(Top 5 Asian & Pot Stickers spots at the end)
There’s something extraordinarily satisfying about biting into a perfect pot sticker or dumpling, the tug of the dough, the burst of steam, that first hit of amazing tasty goodness surrounded by dough. But with all the Asian influences and at least a healthy amount of debate, we can be faced with the all consuming question, what the hell is a dumpling? I thought all Americans knew what a pot sticker or dumpling was, but I met a young lady in Virginia that visited Nashville that never had a pot sticker in her life. I was in shock and awe, so this is to her and to all Americans that should never be deprived of the satisfying experience of consuming these delectable morsels.
As we embark on an epic journey of classifying the vast array of dumplings, only those foods made by wrapping dough around a filling qualifies. And also to simplify, only those foods intended to be consumed in three bites or fewer are considered. However, Italian gnocchi and matza balls won’t be covered. Even though these and other stuffed pastas have their origins linked to Asia, we will cover them at another junction.
Pretty much all roads to the dumpling ancestry lead to China. The country is crawling with dumplings of all shapes and sizes with different fillings, wrappers, and cooking methods. At the end of the day, trying to classify something as popular and diverse as a Chinese dumpling is an exercise in futility. But most people draw the line based on the shape of the dumpling. In the United States, crescent-shaped dumplings( gao or jiao, which are usually made with an unleavened dough) are commonly translated as “dumpling,” while purse-shaped dumplings are typically translated as “buns,” even when there’s nothing particularly bun-like about them- think soup dumplings, which often appear on menus as “little juicy buns.” To keep things simple, we’ve decided to follow suit.
Crescent Shaped Dumplings
Crescent-shaped dumplings are made by folding a thin, round circle of dough around a filling and pleating or crimping the edges together. They’re actually pretty simple to make at home. Beyond the diverse range of fillings, you’ll find crescent-shaped dumplings steamed, boiled, pan-fried, and deep-fried. Here are some of the most common varieties you’re likely to encounter in the world.
Guo Tie (Jiaozi): This is what most Americans refer to as a potsticker. Made with fresh wrappers and eaten hot, the perfect pan-fried dumpling should have a golden brown, ultra-crisp fried bottom, with a skin that’s springy and chewy, but is never tough or doughy. Guo tie come with a wide range of fillings, from shrimp to mixed vegetables, but our favorite “go-to” combo is succulent pork and chives.
Shui Jiao: These tender boiled dumplings are made with a thin wheat based wrapper. They can be served in broth like wontons, or simply drained and served with a dipping sauce. Ground pork and vegetables are common fillings.
Zheng Jiao: More delicate than boiled dumplings, steamed dumplings are made with beautifully pleated translucent wrappers. Common fillings range from pork and chives to shrimp, cabbage, or any combo of vegetables.
Har Gow: Plump and juicy, with chunks of shrimp barely visible through translucent dough, har gow are one of the most recognized dim sum classics. The wheat starch skin that encases the delicious filling is cut with tapioca to give it extra stretchiness. These are the most difficult dumplings to make properly. The skin should be translucent yet sturdy, slightly chewy but not tough, with perfectly cooked, crisp shrimp with bits of pork fat in the stretchy, delicate wrapper.
Chiu-Chao Fun Gow: There is undoubtedly fun about these dumplings. The thin tapioca starch enriched wheat wrappers are filled with crunchy, fresh tasting mix of shrimp, pork, and peanuts, often flavored with cilantro and crisp chunks of jicama. It’s a unique textural experience that place these steamed dumplings in a class of their own.
Purse Shaped Dumplings
Purse-shaped dumplings are formed with a round of dough that is pleated and drawn towards the top of the fillings like a draw-string purse. In form and nomenclature, they’re very similar to thick, doughy, Chinese style steamed buns, but for our purposes, we made a distinction between doughy steamed buns and the decidedly dumpling like versions made with thinner wrappers.
Jiu Cai Bau: You can see the generous filling of peppery chives peeking through the skin of these rounded dumplings. They’re pan fried for a crisp, blistered crust.
