Tuesday, December 11, 2007

I love a Dim Sim country

It has been a mystery to me for sometime, just how the Dim Sim made it's way into the mainstream Australian fish'n'chip menu. You may think this a little odd, but have you ever taken the time to consider just how, amongst all the fish, scallops and potato, this pork and cabbage filled dumpling managed to squeeze itself in. I have always thought that the dim Sim was introduced by the Chinese, perhaps during the gold rush era when they first came to our shores. You could imagine my surprise then, when I happened upon this Wikipedia article, which has completely reversed my thinking.

In summary, the Dim Sim is Australian. Wikipedia states that the Dim Sim was developed around 1945, in Melbourne, by Chinese chef William Wing Young for his restaurant "Wing Lee".

This, I must say, is big news to me. It turns out that Dim Sims in Australian Chinese restaurants are in fact unique to Australia. Of course, they are closely related to other dumpling dishes that originate from China, but the Dim Sim as we know and love, is our very own.

We may not have a bloody idea what's really in them, but at least we know there ours!

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