Editing Dim sum (section)

== History ==
[[File:Dim-sum-HK.JPG|thumb|alt=A server pushes a cart laden with bamboo baskets|A dim sum restaurant in [[Hong Kong]]]]
[[File:How To Dim Sum - A Beginner's Guide.webm|thumb|A video guide to dim sum]]
Dim sum is part of the Chinese tradition of [[snack]]s originating from the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279), when royal chefs created various dishes such as minced pheasant, [[Eurasian skylark|lark]] tongue, and [[Chinese desserts|desserts]] made from steamed milk and bean paste.<ref name=":26" /> [[Guangzhou]] experienced an increase in commercial travel in the tenth century<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Gourse |first=Leslie |title=Dim Sum Has Come a Long Way, From Esoteric to Mass Popularity|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1988-03-13-8802290511-story.html|access-date=5 August 2020|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=13 March 1988 |language=en-US}}</ref>{{page needed | date=May 2025}} At that time, travelers would frequent teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called "''yum cha''" or "tea" meals.<ref name=":11">{{cite book|last=Wong |first=Adele |title=Hong Kong Food & Culture: From Dim Sum to Dried Abalone |year=2016 |publisher=Man Mo Media |isbn=978-9887756002}}</ref>{{page needed | date=May 2025}}<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite news|date=25 October 1981|title=Fare of the Country; Why Dim Sum Is 'Heart's Delight'|language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/25/travel/fare-of-the-country-why-dim-sum-is-heart-s-delight.html|access-date=16 August 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=4 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704133705/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/25/travel/fare-of-the-country-why-dim-sum-is-heart-s-delight.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Yum cha'' includes two related concepts. The first, {{linktext|一盅兩件}}, translates literally as "one cup, two pieces". This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two delicately made food items, savory or sweet, to complement their tea. The second, {{linktext|點心}}, which means dim sum, translates literally to "touch the heart" (i.e., heart touching). This is the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the drinking of tea.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|date=13 May 2019|title=Jian Dui -- Sesame Balls (煎堆)|url=https://kindredkitchen.ca/2019/05/13/jian-dui-sesame-balls/|access-date=14 August 2020|website=Kindred Kitchen |language=en-CA |archive-date=5 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005130704/https://www.kindredkitchen.ca/2019/05/13/jian-dui-sesame-balls/|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the thirteenth century, when the [[Mongol conquest of China|Mongols invaded China]], the royal court fled to southern China, bringing a royal influence to the dim sum of [[Guangzhou]].<ref name=":26" /> Guangzhou was a wealthy, large port city that had international visitors, a temperate climate, and a coastline where fresh and tropical ingredients were grown, resulting in an ideal environment for food and entertainment.<ref name=":26" /> In Guangzhou, street vendors and teahouses sold dim sum.<ref name=":26" /> The practice of having tea with dim sum at tea houses eventually evolved into modern ''yum cha''.<ref name=":0" /> While at the teahouses, travelers selected their preferred snacks from carts.<ref name=":0" /> Visitors to tea houses often socialized as they ate, and business people negotiated deals over dim sum.<ref name=":0" />

During the [[Ming dynasty]] (1368–1644), the Tea and Horses Bureau was established to monitor tea production and improve tea quality.<ref name=":26" /> The improvements in tea quality also led to teahouse improvements.<ref name=":26" />

