Kicked at the thought of tasting some great Chinese food, my bored-of-usual-fare tummy totally raced at GurgaonMom's invitation for the Masterclass by Chef Wong Kwai Wah(Sam) at the Le Meridian, not knowing that this was going to be an amazing session filled with fine bits of knowledge, aroma and warm conversations.
Chef Sam, a delightful person, who has been instrumental in introducing dimsums to India in a huge way, was at the helm of the session. Though with an interesting and varied culinary repertoire behind him, he is ever so modest in his ways. He took care to pass on minute details of each step that he undertook. By the end of the session , we were all trying our hands at sealing the dimsums and kneading the dough like he taught us to.
To begin with, Chef Sam put things together for Gua Bao chicken. The Bao is a fluffy, cottony bread with an amazingly simple recipe. The twist in the story is, the Bao is steamed and not baked.
For best results, Chef emphasized on using the low gluten Lotus brand flour and fresh yeast to make the Bao. The KitchenAid stand mixer excellently kneaded the dough to just the right consistency, required for the Bao.
The filling consisted of crisp chicken breast, marinated in egg yolk and buttermilk (a twist again), dipped in flour, fried and fixed in the Bao. Chopped vegetables and Sriracha Thai chilly sauce along with the chicken completely uplifted the dish to a newer level. He also altered the recipe for the vegetarians amongst us by filling in blended and sautéed vegetable mix in the Bao. Trust me, the dish was filled with comfort!!
The second dish was the good old dimsum, better known as Chengdu jaiozi in china, presented in an entirely new avatar. The final product was a classic amalgamation of all the major food nutrients.
The outer covering was a strategically rolled dough, which only Chef Sam could attempt, with one hand, and the filling was an aromatic blend of vegetables moistened with kikoman soya sauce and a dash of bay leaf, star anise and ginger.
Chef Sam deftly moved his fingers to teach us various types of rolling tips and tricks and the exercise was so interesting that most of us surrounded him, wanted to try it out.
The steamed dimsums were tastefully presented with a little mushroom sauce , some chopped garlic and vegetables and chilly oil for some zing. The dish turned out so picture perfect that I had to think twice before picking it up to taste.
The Le Meridian provided the perfect background for a chef of his stature and kitchenaid with their state of the art equipments were an apt kitchen partner. Not to mention, The gurgaon moms core committee, who put together all their events immaculately. This one was no exception. The contest that they started in association with Le Meridian and Kitchenaid has made it all the more exciting. M rushing to cook my dish. What about you?
Event Details:
Event hosted by KitchenAid India
Event put together by Upasana Luthra
Venue Partner : Le Meridien, Gurgaon
Photography Credits: Priyanka Kumar
