MASTERCLASS

Making delicate folds out of dumpling skin is a work of art. Executive chef Leong Chee Yeng of Jade Restaurant shows two recipes that are perfect for budding culinary sculptors.

Dumpling darlings: vegetarian blue pea mushroom dumpling and scallop dumpling with salmon roe

Like a sculptor perfecting his bronze cast, making Chinese dumplings is a laborious art. Imagine the process of preparing the filling, kneading the dough before pleating each piece by hand. Less nimble hands could possibly take a whole day to complete a big batch for a party.

For executive chef Leong Chee Yeng, it’s child play. The avid art-enthusiast spends 16 to 18 hours each day in the kitchen and is able to craft the most delicate dim sums for diners who flock to his restaurant, Jade.

When he’s not busy in the kitchen, Leong dabbles in pottery and creating sculptures out of fruits and gelatin; these are displayed around the award-winning Cantonese restaurant. Even his office, which is hidden in a backroom of the kitchen,

resembles a menagerie, with an assortment of gelatin fauna and flora hanging from the rafters.

His culinary inspirations are mainly drawn from ancient Chinese art. Take for instance the scallop dumplings with salmon roe; Leong folds them into a shape that resembles a phoenix eye, a popular motif from China associated with femininity or yin. A blunt cleaver is necessary for making these dumpling skins. Together with a well-oiled wooden chopping board, it ensures that the paper-thin skins do not stick or break.

To add a spot of colour, Leong uses blue pea flower to dye the dough to create the vegetarian mushroom dumpling. When served in bamboo steamer baskets, both dim sum creations are almost too elegant to eat.