49 Fun Facts About Dumplings

Which Chinese scholar mentioned dumplings in a poem about 1,700 years ago?

Shu Xi, a scholar of the Western Jin dynasty, praised dumplings in his rhapsody on bing (flour foods) around 300 AD, one of the oldest written references to the food anywhere.

Preserved dumplings over 1,000 years old were found in tombs at which Chinese site?

Turfan's Astana tombs, in the dry Xinjiang desert, yielded dumplings more than a millennium old, preserved by the oasis's arid climate.

Jiaozi are traditionally credited to which Han-dynasty figure?

A medicine practitioner, the Han-dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing, is said to have made them one winter to help the poor, who lacked warm clothes and enough food.

What ailment were the original jiaozi meant to treat, hence their old name?

Frostbitten ears were the target: Zhang Zhongjing wrapped mutton and warming herbs in ear-shaped dough to treat them, and the dish took the old name jiao'er, "tender ears".

Jiaozi symbolise wealth because they resemble what?

Gold and silver ingots, the boat-shaped sycee (yuanbao) that served as money in imperial China, are what jiaozi resemble, which is why northern families eat them at New Year.

The Western term 'potsticker' derives from which Chinese word?

Guotie (锅贴) literally means "pot stick"; potstickers are jiaozi pan-fried until the bottoms crisp and stick, then steamed with a splash of water.

Gyoza reached Japan mainly through what event?

Japanese colonisers returning from China after WWII, many of them settlers and soldiers repatriated from Manchuria, brought a taste for jiaozi home, and Utsunomiya became famous for gyoza.

Jiaozi are traditionally served with a dip of soy sauce and what?

Black vinegar, often Zhenjiang (Chinkiang) vinegar, is the classic partner to soy sauce for jiaozi, sometimes with chili oil or minced garlic stirred in.

What does the name xiaolongbao literally mean?

Little basket bun is the literal sense: xiaolong is the small bamboo steamer basket they are cooked in, and bao means bun.

The best-known style of xiaolongbao outside China is associated with which city?

The Nanxiang style from Shanghai, named for a town in the city's Jiading district, is the one known worldwide; nearby Suzhou and Wuxi make larger, sweeter versions.

How many folds does Din Tai Fung put in each of its xiaolongbao?

Din Tai Fung's standard is 18 folds on every xiaolongbao, each weighing about 21 grams; the Taipei-born chain earned a Michelin star for a Hong Kong branch in the 2010 guide.

Din Tai Fung began in 1958 as what kind of business?

A cooking oil retailer: founder Yang Bingyi and his wife Lai Penmei sold oil from a Taipei shop from 1958, switching to xiaolongbao in the early 1970s when canned oil undercut them.

The Cantonese name for wontons, wantan, means what?

Cloud swallow is the literal sense of the characters 雲吞, a Cantonese rendering of the Mandarin huntun; the cooked dumplings float in broth like small clouds.

In Sichuan, wontons are known as chao shou, meaning what?

Folded arms is the meaning of chao shou (抄手): the wrapper is folded into a triangle and its two ends pressed together like crossed arms, often served in chili oil.

Har gow is a dim sum dumpling filled with what?

Its wrapper turns translucent when steamed, hence the name crystal shrimp dumpling.

Har gow, shumai, cha siu bao and egg tarts are known collectively as what in dim sum?

The Four Heavenly Kings is the nickname for har gow, shumai, cha siu bao and egg tarts, the staples every Cantonese dim sum house is judged on, borrowed from the four Buddhist guardian deities.

Shumai evolved into which snack in Australia?

Dim sim, the larger, thicker-skinned Chinese-Australian snack sold steamed or fried at fish-and-chip shops, grew out of shumai; Hawaiian pork hash and Indonesian siomay are other descendants.

Baozi differ from most dumplings in that their dough is what?

Yeast-leavened dough gives baozi their fluffy, bread-like bite, unlike the thin unleavened wrappers of jiaozi or wontons; they are the filled cousin of the plain northern steamed bun.

Zongzi, sticky-rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, are eaten on which occasion?

Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu, falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and zongzi wrapped in bamboo leaves are its signature food.

Which poet's drowning in the Miluo River is commemorated with zongzi?

Qu Yuan, the Chu statesman-poet, drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC; legend says his ghost asked that the rice be sealed in leaves and tied with coloured thread to keep dragons away.

Tangyuan, glutinous rice balls in syrup, are traditionally eaten on which occasion?

Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, is tangyuan's day; the name echoes tuanyuan, 'reunion', so they also appear at weddings and the winter solstice.

What are dumplings called in Korean cuisine?

Mandu is the Korean word; the dumplings were long part of royal court cuisine and are eaten steamed, boiled in soup as manduguk, or pan-fried.

Momos are steamed dumplings from the cuisines of Nepal and which other place?

Tibet and Nepal both claim the momo; it is unclear which side of the Himalaya it came from first, and it is now popular in Bhutan, Bangladesh and India too.

A popular Turkish style of manti is named for which central Anatolian city?

Kayseri mantısı, tiny dumplings served under garlic yoghurt and paprika butter, take their name from the city of Kayseri; Turkic migrants had carried the dumpling to Anatolia from Central Asia.

Which steamed Mongolian dumpling is the staple dish of Tsagaan Sar, the Lunar New Year?

