RED.6: A story

My grandmother (ah po) used to gather all the family members to sit around a large table to make choi pan. These are a traditional dim sum-like delicacy found back home. Made of rice flour, the "skin" encases fillings that include diced meat, tofu, green scallions, onions, dried shrimp, chives.

I remember those days fondly. My two sisters and I would try to emulate what ah po and ah kung made. Their choi pan were always well-proportioned, and they did not burst. Perfected from years of practice, ah kung's creations were the envy of all. My father also made really nice looking ones too. The goal was to have them look like the golden ingots from China. I was always stubborn and tried to overfill mine. Yes, they tended to explode.

Only a lucky few were able to learn how to create the special "skin" we used. Made with rice flour, a touch of corn starch, and water, you had to mix the dough with boiling hot water and get it to a special consistency, not too wet, not too dry, not to hard. Once it is perfect, it is up to each maker to shape it so that each dumpling can hold the filling and sit on a surface like its royal cousin from the mainland. My uncle was the only one who could create the "skin" after ah po's death. A few years ago, I was proud to say I managed to recreate it myself!

Traditions.