Xiao Long Bao: A perfect pliable, juicy soup dumpling is something to be treasured. The pork based (or pork and crab based) filling is made with collagen-rich pork parts that yield a thick, sticky stock that solidifies as it cools. It’s folded into a thin round of stretchy wheat dough, which is gathered up and pleated into a swirled bun. As the dumpling steams, the gelatin-rich broth in the filling melts. What you’re left with is a plump bun brimming with a rich savory soup that must be carefully sucked out before digging into the tender, springy meatball within. You can boldly down the whole thing in one try, letting it burst in your mouth like a savory Chinese gusher. Just do so quickly, these dumplings have one of the shortest dumpling shelf lives, quickly turning sodden and mushy as the gelatinous broth congeals.
Sheng Jian Bao: Fried soup dumplings, while a ubiquitous breakfast food or snack in Shanghai for at least the last century, live in the shadow of their far more famous steamed counterpart. Sheng Jian Bao start with a slightly thicker dough that just like Xiao Long Bao, get pleated around a gelatin-rich filling. They’re cooked in a large, covered cast iron pans filled with just enough water to steam them through. As the water evaporates, the dumplings begin to fry on the bottom surface. You end up with a tender, steamed, soup filled bun with a golden brown, crispy fried bottom.
Siu Mai (Shu Mai): Another dimsum classic, these open topped steamed pork and/or shrimp dumplings are made with a thin, wrinkled wheat flour wrapper. Often topped with fish roe or grated carrot, or even a single green pea. They’re fresh tasting and juicy.
Other Chinese Dumplings
Other meat inside a starchy filling Chinese treats abound that don’t quite fit neatly into the first two categories, but nonetheless deserve mention and recognition.
Haam Sui Gok: Haam sui gok are made with glutinous rice dough. Deep fried, they come out blistered and crispy on the outside with a chewy, slightly doughy layer underneath. Fillings range from savory pork and sausage to coconut or sweet bean paste.
Wu Gok: Frilly strands of fried purple taro make up the delicate exterior of these meaty pork dumplings. At once sweet and savory, crisp and tender, wu gok are a delightful taste in contrasts.
Won Ton: With their distinctive square wrappers, supple skinned won tons are a common sight in Chinese soups, bobbing alongside cabbage and noodles. Though typically filled with ground pork and/or shrimp, their proportions vary and differ based on provenance, with some quite heavy and substantial, and others light and airy, more wispy skin than filling.
Tang Yuan: These sweet, sticky glutinous rice dumplings are often filled with rock candy, sesame paste, peanuts, or red bean paste. Boiled until soft and chewy, they can be served on their own or, more commonly, in a sweet bean, sesame, or ginger soup.
East and South Asian Dumplings
Chinese dumpling culture has had a huge influence on the cuisines of neighboring countries, almost all of which have dumpling forms of their own
Mandu (Mandoo): A wide variety of Korean dumplings fall under this category. Mulmandu are boiled stuffed dumplings. While jinmandu are steamed. Gunmandu are pan fried. They can be filled with anything from pork or beef to kimchi, seafood and/or vegetables.
Gyoza: The Japanese version of guo tie, gyoza feature a much thinner skin and a pork based filling that’s often flavored with garlic. They’re served pan fried at ramen shops and even Chinese restaurants in the United States. The best shops will pan fry them in specialty made cast iron pans, after first steaming them with water. The washed off starches from the dumplings form a lacy crust on the bottom of the pan that can be carefully lifted, fusing the dumplings on one solid base that remains crisp as you eat it.
Gujia: This Indian crescent shaped dessert dumpling can be filled with a sweet mixture of fruits and coconut, or khoya- a sweet, crumbly ricotta-like dairy product popular in South Asian cuisines.
Momo: In Tibet and Nepal, you’ll find dumplings that are thicker, breadier, and heartier than their Chinese counterparts. Momo typically contain hearty meats like beef and yak, sometimes spiced with black or Sichuan peppercorns. Unlike their Chinese analogues, they rarely contain vegetables for added juiciness and more complex flavors. They’re steamed or fried and served with chili sauce, though sometimes a tomato based hot sauce or chicken broth will come along with it as an accompaniment.
