Thereâs something about the dumpling that epitomises cosiness. Piercing the soft, stretchy dough makes me feel like it is I who is wrapped in a warm dough blanket, perpetually heated from within. Sometimes in the cold winter months, as I dine on steaming veggie wontons or hot boiled Sichuan dumplings swimming in chili oil and soy sauce, I wish I could climb inside amongst the tofu and mushroom filling and have a little nap.
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BaoziInn, a dim sum restaurant specialising in Northern Chinese cuisine, is basically HQ for comforting dumplings. The restaurant first opened in Londonâs Chinatown in the early 2000s, but Iâve come to its new, semi-permanent stall in Market Hall Victoria, a newly launched food hall with a rich history of its own. Before hosting pop-up restaurants, the space has housed an Edwardian shopping arcade, a World War One canteen, and a nightclub.
The dumplings I'll be eating at Baozilnn arenât your usual Cantonese har gow, a type of steamed dumpling filled with minced prawn. Despite his traditional training in Hong Kong where he learned to make dim sum at the age of 18, Law wanted to try a new dish when he opened BaoziInn. Which is why I am about to watch the chef turn his dumpling dough bright pink.âCantonese dumplings and har gow are quite common in Chinatown or in a dim sum restaurant,â Med Pang, the general manager for Baozilnn who is helping to translate my questions for Law, tells me. âBut we make it very special by putting the colour with a natural ingredient like beetroot.âThe bright pink âruby" prawn dumplingsâhar gow with a pinky-red wrappingâare one of the most popular coloured dumplings on the Baozilnn menu. Despite their strangely artificial appearance, the coloured dim sum are all made using natural dyes. Thereâs the yellow chicken and prawn shao mai made with turmeric, or the emerald green prawn and chive variety, which gets its hue from spinach juice.
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âI had an idea about the future,â Law tells me, âto make the dim sum new in the market.ââWe want to put the colour with fresh ingredients,â adds Pang, âand play around with the dim sum.âAs I squeeze in next to steaming bamboo baskets in BaoziInnâs small kitchen, Law shows me the process behind the rainbow har gow. First, he adds beetroot juice to the dough, then kneads until it has reached the right colour. After the dough has rested, Law rolls it into a long cylinder, cuts off a small part and, using a knife, flattens the dough into a perfectly thin circle. Itâs a technique that requires a lot of skill, a very smooth table, and an intimidatingly large knife.âWith this pastry, you need a knife to make a round shape, and you have to make the fine thickness to wrap up,â says Pang, gesturing to the ruby dumplings. âI think itâs very skilful. It is the traditional way, there is no way you can use a machine.âOnce the dough has reached the right thickness, Law carefully fills the pastry with a mixture of whole prawns, rather than the mince filling usually found in Cantonese dumplings. In one swift movement, he tucks the prawns inside the dough, and forms the dumpling into the traditional curved har gow shape. Finally, the ruby dumplings are placed into a bamboo steamer, and cooked until they are a hot, glistening red.
The ruby prawn dumplings may look like a gimmick, but their taste proves otherwise. By filling the har gow with whole prawns instead of mince, Baozilnnâs eye-catching dish is miles tastier than the squishy budget dumplings I store in my freezer for months. Instead, the whole-prawn filling provides a satisfyingly meaty, crunchy bite.
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âWhen people are eating the food,â explains Law, after we sit down on a table outside BaoziInnâs stall to try the dumplings, âthe whole prawn gives a crisp texture.ââBut it's expensive!â laughs Pang. âWe try to put the prawn texture with the whole prawn, instead of the minced prawn, and then the special thing that we put [focus] on is freshness, as we make every morning in the restaurant.â
âTo make a good dim sum, I believe you have to make it today,â he continues. âThis is the strong point [that] makes our food special.âA queue is now forming outside BoaziInn but before I give up my table space to hungry market-goers, I ask Law and Pang whether they plan to add any other brightly coloured dishes to the menu. Pang pauses, not wanting to reveal this âsecret,â and then gets excited and tells me anyway.âWe want to play a lot with the colours,â he explains. âWe might be doing a chicken riceâchicken rice is very commonâbut how you do it special? Imagine you have a chicken rice, and then you have three rice [portions] with coloursâred, blue, and green. It looks very different.âIâm not sure how enticing blue rice sounds, but if the ruby dumplings are anything to go by, it could be a winner. Even if the name isn't quite as amazing.