What do dumplings look like around the world?- Miranda Brown
As archaeologists pored over ancient tombs
in Turfan in western China,
they discovered some surprisingly
well-preserved and familiar relics.
Though hardened from over 1,000 years,
there sat little crescent-shaped
dumplings.
Exactly who invented dumplings
remains a mystery.
But some scholars suspect
they were first spread
around parts the ancient world
by nomadic Turkic peoples
living in western China and Central Asia.
This is thought to be the case
because “manti,”
meaning “dumpling” or “steamed bun”
in many Turkic languages,
appears to be the root word for dumpling
in several other languages.
Ancient Turkic people probably stuffed
their dumplings with meat.
But it’s unclear when
this practice began,
or whether they learned the art
of dumpling-making from others.
However this happened, dumplings certainly
gathered steam in ancient China.
That’s where they first appear
in the written record:
more than 1,700 years ago,
in a mouthwatering rhapsody
by scholar Shu Xi.
In his poem, Shu alludes to certain
cooking methods coming from alien lands.
He describes a steamed wheat
product as “mantou.”
And he reverentially chronicles
the preparation of kneaded dough balls
called “lao wan.”
They’re packed with pork,
mutton and aromatics,
dipped in black meat sauce,
then quickly gobbled up,
leaving people downwind to drool
and fantasy-feast.
Dumplings continued to take
off and diversify in China
over the next thousand years.
Instead of the traditional meat filling,
some communities opted
for vegetarian dumplings.
People developed new cooking methods.
And because wheat was harder to cultivate
outside of northern China,
those in other regions began
making dumplings
using rice, tapioca, and sweet potato.
The relationship between Chinese dumplings
and those in other areas
is tricky to trace,
but food historians have made their best
guesses based on available clues.
Turkic tribes spread
and eventually established
the Ottoman Empire around 1300 CE,
bringing wrapped morsels west with them.
In what’s now Turkey, most people
wouldn’t have stuffed dumplings with pork
due to Islamic restrictions.
Instead, manti would come to be filled
with ingredients like lamb,
drizzled with garlic, yogurt,
and melted butter,
then topped with herbs and spices.
Some scholars believe that the Mongol
Empire also helped disseminate dumplings,
perhaps introducing them
to parts of Eastern Europe.
These dumplings could have
come by way of China
or directly from some of the Turkic
peoples the Mongols hired
to run their empire.
One theory is that this gave rise
to dumplings like Russian pelmeni,
and the larger pierogi and vareniki,
eaten in Poland and Ukraine,
stuffed with things like potato, cabbage,
cheese, and cherries.
The Mongol Empire also controlled Korea
and might have likewise introduced
dumplings there,
where “mandu” may be eaten
with regional ingredients like kimchi.
Later, after Chinese dumpling varieties
were introduced to more countries,
English speakers began calling
them dumplings.
The term means “little lumps”
and is thought to have been first
used in 16th century England
to describe dough balls dropped in liquid.
Like knödel and matzo balls,
they would’ve had no filling.
So, the word was actually
confusingly imprecise,
but it stuck, nonetheless.
When Japan occupied China
during the Second World War,
Chinese “jiaozi” were brought to Japan,
where they in turn became known as “gyoza”
and were more typically pan-fried.
So what about the fact that every region
in Italy has its own variety
of dumpling-like stuffed pasta?
Some historians think that Arab conquerors
brought dumplings
when they reigned over Sicily
between the 9th and 11th centuries.
But the jury's still out.
It’s unlikely that all dumpling-esque
dishes came from the same root tradition.
In many cases, it may simply
be that culinary visionaries
from different cultures shared
a similar revelation:
that cooking fillings encased in dough
would be delightful.
Either way, we can appreciate
these plump pockets of perfection—
and the tangled, mysterious historical web
that’s made dumplings
so diverse and divine.
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from Marriott Hotels.
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across the globe,
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