History

Cantonese dim sum arrived in Vancouver with the late-19th-century Chinese diaspora; Chinatown's first formal tea houses on Pender opened in the 1910s. The trolley-cart format spread through the city from the 1970s. Sun Sui Wah on Cambie since 1985 and Sea Harbour in Richmond since 2003 are the city's references; the 1997 Hong Kong handover migration cemented Richmond as North America's largest Cantonese dim sum belt.

Common allergens: Gluten, Shellfish, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 24 dumplings, serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 200g wheat starch
  • 50g tapioca starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 300ml boiling water
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 300g raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper
  • 50g bamboo shoots, finely diced
  • Soy sauce and chilli oil to serve

Method

  1. Whisk wheat starch, tapioca starch and salt in a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water and stir vigorously until a translucent dough forms.
  2. Add neutral oil and knead the dough on a clean surface until smooth, about 3 minutes. Rest under a damp towel.
  3. Chop the shrimp into rough chunks. Mix with Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper and bamboo shoots.
  4. Divide the dough into 24 small balls. Roll each ball into a flat round 8cm wide on an oiled surface using the flat of a knife.
  5. Place a teaspoon of filling on each round. Pleat the edges to seal, forming the classic har gow purse shape with the seam on top.
  6. Steam the dumplings in a bamboo steamer lined with parchment for 7 to 8 minutes until translucent. Serve hot with soy and chilli oil.

Tip from the editors. Wheat starch is essential for the translucent skin; do not substitute flour. Boiling water cooks the starch on contact; work fast before it cools.

Where to eat cantonese dim sum

Cantonese dim sum in Vancouver

Bao Bei ★ 4.7

Cantonese$$$chinatownWed-Sun 17:30-22:30, closed Mon-Tue

Bao Bei on Keefer Street since 2010 is Tannis Ling's modern Chinese brasserie, Michelin Bib Gourmand 2022, Vancouver's reference natural-wine Chinese room.

Signature: Shao bing pork belly, Spicy peanut noodles

Order: Shao bing pork belly bun with the spicy peanut noodles.

Tip: No reservations; the bar walks in from 17:30. Sunday evening is the easier seat.

163 Keefer Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1X3

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