Cantonese dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Guangzhou.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Phillips |first=Carolyn |date=1 February 2017|title=Modern Chinese History as Reflected in a Teahouse Mirror|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article/17/1/56/45126/Modern-Chinese-History-as-Reflected-in-a-Teahouse|journal=[[Gastronomica]]|language=en|volume=17|issue=1|pages=56–65|doi=10.1525/gfc.2017.17.1.56|issn=1529-3262|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Teahouse dining areas were typically located upstairs, and initial dim sum fare included steamed buns.<ref name=":4" /> Eventually, these evolved into specialized dim sum restaurants, and the variety and quality of dim sum dishes rapidly followed suit.<ref name=":4" /> Cantonese dim sum was originally based on local foods such as sweet roast pork called "''char siu''" and fresh [[rice noodles]].<ref name=":4" /> As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of [[China]], which created a starting point for the wide variety of dim sum available today.<ref name=":4" /> Chefs created a large range of dim sum that even today comprises most of a teahouse's dim sum offerings.<ref name=":4" /> Part of this development included reducing portion sizes of larger dishes originally from northern China, such as stuffed steamed buns, so they could easily be incorporated into the dim sum menu.<ref name=":4" /> The rapid growth in dim sum restaurants was partly because people found the preparation of dim sum dishes to be time-consuming and preferred the convenience of dining out and eating a large variety of baked, steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, and [[braised]] foods.<ref name=":4" /> Dim sum continued to develop and also spread southward to [[Hong Kong]].<ref>Tam, S. (1997). Eating Metropolitaneity: Hong Kong Identity in yumcha. ''[[Australian Journal of Anthropology]]'', 8(1), 291-306</ref>

Although dim sum is normally considered Cantonese, it includes many additional influences.<ref name=":4" /> Over thousands of years, as people in China migrated in search of different places to live, they carried the recipes of their favorite foods and continued to prepare and serve these dishes.<ref name=":4" /> Many [[Han Chinese]] migrated south, seeking warmer climates.<ref name=":4" /> Settlements took shape in the [[Yangtze River Valley]], the central highlands, and the coastal southeast, including Guangdong.<ref name=":4" /> The influence of [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]] and [[Hangzhou]] is found in vegetarian soy skin rolls and [[pearl meatballs]]. The dessert squares flavored with [[Jujube|red dates]] or wolfberries are influenced by [[Beijing]] desserts.<ref name=":4" /> Savory dishes, such as [[Jiaozi|pot stickers]] and steamed dumplings, include Muslim influences because of people traveling from Central Asia across the [[Silk Road]] and into Guangdong.<ref name=":4" /> These are just a few examples of how a wide range of influences became incorporated into traditional Cantonese dim sum.<ref name=":4" />

By 1860, foreign influences had shaped Guangdong's dim sum with culinary innovations such as [[ketchup]], [[Worcestershire sauce]], and curry, all of which came to be used in some savory dishes.<ref name=":4" /> [[Custard]] pies evolved into the miniature classics found in every teahouse.<ref name=":4" /> Other dim sum dishes evolved from Indian [[samosas]], [[mango]] puddings, and Mexican [[Concha (bread)|conchas]] (snow-topped buns).<ref name=":4" /> Cantonese-style dim sum has an extremely broad range of tastes, textures, cooking styles, and ingredients.<ref name=":4" /> As a result, there are more than a thousand different varieties of dim sum.<ref name=":4" />

During the 1920s, in Guangzhou, the foremost places to enjoy tea were its tea pavilions, which had refined and expansive surroundings.<ref name=":4" /> The customers were wealthy, and there were rather high standards for the privilege of enjoying tea pavilion service and dim sum.<ref name=":4" /> Upon entering a tea pavilion, customers would inspect tea leaves to ensure their quality and to verify the water temperature.<ref name=":4" /> Once satisfied, these guests were presented with a pencil and a booklet listing the available dim sum.<ref name=":4" /> A waiter would then tear their orders out of the booklet so that the kitchen could pan-fry, steam, bake, or deep-fry these dishes on demand.<ref name=":4" /> Customers dined upstairs in privacy and comfort.<ref name=":4" /> Servers carefully balanced the dishes on their arms or arranged them on trays as they climbed up and down the stairs.<ref name=":4" /> Eventually, dim sum carts were used to serve the steamers and plates.<ref name=":4" />

People with average incomes also enjoyed tea and dim sum.<ref name=":4" /> Early every morning, customers visited inexpensive restaurants that offered filled steamed buns and hot tea.<ref name=":4" /> During the mid-morning, students and government employees ordered two or three kinds of dim sum and ate as they read their newspapers.<ref name=":4" /> In the late morning, people working at small businesses visited restaurants for breakfast and to use the restaurant as a small office space.<ref name=":4" />

