Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
I Finally Found Bamboo Steamers That Let Me Cook Dim Sum at Home
42
items Craving har gow and siu mai every weekend but spending $80 each time at the dim sum restaurant got old fast. If you've been wanting to make dumplings, bao, and sticky rice at home but your kitchen setup keeps falling short, this is everything I teste...
Sections
6
Bamboo Steamers and Steaming Setups
Dumpling Wrappers and Dough Essentials
Filling Ingredients and Proteins
Sauces and Dipping Condiments
Kitchen Tools That Make Dumpling Prep Faster
Rice, Sides, and Finishing Touches
Bamboo Steamers and Steaming Setups
I burned through two cheap steamers before landing on ones that don't warp or smell like paint. These actually hold up after dozens of weekend steam sessions.
Grab this if you want to stack three tiers of dumplings at once. Before this, I was steaming in sad little batches and dinner took two hours. Now everything hits the table hot at the same time.
Helen Chen's Asian Kitchen Bamboo Steamer, 10-Inch
Use this one if you're feeding four or fewer people. Fits perfectly over my wok and the lid seals tight enough that steam doesn't escape sideways. Found that out the hard way with a cheaper version.
Joyce Chen 2-Tier Bamboo Steamer Baskets , 10-Inch
Keep a spare lid around because mine cracked after about 40 uses. Replacement lids are weirdly hard to find when you need one, so just order this now and thank yourself later.
Town Food Service 34208 8 in. Bamboo Steamer Set
Pair this with your steamer stack. My old nonstick pan was too small and the steamer kept sliding off like a drunk hat. This wok cradles a 10-inch steamer perfectly.
IMUSA 14in Carbon Steel Wok with Wood Handles
Toss one of these in each tier so dumplings don't stick and rip apart when you try to lift them out. Learned that lesson serving mangled har gow to my in-laws.
10Pcs 10 inch Silicone Steamer Liners
Perfect if you're cooking for one or making a quick side of edamame dumplings on a Tuesday night. Fits over a regular saucepan, no wok required.
Helen Chen's Asian Kitchen Bamboo Steamer, 10-Inch
Switch to this when you're hosting. Twelve inches fits those big soup dumplings without them touching the walls and bursting. Hosted a dim sum party for ten and everything came out intact.
Restaurantware-Motomori 12 Inch Bamboo Steamer Set
Dumpling Wrappers and Dough Essentials
Making wrappers from scratch sounds romantic until you've been rolling dough for 45 minutes and your arms feel like jelly. These save time without sacrificing that fresh taste.
Use these for quick weeknight wontons. They're thin enough to go translucent when steamed, which is exactly what you want. My kids thought I was a professional the first time I used them.
Nasoya Vegan Won Ton Wraps, 12 oz
Snag a pack if your store is out of Nasoya. Slightly thicker, which actually works better for pan-fried potstickers if you want crispy bottoms. I keep both in my freezer now.
Wonton Wraps Asian Aisle Variety Packs
Mix this into your har gow dough for that stretchy, see-through wrapper. Regular flour gives you something closer to a pierogi, which is fine but not what I was going for.
Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour, Gluten-Free, 16 oz Bag
Bring this out for bao dough. Consistent protein content means your buns puff up the same way every single time. Inconsistent flour ruined two batches before I switched.
King Arthur Baking Company, All-Purpose Flour, 5 lb Bag
Get this for fluffy char siu bao. The packets are pre-measured so you don't have to guess. My first attempt without measuring yeast produced buns dense enough to use as doorstops.
Customer reviews for Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast, 4 oz
Brush a tiny bit on your wrappers before folding so they stay pliable. Dried-out wrappers crack when you pleat them, and cracked dumplings leak all their filling into the steamer water.
Spectrum Naturals Organic Unrefined Sesame Oil, 8 fl oz
Keep this by your dough station. A pinch in the wrapper dough makes a huge difference. Unseasoned wrappers taste like eating a Band-Aid around delicious filling.
Morton Kosher Salt Flakes 3 lb.
Filling Ingredients and Proteins
The filling is where dim sum lives or dies. Rubbery shrimp and bland pork haunted my first attempts. These ingredients finally got me restaurant-quality results.
Chop these for har gow filling. Pre-deveined saves you twenty minutes of gross work. Bounce and sweetness are solid, especially if you toss them with a bit of sesame oil first.
Great Value Raw Small Peeled Deveined Tail-Off Shrimp
Try this for siu mai and pork buns. Higher fat content than lean ground pork means your filling stays juicy instead of turning into sawdust after steaming. Fat is flavor here.
All-Star Pork Meatballs - Smithfield Foods
Swap this in if anyone at your table doesn't eat pork. Season it aggressively though, chicken filling can go bland fast. Ginger and white pepper are your best friends.
Ground Chicken, 1 lb
Dice these into your siu mai for crunch. Without them, your dumpling filling is just a meatball in a wrapper. That textural contrast is what separates homemade from frozen aisle.
(12 pack) La Choy Sliced Water Chestnuts, 8 Ounce
Toss these into veggie dumplings for bulk and a mild nutty bite. Drain and squeeze them dry first, or your filling turns into soup and leaks everywhere during steaming.
Dynasty Bamboo Shoots, 15 oz, Sliced, Canned & Jarred
Pour a splash into every filling mix. This is the baseline seasoning that ties everything together. Went without it once thinking I could sub salt alone. Big mistake.
