How dumplings spread across Asia and Europe and tips on making your own

Tiny balls of filling lovingly parcelled up, boiled and served with sauce – whether you know these as tortellini, jiaozi or just plain old dumplings, these are culinary stars worldwide. We enjoy them baked until they are crunchy, gently steamed or fried to golden brown, depending on where we are. Almost every culture has its own version of this versatile food, whether it is Italian ravioli, Lithuanian koldunai, Polish pierogi or Korean mandu. And each reveals wonderful flavours, plus a mouthful of history too. No one really knows where dumplings originated. China, though, is considered the cradle of the practical method of reusing leftovers, vegetables or meat, in dough. Jiaozi are probably one of the oldest known dumplings. “Their roots lie in China, and the first dumplings were mentioned as early as the Han dynasty [206BC-AD220],” says German food blogger Stefan Leistner, an Asia specialist who co-founded the Asiastreetfood blog. Crescent-shaped jiaozi, filled with pork, cabbage, garlic and ginger, are considered the precursors of dumplings such as gyoza from Japan and Korean mandu. Today, they are boiled, steamed or fried. Trade routes such as the Silk Road spread these little dough parcels from China to Korea, Japan, Central Asia and on to Europe. This explains the similarities between Russian pelmeni, Turkish manti and Italian ravioli. Each region has developed the basic idea further and adapted it to local ingredients, preparation methods and food culture. To make Chinese dumplings at home, cookbook author Orathay Souksisavanh suggests that you use ready-made dough from the supermarket. “All the ready-made doughs available in grocery stores are very practical and save time,” she says. Use fresh dough without preservatives or additives. Leistner also advises using ready-made dough. “Thinly rolled shortcrust pastry from the supermarket works surprisingly well as a quick home-made version: fill, fold, cook – done.” For those who want to go the authentic route, he recommends wonton wrappers from Asian shops, which are usually frozen. “Just thaw and unwrap – that’s how you get the original at home,” he says. Chef and cookbook author Joana Gimbutyte says her family regularly prepared home-made dumplings during her childhood in Lithuania – not least because they are relatively easy to make. “Many doughs consist of only a few ingredients, and there are virtually no limits to creativity when it comes to fillings.” Shaping them requires a little practice. However, it does not take long to get the hang of it. She recommends starting with simple doughs such as pasta made from flour, water and a little oil. The right consistency is crucial – the dough should be neither too dry nor too sticky. Thorough kneading by hand, or with a mixer or food processor, makes a dumpling smooth and supple. Afterwards, let it rest to make it easier to work with. Use either wheat flour or starch for the dough, Souksisavanh says. For dough made from wheat flour (type 550), “the key to success is to mix the flour with boiling water and knead immediately while the dough is still hot”. As soon as the boiling water comes into contact with the flour, it cools down and you can easily work the dough by hand. The higher temperature makes the texture of the dough much more delicate and softer than dough made with cold water. Leistner says beginners should try their hand at half-moon-shaped jiaozi or Japanese gyoza. The thin dough is easy to shape and fold into a half-moon. You fill them with minced pork or tofu and finely chopped Chinese cabbage, ginger and garlic, then cook the dumplings in a pan. Depending on the culture, potato dough, yeast dough or puff pastry can also be used. Baos or baozi, which originate from northern China and remind Souksisavanh of her childhood, are made with yeast dough and usually steamed. Her favourites are “Mama’s Baos” filled with minced pork belly and diced vegetables. “We spent a lot of time back then trying to find an extra-fluffy dough that was somewhere between a French croissant and a Chinese bao,” she says. Gimbutyte loves koldunai from her Lithuanian homeland, filled with vegetables, meat or something sweet. “They remind me of my childhood and family celebrations, where dumplings were a part of the tradition,” she says. Vegetarian mushroom dumplings are a must, especially at Christmas. Italian cookbook author Laura Zavan enjoys inviting friends over and preparing fresh ravioli with them, which everyone can fill as they like. “Ravioli generally refers to filled pasta – but depending on the region, they can have different shapes and names. Sometimes the shape gives them their name, but sometimes it’s the region or the filling,” she says in her cookbook about ravioli. Zavan’s simple recipe is home-made pasta dough filled with cheese, vegetables, meat or fish. She varies the shapes – semicircular, square, straight or twisted – and cooks them al dente. Then she just tosses the parcels in butter or serves them with sage or tomato sauce for a simple but tasty treat.

How dumplings spread across Asia and Europe and tips on making your own

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From ravioli to gyoza and pierogi, dumplings are one of the world’s most popular foods. Find out how easy they are to make at home

From ravioli to gyoza and pierogi, dumplings are one of the world’s most popular foods. Find out how easy they are to make at home