By the late 1930s, Guangzhou's teahouse culture included four high-profile dim sum chefs, with signs at the front doors of their restaurants.<ref name=":4" /> There was heavy competition among teahouses, and as a result, new varieties of dim sum were invented almost daily, including dishes influenced by the tea pastries of Shanghai, Beijing, and the [[Western world]].<ref name=":4" /> Many new fusion dishes were also created, including puddings, baked rolls, turnovers, custard tarts, and Malay steamed cakes.<ref name=":4" />

There were also significant increases in the variety of thin wrappers used in both sweet and savory items.<ref name=":4" /><blockquote>If we concentrate only on the changes and developments in the variety of wrappers, the main types of dim sum wrappers during the 1920s included such things as raised (for filled buns), wheat starch, ''shao mai'' (i.e., egg dough), crystal bun, crispy batter, sticky rice, and boiled dumpling wrappers. By the 1930s, the varieties of wrappers commonly used by chefs included puff pastry, Cantonese short pastry, and so on, for a total of 23 types that were prepared by pan-frying, deep-frying, steaming, baking, and roasting.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Feng |first=Mingquan |year=1986|title=A discussion on Guangzhou's teahouse industry. Guangzhou wenshi ziliao 廣州文史資料|journal=Literary and Historical Materials on Guangzhou |volume=36,1}}</ref></blockquote>As the [[Chinese Civil War]] progressed from 1927 to 1949, many dim sum chefs left China and settled in Hong Kong, resulting in further refinements and innovations of the dim sum there.<ref name=":26" /> Very large dim sum restaurants in major cities like Hong Kong, San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, and New York were also established.<ref name=":26" />

In the nineteenth century, Cantonese immigrants brought dim sum to the west and east coasts of the United States.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/273865320|title=Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An Encyclopedia |date=2008|publisher=[[Greenwood Press]] |others=Adamson, Melitta Weiss., Segan, Francine.|isbn=978-0-313-08689-2|location=Westport, Conn.|oclc=273865320|access-date=3 September 2020|archive-date=5 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005130701/https://www.worldcat.org/title/entertaining-from-ancient-rome-to-the-super-bowl-an-encyclopedia/oclc/273865320|url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the earliest dim sum restaurants in the U.S. still operating today opened in the [[1920s]] in [[San Francisco]] and [[New York City]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Step Inside 98-Year-Old Hang Ah Tea Room, the Oldest Dim Sum Restaurant in America|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/step-inside-96-year-old-hang-ah-tea-room-the-oldest-dim-sum-restaurant-in-america/|access-date=17 August 2020|website=Vice|date=December 2016 |language=en|archive-date=7 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907064722/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/ezkzwm/step-inside-96-year-old-hang-ah-tea-room-the-oldest-dim-sum-restaurant-in-america|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Nearly 100 Years Later, New York's First Dim Sum Restaurant Continues to Innovate|url=https://squareup.com/us/en/townsquare/nearly-100-years-later-new-yorks-first-dim-sum-restaurant-continues-to-innovate|access-date=29 August 2020|website=Square |date=19 August 2015 |language=en-US}}</ref> The history of San Francisco's Chinese community is believed to have started about 30 years before the first dim sum restaurant opened in the city's [[Chinatown]] neighborhood. The Chinese preferred to live in the present Chinatown area because of its restaurants and theatres.<ref name=":5" /> In the late 1930s, some early U.S. newspaper references to dim sum began to appear. While some Chinese restaurants in the U.S. had offered dim sum for decades, it was not until the late 1980s that there was a broader public awareness of dim sum.<ref name=":0" />

Although there was increased awareness of dim sum around this time, one chef from Hong Kong, who immigrated to San Francisco, noted that diners in the U.S. usually focused on the food itself and not the communal aspects of eating dim sum.<ref name=":6">{{Cite magazine|title=How to Order Dim Sum, According to the Head Chef of the First Chinese Restaurant in North America to Receive a Michelin Star|url=https://time.com/5750814/dim-sum-ordering-guide/|access-date=19 August 2020|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |archive-date=19 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819075135/https://time.com/5750814/dim-sum-ordering-guide/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although dim sum is a Chinese meal, it is a communal dining and social experience that can span hours.<ref name=":6" /> It is customary for large groups to enjoy dishes together as a leisurely social activity.<ref name=":6" /> Diners go to restaurants early, around 10:00&nbsp;AM, and rather than ordering a whole table of food, they order small amounts, have a cup of tea, read the newspaper, and wait for friends and family to join them.<ref name=":6" /> As a result, a visit to a dim sum restaurant can last from late morning well into the afternoon.<ref name=":6" /> For some people in Hong Kong, eating dim sum is a daily routine and a way of life.<ref name=":6" /> Since this dim sum tradition is not always present in some U.S. dim sum restaurants, however, approaches to generate interest and attract customers include customized seasoning and flavors of traditional dishes, as well as creating novel dishes with an emphasis on enhanced flavors and visual appeal.<ref name=":6" />

