The True-Blue Northerner

Remember the Boston Cream Pie that I made with the cake-mix given by my mother’s friend’s mum? The intention was to give half the cake to the elderly lady, but given how it turned out, I was most loathed to do so ; it was terribly embarrassing to give something that tasted like that to someone. But my mum felt it should still be done as it had already been promised to her. As it turned out, she was delighted (or was she just being unfailingly polite??) that her box of cake-mix “came back” as a cake with “bells and whistles” - - she wasn’t expecting it to be filled or frosted. So, in keeping with impeccable Chinese-style courtesy, she, in turn, made for my mum and I some of her own specialty - - dumplings.

These weren’t just any old boiled dumplings, mind you ; these were true-blue Northern Chinese dumplings - - and some of the best my mum and I had ever tasted!

They were really, really good!

The dumplings might not have won any dumpling beauty contests, but I liked their homey, rustic look and feel, and my word! did they taste good! The skin was easily one of the best - - if not, the best - - that we had come across. It had all the markings of an excellent dumpling skin : silky smoothness and softness, with just the right finely balanced amount of springiness and chewiness ; it was thin, delicate and pliable, yet strong and resilient.

My mum, who absolutely loves dumplings and who eats them regularly enough (oh, maybe once or twice a week, at least) to know well the-good-and-the-bad-of-dumplings, adored these, and pronounced them to be pretty close to perfect. As she said, those usually found in restaurants or small noodle / dumpling eateries were very often at one of two extremes - - when the dumplings were made to have enough chewy springiness, they were commonly too thick and “hard”, and when they were made with the right amount of silky smoothness they were usually too soft, with a mushy mouth-feel. I think, eating her friend’s mum’s dumplings, my mum probably felt a little like Goldilocks - - these were just right.

The dumpling filling of lean, moist, juicy minced pork, interspersed with very finely chopped Chinese cabbage, was also very good - - beautifully tasty and richly flavorful with a nice balance between luscious succulence and meaty bite, and between the saltiness of the meat and the natural sweetness of the cabbage.

The beauty of these dumplings is hardly surprising, and maybe even to be expected, given that my mum’s friend’s mum (MMFM from here on - - to save me typing out that mouthful each time) is a first generation Chinese immigrant from Beijing. Even now, into her 80s and after decades of living in Singapore, she has stuck religiously to her practice of eating - - and making - - traditional home-style dumplings almost every day.

Hers is a recipe-less concoction ; everything is made purely from touch, feel and instinct honed by seven decades (she started as a young girl helping her mum and aunts in the kitchen) of making dumplings! Much like how pasta is made in the traditional Italian kitchen, she doesn’t even measure out the flour ; she simply pours until it “feels” right, and then, all the other ingredients are added according to how the dough feels beneath her fingers. Sounds like pure poetry to me.

Well, maybe one of these days, when both MMFM and I have some time, perhaps she will show and teach me how to make the perfect Beijingese boiled meat dumpling. Now, wouldn’t that be something!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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