Modak: With rounded pleats that come to a point, India’s purse-like sweet dumplings are made from coconut and jaggery sugar stuffed into a gooey rice flour dough.
Thai Rice Dumplings: Made with fresh steamed rice noodles and sprinkled with sweet fried shallots, these chewy dumplings can be filled with a range of sweet and savory fillings.
Samosas: Though often associated with India, samosas are popular through the Middle East and South Asia. The savory pastry-like dumplings are deep fried or pan fried with fillings of vegetables like lentils or potatoes, or ground beef or lamb. They’re typically heavily spiced and served with a variety of chutneys and dipping sauces.
Other Central Asian and Eastern European Dumplings
Eastern European dumplings may feature markedly different flavors and ingredients than their Asian counterparts, but their origins are one and the same. Here are some of the most commonly spotted dumplings that have made their way from China to Europe.
Pierogi: Hailing from Poland, these boiled then fried (or baked) wheat flour dumplings are stuffed with potato, sauerkraut, meat, or fruit. They’re made into crescent shapes and pan fried flat. Buttery and hearty, they’re perfect winter comfort food.
Vareniki: The Ukrainian version of pierogi are commonly stuffed with sauerkraut, cheese, potatoes, and meat, and can be served sweet with fruit sauce or cheese. They’re cooked by boiling or steaming and served in oil or butter.
Pelmeni: From China by way of Siberia, these Russian wheat based dumplings are packed with a peppery, onion spiked filling of minced meat, beef, pork, and mutton are all common choices.
Kreplach: Another winter warmer, these Jewish dumplings are filled with meat and/or potatoes. They’re often served in hot broth that’s fatty with a strong chicken flavor, emboldened by sweet onion, dill, and black pepper, though you can also get them crisp and deep fried. The kreplach itself is usually thick and doughy, the stretchy skin is wrapped around a rich, onion sweetened filling of beef or chicken. Much like some Italian pastas, the wheat dough is enriched with egg.
Khinkali: Spiced meat releases juices as it cooks within these large Georgian dumplings, like xiao long bao, the result is a rich, soupy filling surrounding a tender ball of meat. Khinkali have a thick knot on top that’s not meant to be eaten. Instead, eat the rest, then discard the dough wads.
Manti: Also known as Mantu, these Turkish dumplings are prevalent throughout Central Asia, in countries like Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.. Most often stuffed with spiced lamb, toppings range from a spiced tomato sauce to yogurt, chili oil, and Middle Eastern spices like pepper and sumac.
Other Dumpling Like Objects
Of course, That’s just the tip of the dumpling iceberg, and more styles and definitions abound. Many were omitted simply because they don’t register with our common understanding of dumplings. For instance, while a baked wheat flour version of empanadas doesn’t seem to qualify by this definition of a stuffed dumpling, the corn based varieties common to Columbia, Ecuador, and Costa Rica that are made deep fried may well fall under the definition of what constitutes as a dumpling. The filling can range from potato to ground meat to a variety of seeds, meat, and/or vegetables. And, of course, ravioli, tortellini, and other stuffed pastas all technically fit the definition and description of stuffed dumplings. Undoubtedly, the list goes on and on, and ours is a living guide.
Fun fact: Chinese dumplings are eaten on the fifth day of the Chinese New Year to resemble good wealth and prosperity. The shape of dumplings is said to mostly resemble money (gold and silver ingots) that was used in the past.
Fun fact: Dumplings resemble an ear, most of the words associated with dumplings, throughout the different cultures, directly translates to “little ear.”
September 26th is National Dumpling Day in the United States.
Top 5 Pot Stickers in Nashville
Lucky Bamboo China Bistro
Sichuan Hot Pot & Asian Cuisine
Steam Boys
Tansuo
The Eastern Peak
Top 5 Asian Spots in Nashville:
Virago
Tansuo
Otaku Ramen
Sunda
Two Ten Jack
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