Serves 6
I love dim sum. We serve this in a steamer, in classic Chinatown fashion. Inside, there’s a chewy steamed baozi bun, a delicate pouch of pickled jicama filled with scallop crudo, nuac mon–braised kombu, and a gently cooked fluke with jalapeño and ginger. Fragrant green tea sits beneath the steamer and—the only thing that could make it a little better—we hit the tea with just a touch of liquid nitrogen, which resembles steam and imparts a floral aroma from the green tea to the diner. I dare you to eat this and not think, “Wow, that’s some pretty good dim sum. I’d like some more dim sum, please. Thank you very much.”
64 grams lukewarm water
5 grams sugar
2 grams active dry yeast
120 grams all-purpose flour
6 grams unsalted butter, melted
0.5 gram salt
2 grams baking powder
Sesame oil for brushing the buns
200 grams sugar
225 grams onions, roughly chopped
100 grams lemongrass, bulb and tough outer leaves removed, roughly chopped
80 grams ginger, roughly chopped
50 grams garlic, peeled
50 grams jalapeño, roughly chopped
1500 grams water, divided
2 grams coriander seeds
2 grams mustard steeds
1 gram Szechuan peppercorns
1 piece of star anise
50 grams dried kombu
600 grams water
24 grams sugar
12 grams green tea leaves
1 jicama
200 grams rice wine vinegar
100 grams water
100 grams sugar
2 grams salt
6 chives, whole
100 grams scallops, finely chopped into tartare
0.5 gram salt
100 grams fluke fillet
0.5 gram salt
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
1-inch piece of ginger
30 grams sesame oil
1 large bamboo steamer
6 tea bowls
6 small bamboo steamers
Liquid nitrogen (see Sources, here)
Mix water, sugar, and yeast together in a small bowl and let the yeast bloom for 10 minutes. Put the flour, butter, and salt in a medium bowl and mix with a rubber spatula until the butter is evenly spread throughout the flour. Add the yeast mixture to the flour and continue mixing to make a dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop, along with any remaining flour from the bowl, and knead it a few times, until a smooth dough is formed. Spray a clean bowl with pan spray and put the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
Remove the plastic wrap, turn the dough out onto your countertop, and dust the dough ball with baking powder. Fold the dough in on itself and roll into a big ball, repeating to work the baking powder through the dough. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Place a large bamboo steamer over a pot of gently simmering water. Portion the dough into six 25-gram portions. You may have a little extra dough. Roll the portions out into 4-inch-long ovals and brush the surface of each lightly with sesame oil. Gently fold them over, with the oil on the insides of the buns. Steam the buns for 7 minutes, and use immediately or let cool to room temperature. You may store the cool buns in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to use, preferably the same day, and steam for 2 minutes to reheat before serving.
Put the sugar in a large saucepot over low-to-medium heat and let it caramelize. Once the sugar is a light amber color, add the onions, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften and become aromatic. Add 1000 grams of water, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring it to a boil. Add the coriander seeds, mustard seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, and star anise and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer until the stock is reduced by half, about 1 hour. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve the liquid.
Put the kombu in a medium baking dish, cover with 500 grams of water, and soak for 15 minutes to rehydrate. It should become soft and pliable. Drain the kombu and slice it into thin strips, approximately ¼ inch thick. Put the kombu in a medium stockpot and cover with the reserved stock. Set the pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Transfer the kombu to a covered container and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Put the water in a teakettle and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat. Put the sugar and green tea leaves in a medium saucepot and pour the hot water over the leaves. Cover and steep for 4 minutes. Stir to dissolve the sugar and strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher. Refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.
Peel the jicama and cut off the top and bottom so you can stand it up on a cutting board. Use a 2-inch ring cutter to punch out a cylinder through the center of the jicama. Use a mandoline to slice the cylinder into ¼-inch-thick slices; you will need 6 pieces total. Put the sliced jicama in a deep, heatproof container. Put the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepot set over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the jicama and cover the top of the container with plastic wrap. Let the jicama steep at room temperature for 20 minutes to pickle. Drain the jicama, discarding the liquid, and reserve.
Set a medium pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Prepare an ice bath. Blanch the chives in the boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately transfer to the ice bath. Once the chives are cool, drain them and pat them dry. Put the scallops and salt in a bowl and mix gently to blend. Lay a slice of pickled jicama flat on a cutting board. Put 15 grams of the scallops in the center of the jicama. Pull up the sides of the jicama to enclose the scallops and use a blanched chive to tie off the top to create a pouch. Trim off the excess chive ends. Repeat to make 6 pouches. The jicama pouches may be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.
Slice the fluke into ¼-inch-thick slices and season with salt. Put 1 slice of jalapeño on each slice of fish. Peel the ginger and shave it as thinly as possible on a mandoline or with a peeler. Stack the slices and cut them into thin strands. Put 3 strands of ginger on each slice of fish. Put the sesame oil in a small sauté pan and set it over medium-low heat until it starts to smoke. Remove from the heat and spoon 5 grams of hot oil over each slice of fish to slightly cook the fish. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Pour 100 grams of Green Tea in the bottom of 6 tea bowls. Put 1 Pickled Jicama Pouch, 10 grams of Braised Kombu, and 15 grams of Fluke on the bottom tier of each small bamboo steamer. Cover with the top tier. Put 1 Baozi Bun in the top tier and cover with the lid. Spoon liquid nitrogen into the tea to carry the aromas of the tea on the nitrogen “steam.” Set the filled steamers on top of each bowl of tea and serve immediately.