One food reviewer notes that there has been an increase in popularity in posting dim sum photos on social media feeds, and that dim sum has become so popular that every U.S. state now has at least one high-quality dim sum restaurant.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 February 2016|title=Where to Find the Best Dim Sum in Every State in America |url=https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/where-to-find-the-best-dim-sum-in-every-state-in-america|access-date=19 August 2020|website=Spoon University |language=en-US |archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918233545/https://spoonuniversity.com/lifestyle/where-to-find-the-best-dim-sum-in-every-state-in-america|url-status=live}}</ref> There is a restaurant, bar, and highly rated dance club complex in Las Vegas, NV, that features high-end Cantonese food (including dim sum), craft cocktails, dinner parties, and prominent [[disc jockey]]s in a chic setting.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 January 2020|title=Tiësto, Zedd, Garrix, Aoki in Hakkasan Group's 2020 lineup|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/tiesto-zedd-garrix-aoki-in-hakkasan-groups-2020-lineup-1930236/|access-date=19 August 2020|website=[[Las Vegas Review-Journal]]|language=en-US |archive-date=14 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114023403/https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/tiesto-zedd-garrix-aoki-in-hakkasan-groups-2020-lineup-1930236/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kennedy |first=Marina |title=Chef Spotlight: Executive Chef Pinyo Saewu of Hakkasasn Las Vegas |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwfood-wine/article/Chef-Spotlight-Executive-Chef-Pinyo-Saewu-of-HAKKASAN-LAS-VEGAS-20200302|access-date=19 August 2020|website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en|archive-date=5 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005130702/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwfood-wine/article/Chef-Spotlight-Executive-Chef-Pinyo-Saewu-of-HAKKASAN-LAS-VEGAS-20200302|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Hakkasan Las Vegas - Las Vegas Restaurants - Las Vegas, United States|url=https://www.forbestravelguide.com/restaurants/las-vegas-nevada/hakkasan-las-vegas|access-date=19 August 2020|website=Forbes Travel Guide |language=en|archive-date=27 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927081346/https://www.forbestravelguide.com/restaurants/las-vegas-nevada/hakkasan-las-vegas|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hakkasan|url=https://djmag.com/content/poll-clubs-2015-hakkasan|work=[[DJ magazine]]|access-date=21 August 2020|archive-date=10 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810025812/https://djmag.com/content/poll-clubs-2015-hakkasan|url-status=live}}</ref>

The dim sum restaurants in [[Chicago's Chinatown]] serve mainly traditional dim sum dishes, but there has been recent growth in contemporary dim sum with new fusion dishes, as well as restaurants now located outside Chinatown.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Zagat|url=https://www.zagat.com/b/trend-watch-dim-sum-goes-beyond-chinatown|access-date=19 August 2020|website=zagat.com|archive-date=4 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200704000753/https://www.zagat.com/b/trend-watch-dim-sum-goes-beyond-chinatown|url-status=live}}</ref>

In Hong Kong, many chefs are also introducing variants based on traditional Cantonese cuisine, which generates interest and provides both Hongkongers and tourists with new, fresh dim sum dishes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Springer |first=Janice Leung Hayes, Kate |title=19 Best Dim Sum Spots in Hong Kong|url=https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-dim-sum-in-hong-kong|access-date=19 August 2020|website=[[Condé Nast Traveler]]|date=5 March 2018|language=en|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812215519/https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-dim-sum-in-hong-kong|url-status=live}}</ref>