Dim Sum?

[JenCarn]

For Easter my husband's family goes to Dim Sum at a Chinese restaurant near Washington D.C. I have been doing so well (am on day 15 now) and have eaten out a few times and been very pleased with how easy it was to eat properly. Dim Sum is a bit different. All of my traditional faves are wrapped in noodles. Does anyone have any insights/knowledge about wise choices for me?

(I will be eating an omelet before we leave the house to make sure I am not starving when we get there).

[not2late]

There are Dim Sum that aren't wrapped or wrapped in a legal way using bean curd skins. I don't know which restaurant outside of DC you are going, but the ones in China Town (H Street) have a more authentic lean to their menues and therefore, tend to be a bit more legal than the McChopsticks in the suburbs---Whenenver I go to the city, I stop by the place at the corner of 6th and H: the one with the roast ducks hanging in the window and buy a duck.

Here are some Dim Sum that may be legal. I say may, because I'm using the Dim Sum Pocket Guide by Kit Shan Li. And what's in his book, might not use the same ingredients as the restaurants in the DC area.

Steamed Dim Sum

Beef balls : meat balls on top of bean curd sheet
Chicken Meat Roll: chicken rolled in a bean curd sheet
Duck Feet Roll: duck feet rolled in a bean curd sheet
Beef Tripe: marinated beef tripe cooked with green or red peppers
Spareribs seasonsed with black beasna nd chili
Squid marinated in shrimp paste
Bean curd roll: filled with pork, bamboo shoots or chicken

Pan-Fried Dim Sum

Stuffed peppers or eggplant

[chinadoll]

Meg, is all that soybean curd allowed in the early rungs? I don't have my DANDR with me here in China and was afriad to eat the soy stuff till later. If it was allowed, I have been missing out on a lot of dim sum. LOL

[planetclaire]

Originally Posted by not2late

There are Dim Sum that aren't wrapped or wrapped in a legal way using bean curd skins. I don't know which restaurant outside of DC you are going, but the ones in China Town (H Street) have a more authentic lean to their menues and therefore, tend to be a bit more legal than the McChopsticks in the suburbs---Whenenver I go to the city, I stop by the place at the corner of 6th and H: the one with the roast ducks hanging in the window and buy a duck.

Here are some Dim Sum that may be legal. I say may, because I'm using the Dim Sum Pocket Guide by Kit Shan Li. And what's in his book, might not use the same ingredients as the restaurants in the DC area.

Steamed Dim Sum

Beef balls : meat balls on top of bean curd sheet
Chicken Meat Roll: chicken rolled in a bean curd sheet
Duck Feet Roll: duck feet rolled in a bean curd sheet
Beef Tripe: marinated beef tripe cooked with green or red peppers
Spareribs seasonsed with black beasna nd chili
Squid marinated in shrimp paste
Bean curd roll: filled with pork, bamboo shoots or chicken

Pan-Fried Dim Sum

Stuffed peppers or eggplant

Thanks for that list! I love dim sum and was invited to go last week but didn't go, I didn't even think about the stuffed peppers or eggplant, and those are my faves anyways! Yay, I don't have to avoid it.

[Sunny_0ne]

I would think that bean curd would be legal only when you reach the legume rung.

[not2late]

Tofu is allowed during Induction. It's the "soy cheese" mentioned in the Cheese Footnote.

Until the late 90s, tofu was also called "soy cheese" because the process of making tofu was similar to making dairy cheese. When the vegan companies began making fake cheese using soy and artificially flavoring them to resemble dairy cheese, calling tofu "soy cheese" became obsolete. So if you look in vegetarian cookbooks from the 60s through the early '90s, the soy cheese in those recipes is tofu.

Bean curd sheets are a by-product of the tofu making process. The sheets are the "scum" or film that forms on the top of the liquid. It's skimmed off and dried and become "bean curd sheets."

Then there are "soy puffs" or tofu puffs. They are tofu that has been deep fried to a golden brown. They have a bread-like texture, and I've used them before to simulate bread for some things like salad croutons.

Personally, I don't eat alot of soy products....maybe 1 serving once a month (if that at all.) I've read too much about soy so that I really limit my intake.

[chinadoll]

Thanks for the clarification on the tofu. Like Sunny, I was thinking legume. Yay, I love tofu with lemongrass and Vietnamese spices. I don't eat it often but now I know I can enjoy it without guilt!

[Sunny_0ne]

not2late, I also appreciate the explanation!!!

I also avoid soy products mostly, but I think dim sum would be a worthy exception!

[not2late]

No problem.

The soy foods used to be easier to know. But when the vegan companies began making soy this and soy that, it's become harder.

[JenCarn]

So much valuable info on these boards!! Thanks for the help!