Dumplings Trivia | 30 facts about the Asian food

Dumpling is a broad class of dishes, which was “invented” in China. Despite that it can be found in different “forms” all over the world.

Let’s find out more about the dumplings!

1. Dumpling is a broad class of dishes.
2. It consists of pieces of dough (made from a variety of starch sources) wrapped around a filling, or of dough with no filling.
3. The dough can be based on bread, flour or potatoes.
4. Also, it may be filled with meat, fish, cheese, vegetables, fruits or sweets.
5. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of methods, including baking, boiling, frying, simmering or steaming and are found in many world cuisines.
6. Manti (also manty or mantu) is a steamed dumpling in Central Asian and Chinese Islamic cuisine. It contains a mixture of ground lamb (or beef) spiced with black pepper, enclosed in a dough wrapper.
7. Manti are cooked in a multi-level steamer (mantovarka) and served topped with butter, yogurt, sour cream, or onion sauce.
8. These dumplings are popular throughout Central Asia, including in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the Xinjiang region in China and the Caucasus.
9. Chuchvara is a very small boiled dumpling typical of Uzbek and Tajik cuisine. Made of unleavened dough squares filled with meat, it is similar to the Russian pelmeni and the Chinese wonton, but in observance of the Islamic dietary rules, the meat filling is without pork.
10. Chuchvara can be served in a clear soup or on their own, with vinegar or sauce based on finely chopped greens, tomatoes and hot peppers.
11. Another popular way of serving chuchvara is topped with suzma (strained qatiq) or with smetana (sour cream), Russian-style.
12. A legend goes that dumplings were first invented in the era of the Three Kingdoms, around 225 AD.
13. Zhuge Liang, a general and minister of Shu Han, dammed up a poison marsh on his southern campaign against the Nanman with dumplings instead of the heads that the Nanman used.
14. However, this legend is more commonly associated with the mantou (it is also pronounced as “mantou”).
15. Folk etymology connects the name mantou to a tale about Zhuge Liang.
16. Dumplings are the original, on-the-go food
17. A 13th century Mongol would deal with a bad and busy day by packing some manti to take with him.
18. Manti (also called manta) are believed to have originated with the Mongols, who by the late 13th century had conquered a sizable amount of Asia and Eastern Europe, and brought this particular style of dumpling with them all the way from China to Turkey during their series of conquests. Manti were filled with vegetables and/or with various meats (including horse!)
19. The Mongols may have taken the manti on the road while they pillaged their way to creating a far-flung empire, but they weren’t the first to do so.
20. The ancient Romans ate a kind of gnocchi made from semolina flour and eggs. It’s believed the Roman legions carried these gnocchi with them as their empire expanded.
21. As new populations came under the sway of the Roman Empire, they also adopted the gnocchi recipe.
22. One the richest men in China made his fortune from the production of dumplings. Surgeon turned businessman Chen Zemin always enjoyed fiddling with electronics, fixing old appliances and cooking. He combined these hobbies to create Sanquan Foods, a frozen food company.
23. Zemin patented a method of freezing rice balls that wouldn’t spoil their texture while his second patent stopped rice balls from getting freezer burn, (which was also applicable to pot stickers).
24. According to Forbes.com, as of October 2014, Zemin and his family are worth about $970 million.
25. Not all dumplings are savory. The modak, which hail from India, are filled with grated coconut and cane sugar, making them sweet. They are bell-shaped and bear a striking resemblance in their shape to Hershey kisses, although they are larger in size and, of course, made of dough rather than chocolate.
26. During the Hindu festival Ganesha Chaturthi, twenty-one modaks are offered to Lord Ganesh, god of wisdom, knowledge and new beginnings.
27. The Chinese aren’t the only people to shape their dumplings like ears. The Poles eat their own version of ear-shaped dumplings called uszka, or “little ears.”
28. Uszka can be filled with meat or mushrooms, and their diminutive size makes them the perfect companion to red borscht.
29. The original Roman gnocchi were made out of semolina. Potatoes were only available in Europe and Asia following their discovery in the Americas, many centuries later. Thus the potato gnocchi were first produced after the 16th century. Potato dumplings aren’t just found in the Italian peninsula.
30. Throughout Northern and Central Europe, you can find all kinds of potato-based dumplings including the German Kartoffelknoedel and the Swedish pitepalt, which are usually served as a side dish for meat. In the Czech Republic and Hungary, potato dumplings can contain small, whole fruit like plums and apricots and are often served with butter and sugar. Probably the most decadent of the potato dumplings come from Slovakia. Bryndzové halušky are small dumplings that are served with sheep milk cheese and bacon.