His history
In Hong Kong or in the region of Canton, in China, it is a scene of everyday life that catches the eye and sharpens the taste buds. At the corner of a street, on the cart of a street vendor or in the kitchens of restaurants, half a dozen bamboo baskets pile up and purr above a stove filled with bubbling water. Covers in woven bamboo slats escape a thick mist that invades the decor. As it crosses the floors of this culinary scaffolding, the steam takes on a heady scent – that of dim sum, those little sweet or savory bites that are traditionally eaten during yum cha, that moment of tasting tea.
According to a legend, warriors of the Han dynasty prepared their meals in steamer baskets in order to emit less smoke and thus keep their positions secret.
This stewing method cooks food evenly while preserving flavors, vitamins and textures. In China, the technique has been used for millennia: archaeological excavations have revealed the presence of perforated clay pots intended for this purpose, dating from the Hemudu culture, nearly 5,500 years before our era. A legend reports that in IIIand century, on the fringes of the battlefields, the warriors of the Han dynasty prepared their meals in steamer baskets in order to emit less smoke and thus keep their positions secret. The period model, still used today, has kept all of its rustic appearance: it is made of bamboo slats which have been previously washed, bent and then joined together using small nails.
Its use
In Chinese popular culture, bamboo steamers remain intimately linked to the serving of dim sum in teahouses – or the more family-friendly ritual of making dumplings during Chinese New Year festivities. This afternoon, at Gros Bao, quai de Jemmapes, in Paris (10and), the bamboo baskets – called “steamboats” in Mandarin – arrive still steaming on the table. As the pile is undone, they recount, in successive layers, part of the cultural heritage of Céline Chung, the restaurant’s founder, who lived in Shanghai for a long time and whose parents are from China.
The Taste of M
On the menu, some essential dim sum: baozi (rolls stuffed with meat or vegetables) and xiaolóngbāo (dumplings in the shape of small purses, typical of the Shanghai region). The latter, which steam for five minutes, watch in hand, require a long preparation and a real know-how. “Our chef begins by flattening a small piece of dough with the help of a stick to form a very thin disk about 8 centimeters in diameter, described Celine Chung. She then incorporates a stuffing made from minced pork, spring onions, ginger and tiny cubes of stock jelly before very delicately folding the dough on itself to form a pretty drape. The hard part is finding the perfect balance: 18 plies and a total of 21 grams. In China, it is said to correspond to the weight of the soul. »