All this talk of Central Asia made me yearn for Uzbek manty (meat-stuffed dumplings, similar to Chinese pot stickers, but served sometimes in soup or sometimes with a little chili sauce). Then there are kreplach, apple dumplings, pierogis, fritters, pelmeni…the list goes on and on, each one yummier than the next.
What is it about these little balls of stuffed dough, savory or sweet, pan-fried, deep-fried, sauteed, boiled or steamed, pure and bland or complex and spicy, that makes them so wonderfully addictive and seductive? It seems every culture has a dumpling, or several. Is this true, or does it just seem that way because I’m hungry and fantasizing about manty?
So tell me about your favorite dumpling, or if you know of a woefully dumpling-less culture, tell me about that, too. (Recipes are appreciated!)
Nobody makes vereneki like baka does. Or does she make pierogi? The plot, and my arteries, thicken!
Never quite gave it any thought, but I cannot think of a particular ‘national cuisine’ that does not include some variation of the humble dumpling. Come on, someone has to have done a study on this…
When I grow up, I want to be a culinary anthropologist and do lots* of fieldwork…
C’mon, I want recipes! Double points if they’re from somebody’s grandmother, especially if she is very short and round and won’t let you leave her house until you’ve eaten ten times what you thought you could consume before your stomach explodes.
Just guessing here, but I suppose the Eskimos (or Inuit, or whatever one is supposed to call them these days) did not have dumplings. Is there anything up in the tundra that could be made into flour?
Anyway, I agree with you about craving those little suckers(dumplings, not Eskimos). Can you say dim sum? Or my mom’s Irish stew dumplings. I have no idea how she made those things other than flour and water and dropping them into the stew in a pressure cooker.
Although it has been several years, I do not recall any West African dumplings – unless one stretches the definition rather badly. I thouhgt that was a good thing actually, considering the dumpling concept to be vile.
Hmmm… dumplings! I do not think they have dumplings in Spain or Mexico. For that matter I do not think they are part of American cuisine (if such thing exists). For me they are primarily a Chinese thing.
I think that it is widespread if not universal. Most cultures seem to have a tradition of wrapping foodstuff up in a starchy envelope – note that I broaden the definition here to include sandwiches and tacos and the like. Dumplings and sandwiches and tacos and tortillas and Japanese buns and pierogis (and all cultural and spelling variants) and blinis and egg rolls and submarine sandwiches and strombolis/zappis/whatever. It’s a very human and a very practical desire to take your amorphous food and wrap it in a container that is itself edible. You can make a bread-like wrapper out of wheat or corn flour or rice flour or a number of other alternatives(potato bread sandwiches!). Can you make a “bread” out of manioc? If not, maybe that’s why they don’t have something like this in regions where manioc is traditionally the edible starch.
“What is it about these little balls of stuffed dough, savory or sweet, pan-fried, deep-fried, sauteed, boiled or steamed, pure and bland or complex and spicy”
then México has an abundance of such delicacies.
Gorditas, corundas and tamales of an infinite variety, tlacoyos and quesadillas just to mention a few.
Mmmm… sopapillas. Mom used to fry sopapillas fresh for breakfast on special occasions. The first time I tried them at Chi-Chi’s, I was appalled- those are NOT sopapillas. Almost too hot to touch, cut open the end and fill with butter and honey which will melt into a sweet liquid that will run down your fingers as you bite into them…
It’s been WAY too long since I had Mom’s sopapillas.
mm, I don’t think the Belgian cuisine (which is largely the french cuisine, just a tad less pretentious and with te occasional local dish thrown in) has dumplings.
A pity, 'cos me likee!
I always knew there had to be something deeply warped about you. Are you sure you’re biologically human? Be honest, now.
As for Inuit dumplings: alas, my middle school homeroom teacher, an Inuit himself, who might have solved this mystery, is long dead. He used to tell us stories about working in the Alaskan salmon canneries, but they never involved dumplings.
My other Alaskan friend is now in the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, and so has been rather slow to respond to e-mail lately.
Are there any Inuit or West African Dopers who can provide some resolution?
Dumplings certainly appear in Southern cuisine. I grew up in Louisiana, and stewed dumplings were common fare (especially with chicken or squirrel). I think hushpuppies (deep-fried cornmeal balls with onion and spices) also qualify. Most Southern dumplings aren’t actually stuffed–things are mixed into the dough before cooking, or the balls of dough are added to a stew to absorb its flavor.
For the record, the above dishes were usually prepared by my grandmother, who is indeed somewhat short, round, and inclined to overfeed everyone.
Yes I had wonton in mind but forgot about ravioli. How are ravioli made though? Are they boiled in water? I have no idea. I only know the cheap Chef Boyardee cans.
I think that quesadillas are stretching the dumpling definition to anything that is inside anything else. I can’t believe you left off empanadas which are exactly fried dumplings.
