it help them find Qu Yuan's body, they would throw lumps of cooked rice into the water. They never found it but this tradition has been preserved in the Dragon Boat Festival to these days.

It is a festival dish and, as it goes, quite time-consuming. They must have really loved Qu Yuan to throw these precious darlings into the river. They can be made sweet or savoury with a wide variety of ingredients but this is how I make them:

1. Soak 40-50 bamboo leaves overnight in warm water. Soak 10 dry shiitake with 4 cups of sticky rice. in lukewarm water, soak half a cup of peanuts in cold water. Soak in cold water. Don't do all that in one pot!
2. Next day: slice the mushrooms 2-3mm thick, cut 2 chicken breasts into short thin slivers, julienne 2 bamboo shoots and 3 carrots.
3. Heat 3 tablespoonfuls of odourless vegetable oil in wok and add a tablespoonful of five-spice powder. Fry until fragrant.
4. Add the mix from Step 2 and the soaked peanuts and sauté. Add soya sauce to taste.
   

Wrap the rice and the chicken/veg mix into bamboo leaves as shown in this video:



Steam the wraps in a bamboo sieve for an hour.