Buuz, steamed mutton dumplings, are the centrepiece of Tsagaan Sar, when Mongolian families prepare hundreds in advance; khuushuur are the fried cousin and bansh the small boiled one.

Khinkali, twisted knobs of dough stuffed with meat, come from which country?

Georgia is khinkali's home; they originated in the country's highland north, and the twisted top knob is traditionally held as a handle and left uneaten.

Pelmeni are considered a national dish of which country?

Russia adopted pelmeni as a staple during its expansion into the Urals and Siberia; the name comes from the Komi and Udmurt words for 'ear bread'.

Varenyky are the emblematic dumplings of which country?

Ukraine treats varenyky as a national emblem; compared with Polish pierogi they have thinner, softer dough, and sweet cherry fillings are a summer classic.

Poland's first cookbook, which records pierogi, was published in what year?

Compendium ferculorum, by Stanisław Czerniecki, appeared in 1682 as Poland's first printed cookbook and includes pierogi among its recipes.

What does the 'ruskie' in pierogi ruskie actually mean?

Ruthenian is the sense: ruskie refers to Red Ruthenia, the historical region of the old Rus' lands around Lviv and Przemyśl, and not to the country many foreigners assume.

Kreplach are traditionally served in what?

Chicken soup is the traditional vehicle for kreplach, the Ashkenazi meat-filled dumplings eaten before the Yom Kippur fast and on Hoshana Rabbah and Purim.

Matzah balls are a staple of which Jewish holiday?

Passover is when matzah balls (knaidlach) come into their own, since they are made from matzah meal, eggs, water and fat rather than leavened flour, which is forbidden during the holiday.

What goes into a Semmelknödel, the classic Central European dumpling?

Dried white bread, milk and egg yolks form the base: stale rolls (Semmeln) are soaked in warm milk, bound with egg and often onion and parsley, then shaped and simmered.

Maultaschen, protected by the EU, come from which German region?

Swabia is the home of Maultaschen, the filled pasta pockets protected as Schwäbische Maultaschen under an EU geographical indication since 2009; the name suggests 'mouth pockets'.

Ravioli appear under the name 'rauioles' in which 14th-century cookbook?

The Forme of Cury, compiled around 1390 by the master cooks of Richard II, lists "rauioles", showing how early the stuffed pasta had travelled to England.

Tortellini are typical of Bologna and which other Emilia-Romagna city?

Modena shares the tortellini with Bologna; the registered filling is pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella, Parmesan, egg and nutmeg, served in capon broth.

Legend says the tortellini's shape copies whose navel, glimpsed through a keyhole?

Venus, the goddess of love, is said to have stayed at an inn in Castelfranco Emilia; the innkeeper peeped through the keyhole, saw only her navel, and shaped pasta in its image.

At which point in an Italian meal are gnocchi usually eaten?

They serve as an alternative to soup or pasta as a primo, though they can also be a side dish.

Which sweet dumpling is a favourite of the god Ganesha and offered at Ganesh Chaturthi?

Modak, a steamed rice-flour dumpling filled with coconut and jaggery, is Ganesha's favourite sweet; the puja usually ends with an offering of 21 of them.

The name empanada comes from a Spanish word meaning what?

Breaded, or wrapped in bread, is the sense of empanar, the Spanish verb behind empanada, a turnover long associated with Galicia in north-west Spain as a way to carry a meal inside a crust.

Apple dumplings are considered a cultural staple around which US state?

Pennsylvania, especially its Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch country, treats the apple dumpling as a staple: a whole peeled apple is wrapped in dough, its core filled with cinnamon, butter and sugar.

What kind of dumpling goes into American chicken and dumplings?

Biscuit dough, dropped by the spoonful into simmering chicken stew, makes the dumplings; the comfort food is associated with the American South and Midwest.

What is unusual about the English Norfolk dumpling?

It contains no fat: unlike suet dumplings, the Norfolk dumpling is made only from flour and a raising agent, and is boiled or steamed on top of a stew.

Which fillings are named as typical of Polish pierogi?

Potato and twaróg cheese fill pierogi ruskie, the best-known kind; sauerkraut, meat, mushrooms and berries are also traditional, and savoury ones get sour cream and fried onions.

Which mountain peoples are credited with inventing khinkali?

The Mokhevians and neighbouring groups of the highland north, the Pshavs and Khevsurs, are credited with khinkali; the mountain original uses coarsely chopped meat rather than mince.

Momos are commonly served with a dipping sauce known by what name?

Achar, in Nepal typically a tomato-based chutney with sesame and chili, is the standard momo dip; momos also come in soup as jhol momo or mokthuk.

Knödel are usually made from which base ingredients?

Flour, bread or potatoes are the usual bases for Knödel; they serve as a side dish, become dessert when wrapped around plums, or go into soup as meat-filled balls.

Why are Cantonese wontons the style most often seen in the West?

Its restaurants predominate overseas: Cantonese emigrants founded most of the Chinese restaurants in Western countries, so the Cantonese wonton in thin egg-dough wrappers became the default.

Xiaolongbao are often called what in English, a term that really covers a wider category?

Soup dumplings is the usual English label, though the Chinese tangbao covers a wider family that includes the larger Kaifeng tangbao.