Page 37 - Valley Table - Spring 2022

“There are some foods that just make sense no matter where you are. Dumplings are one of them,” says Willa Zhen, Ph.D., a liberal arts and food studies professor at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. “There might be different ways to season dumplings or ways to fold and cook them. But at the core, humans aren’t that different. We all arrived at the same idea that fillings stuffed and wrapped into a dough are tasty.”
Simply defined, a dumpling is a dough wrapped around a filling. Perhaps the reason why people are enamored with them is because dumplings are so versatile: They can be boiled, steamed, fried, or baked and filled with pretty much anything you can think of.
We can probably thank the
Silk Road for the globalization of dumplings (in addition to other favorite foods, like pasta and nuts). While Italian merchant Marco Polo traveled east and trekked along the trade route in the late 1200s, goods like textiles, spices, tea, porcelain, and even dumplings from China spread like wildfire to the West. Jiaozi—the crescent-shaped Chinese dumpling most of us are familiar with—first trickled into regions of Mongolia, Korea, and the Himalayas from China. It’s possible that merchants sold dumplings to passersby, or the recipe traveled by word of mouth. Over time, jiaozi adapted again and again and through changes in ingredients, shape, and folding techniques, they morphed into the dumplings that we know and love today, including momos, mandu, and pithas.
As dumpling love spread west, they evolved even more. In Turkey, manti is similar in appearance to its Asian cousins, but highlights regional delicacies like spiced lamb, beef and even pumpkin. The same can be said for Georgian khinkali—they’re purse- shaped, like Chinese xiaolongbaos (soup dumplings), though are
stuffed with spiced ground meat or cheese, potatoes, and mushrooms.
“Dumplings are more alike than different. You’ll see similar shapes and sizes across different places. What makes dumplings feel like a particular group’s dumplings are the fillings and seasonings. As long as it tastes like your [country’s] food, it’s your food,” explains Zhen.
Zhen’s logic applies to dishes we might not directly connect to Asia, like pierogis and empanadas. Sure, they’re stuffed with potatoes, cheese, or ground meat and may not look like something you’d find on a dim sum platter—but they, too, have origins in the Silk Road and are dumplings by definition.
Beyond fillings, the biggest differences among dumplings
are shape and size. The shape is determined by its desired presentation, pairings, and eating style. Wontons
are small and dainty, meant to be eaten in one or two bites or dropped in soup; momos (Himalayan), har
gow (Chinese), and pierogis (Polish)
are dense and doughy, making them more flavor-packed and more satiating; and empanadas can be so big, they’re considered meals on their own. “Dumpling shapes and sizes have a huge impact on the texture. A one-bite nibble is a different experience from
a large hand pie,” says Zhen. Each dumpling shape and folding technique can change the taste, texture, and cooking technique.
There’s a reason why varieties look the way they do—they’re created to appeal to the culture that adapted them. “Can you imagine cooking
a pierogi in a broth? It would be a disaster. It’s folded that way because it’s meant to be fried. Or imagine pan frying tortellini instead of cooking them in a broth or sauce? It just wouldn’t work,” continues Zhen.
But there is one thing for certain: dumplings are delicious. Read on for a dumpling primer, plus the best places around the Hudson Valley to enjoy your favorite varieties. 
HAR GOW
36 THE VALLEY TABLE MARCH – MAY 2022