Kikkoman Soy Sauce, 10 oz Bottle
Keep a tube in your fridge for lazy days when you don't feel like grating fresh ginger. Flavor is about 80% as good but the convenience on a Tuesday night is worth it.
Gourmet Garden Gluten Free Ginger Stir-in Paste
Sauces and Dipping Condiments
Plain soy sauce gets boring by the third dumpling. Building a little sauce bar turned our weekend dim sum into something my friends actually request now.
Grab this for anyone who wants heat without vinegar sharpness. Thick enough to cling to a dumpling without dripping all over your shirt. My brother puts it on literally everything now.
FDA Advisory No. 2020-2062 || Public Health Warning Against
Dip your shrimp dumplings in this. The citrus cuts through the richness and wakes up your whole palate. Discovered this combo at a restaurant and reverse-engineered it at home.
Kikkoman Ponzu Citrus Soy Sauce, 10 oz - Pack of 6
Keep this on the table for the person who drowns everything in hot sauce. You know who they are. At least this one has garlic depth instead of just raw heat.
Huy Fong Foods, Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, 9 fl oz Bottle
Mix this with soy sauce and a few sliced scallions for a classic dipping sauce in about 30 seconds. Ratio that works: two parts soy, one part vinegar, adjust from there.
Marukan Genuine Brewed Rice Vinegar, 12 fl oz
Smear this on your siu mai if you want your sinuses cleared instantly. A tiny dot goes a long way. Watched my dad use too much once and he couldn't talk for a full minute.
Dynasty Chinese Style Mustard, 4 oz
Drizzle over pork buns right before serving. Gives them a glossy, slightly sweet finish that looks professional and tastes like you spent way more effort than you did.
Kikkoman Gluten-Free Sweet Soy Sauce for Rice
Stir a few drops into any dipping sauce for depth. Pure sesame oil is strong, so start small. Overdoing it once turned my carefully balanced sauce into something that tasted like a candle.
Ty Ling, Liquid Pure Sesame Oil, 6.2 fl oz, Glass Bottle
Kitchen Tools That Make Dumpling Prep Faster
Folding 60 dumplings by hand is meditative for about the first ten. After that you want help. These tools cut my prep time in half without making everything look machine-stamped.
Use this if your pleating skills are nonexistent. Fills and seals in one press. My first handmade dumplings looked like crime scenes. These come out uniform and sealed tight every time.
Ksopiavobs Dumpling Maker Mold
Roll out bao dough to even thickness without fighting it. Heavier pins do the work for you. Spent a year using a wine bottle before admitting I needed a real tool.
Kitchenaid Durable Nonstick Rolling Pin in Red with Offset
Portion dough into equal pieces fast. Before this, half my bao were golf balls and half were softballs. Consistent portions mean consistent cooking times.
Winco Stainless Steel Dough Scraper with Wood Handle
Scoop dumplings out of the steamer without burning your fingers. Tongs crush them, chopsticks drop them. A wide strainer is the move here.
Customer reviews for OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Strainer Set
Toss this on your counter for rolling dough. The measurements printed on it keep your wrapper sizes consistent. Peels right off and cleans up in seconds.
Mainstays Reusable Silicone 24"x 16" Pastry Mat
Lay finished dumplings on this while you work through the rest. Dust it with tapioca flour first so nothing sticks. Learned that after prying 20 dumplings off a bare board.
Folding Cutting Board Designed To Easily Fold, Lock
Stack uncooked dumplings between layers of parchment in these and freeze them. Airtight seal means no freezer burn. Sunday prep, Wednesday dim sum with zero effort.
Rubbermaid Brilliance Plastic Food Storage Container
Rice, Sides, and Finishing Touches
Dim sum without sides feels incomplete, like watching a movie without snacks. These round out the spread and make it feel like a real restaurant experience at your own table.
Cook a pot of this sticky, slightly sweet rice as your base. Long grain falls apart and feels wrong next to dumplings. Calrose clumps just enough to pick up with chopsticks.
Botan, Calrose Rice, 5 lb Bag, Versatile for Asian Recipes
Switch to jasmine when you want something more fragrant. The aroma when you lift the lid is half the experience. Works especially well alongside lighter shrimp dumplings.
Pack of 6 Dynasty Brown Jasmine Rice 5 lb
Brew a pot to serve alongside your spread. Hot green tea between bites resets your palate so every dumpling tastes like the first one. Way better than soda with this kind of food.
Customer reviews for Yamamotoyama 16 Count Green Tea
Set a few packs on the table for people to munch while dumplings steam. Light, salty, and they disappear fast. Keeps hungry guests from hovering over the steamer asking if it's done yet.
Annie Chuns Organic Seaweed Snacks, Sesame
Toss some bok choy in a hot pan with this for a two-minute veggie side. Greens on the plate make the whole spread look intentional instead of just a pile of dumplings.
Chicken stir fry recipes
Put a small dish of these out as a palate cleanser. The sharp tang between rich pork dumplings and shrimp ones keeps everything tasting fresh. Borrowed this trick from sushi bars.
(3 pack) Roland Sushi Ginger, Sliced, 8 oz
Drizzle this over finished dumplings or into your rice. Smoky, not just hot. A few drops on plain rice turns it into something you'd actually order on its own. Stock up, the bottle goes fast.
Customer reviews for S&B La-Yu Chili Oil, 1.11 fl oz