A Miracle is Born
After much ado, raiding of cupboards, canisters and crispers, I managed to pull a steamy dim sum miracle out of my ass. Not literally, of course. I channeled the best version of my mother I possibly could (anyone familiar with my Mom knows that she’s the queen of “I just whipped up these chili-lime-cilantro slow-braised short ribs between mowing the lawn and negotiating a cease-fire in the Caucasus”), and set to it.
Despite battling with a severe bout with attention deficit disorder (“I’m gonna make a list! On pretty paper! I wonder if Coronation Street recorded. Do I own sandpaper?”) I managed to settle on 4 additional nibbles to accompany the BBQ pork buns:
- Steamed bok choi with oyster sauce
- Egg Foo Yong with shitake mushrooms and beansprouts
- Veggie dumplings
- Shrimp balls
One of my guests was adamant to bring something, and offered to bring the veggie dumplings. Since I was flying by the seat of my pants as it was (and in the middle of trying to find sandpaper for God only knows what reason), I figured there was no shame in relinquishing my absolute control of the food prep, and gratefully accepted the offer.
The day of the meal was filled with further Eureka! moments of letting the control issues subside. I accepted help when offered (no small feat, as anyone who has ever tried to enter the kitchen when I’m in “the Zone” can attest), let the guests dictate the flow of the afternoon, and, wonder of wonders, ENJOYED myself!
We kicked it off with the veggie dumplings. No photo because I didn’t have the presence of mind to take pictures at this point. And since I didn’t make them, perhaps it would be too boastful to post a photo anyways.
Next up was the bok choy:
Lightly steamed, then baptized in oyster sauce. VERY tasty, and we ended up hanging on to the remaining oyster sauce to use with…
Egg Foo Yong:
(did you know there’s an eggfooyong.com? I do now)
Savoury, gorgeously salty, with the sprightly crunch of beansprouts lurking inside. A quick smear with the oyster sauce, or a splurp of soy and these guys were de-friggin-lightful!
The next battery was a dual assault. The pork buns prepped the day before, and while they were re-steaming, I fried up the shrimp balls. Threw some Worcestershire into a bowl for dipping... *BLISS!*
And of course, the much maligned, stress-inducing, bundles of porky goodness. Thankfully the finished product of the buns didn’t end up looking like something from a cafeteria of the Third Reich.
The reviews rolled in: SUCCESS!!! It turns out the woman in pearls wasn’t trying to lead me down the path to Failure. Although, her choice of jewelry does remain a bit suspect. It was just enough to have a satisfying nibble, and not get completely weighed down. The biggest bonus for myself was there were NO leftovers (In our house leftovers just become temporary ornaments in the fridge, then become Chia pets in their Tupperware paddocks)!
Another plus to the whole experience is that these late lunches tend to get me off the hook for making dinner. Not that spending ones previous day in a flurry of stressed out mayhem is necessarily the best trade off for getting out of having to make dinner, but as far as mining further “pros” of the situation goes, I’d say it was a fair barter.
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