17 Recipes for Making Dim Sum at Home

When it comes to brunch, some will conjure up images of eggs Benedict and French toast. For me, however, brunch has always been synonymous with dim sum, a shareable feast of small dishes that typically takes place in a banquet hall bustling with energy and eating. A Southern Chinese tradition, dim sum (or dian xin in Mandarin) translates to "touch the heart," derived from the Cantonese word for appetizer. It’s a mid-day meal of steamed, fried and baked specialties such as shu mai, sesame balls and egg tarts, all meant to be enjoyed as a group with cups of tea. Because the recipes often require unique skill and technique, dim sum is very much a craft, but one that, with a little time, patience and the right recipes can be learned at home. To start, try one of the most iconic dim sum dishes: har gow.

These plump dumplings are known for their bouncy, translucent skins and juicy shrimp filling. The beautiful delicate pleating is considered a sign of a dim sum chef’s skill, but fear not—a good recipe and a bit of practice can help you achieve dumpling greatness, too. Here, we use a baking soda soak to help keep the shrimp firm and use the traditional Chinese technique of combining boiling water with wheat starch to produce a chewy crystal skin.

Shumai is another dim sum favorite and for good reason. The combination of ground pork and snappy shiitake mushrooms wrapped in wonton skin is simply irresistible. These pint-sized dumplings pack big flavor thanks to ginger, scallions, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine in the filling and boast a perfectly tender bite once steamed up. Don’t skip the simple dipping sauce—the combination of chile paste and soy sauce add a nice kick of heat.

There are few things more satisfying than biting into a freshly-fried sesame ball with its crispy seed-studded skin giving way to a bouncy mochi-like interior. The key to getting this delightfully opposing texture is a combination of glutinous rice flour and wheat starch, which allows the balls of dough to expand without breaking as they fry. The sesame balls here are filled with a traditional lotus paste, but you could do as Molly does and opt for something unexpected such as chocolate or peanut butter.

The scent of these Hong Kong egg tarts baking up will fill your kitchen with a luscious aroma that can’t be beat. A cousin to Portuguese pasteis de natas, these egg tarts are slightly lighter and not quite as sweet, but equally creamy and flaky. This recipe calls for a homemade puff pastry crust (though store-bought will do in a pinch) and a simple filling made from just five ingredients: eggs (of course), sugar, whole milk, evaporated milk and vanilla.