Shanghai's signature dish, xiaolongbao is a steamed, soup-filled dumpling, characterized by its distinct purse-like shape, with a pinched top and with ripples coming down its sides, a design specifically chosen with the filling in mind, as that way it is less likely the liquid will pour out.
The dough is made with just flour, salt, and hot water, making the wrappers elastic and able to hold the filling better. The trick to filling the dumplings with soup is making the soup in the form of a meat broth jelly, which is mixed with the filling, traditionally pork, but today, the fillings have further diversified to include other kinds of meats and seafood, such as shrimp, crab, and roe and even vegetables.
TIME
- Preparation time: 40 min
- Cooking time: 10 min
- Total time: 50 min
Belonging to a group of Chinese jiaozi dumplings, guotie, also known as potstickers, are prepared by searing the bottom part while the rest of the dumpling is steamed, thus creating a play on textures. The preparation begins with making the dough for the wrappers from just flour, salt, and warm water.
The dough is then left to rest, and in the meantime, the filling is prepared by mixing minced pork, best if minced by hand using a cleaver, and minced cabbage with, including but not limited to, sesame oil, shrimp, ginger, scallions, peanut oil, soy sauce, and rice wine.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h 10 min
- Cooking time: 15 min
- Total time: 1 h 25 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tangbao is a type of Chinese baozi dumpling that is characterized by the fact that it has a soup filling. It is said that it was first created in Kaifeng, Henan, during Song dynasty. There are many varieties throughout China, xiaolongbao being one of them.
They will vary in size, from small to very large ones, and in the fillings, with the most typical ones being pork, crab roe, crab and pork filling. They are steamed and served with a dipping sauce that needs to have some acidity to cut through the greasiness and oiliness.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h
- Cooking time: 2 h 40 min
- Total time: 27 h 40 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
A member of a world-popular family of dumplings, Turkish manti is a delicious pasta dish traditionally filled with onion, ground meat (most commonly lamb or beef) and spices, covered with aromatic yogurt-garlic sauce and drizzled with tangy red pepper-tomato sauce.
The city of Kayseri in Central Anatolia is known for making the best manti, while in Eastern Anatolia a vegetarian version prevails, filled with crushed chickpeas, cumin, and red pepper flakes. First, a dough is prepared by mixing flour, water, salt, and sometimes eggs, and is then rolled out thinly and cut into small squares.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h
- Cooking time: 25 min
- Total time: 1 h 25 min
Pierogi are considered the star dish of Polish cuisine, known and beloved in Poland and worldwide. These versatile and hearty dumplings are made from a simple, unleavened dough made with flour, water, and sometimes egg that is rolled out thin and then filled with various stuffings, both savory and sweet.
The most common fillings include: cheese and potato, meat, sauerkraut and mushroom combo, sweetened farmers' cheese, and blueberry. They vary in size, from the very small ones known as uszka to large ones, and are usually shaped as half-moons.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h 30 min
- Cooking time: 3 h
- Total time: 4 h 30 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
A member of the large family of Chinese dumplings jiaozi, shuǐjiǎo — meaning simply boiled dumplings — is a dish which is both everyday and festive. Served as a street food, in traditional restaurants, and on special occasions such as the Chinese New Year or family gatherings, shuǐjiǎo is a blank canvas whose fillings reflects the seasons, the region it is coming from, and personal taste.
The preparation of shuǐjiǎo requires quite a lot of skill and time; therefore it is common to make it a group project. Usually, the filling is made with ground pork, Chinese sauerkraut, onions, scallions, garlic chives, prawns, cabbage, and mushrooms, but an entire array of other ingredients may be included.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h
- Cooking time: 15 min
- Total time: 1 h 15 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Khinkali are the omnipresent Georgian dumplings that are very similar to the Chinese xiaolongbao in that both have a liquid and a filling inside. And given that khinkali are said to have Mongol origins, the similarity should not come as a surprise at all.
The khinkali are said to originate in the mountainous regions of Georgia, with people from both the Tusheti and the Pshavi regions claiming their region to be the birthplace of one of the nation’s most beloved dishes. In the traditional and original version, that from the mountains, khinkali are prepared with a simple dough made with flour, salt, and water and filled with knife-minced lamb seasoned with begkondara, a type of thyme.
TIME
- Preparation time: 2 h 30 min
- Cooking time: 40 min
- Total time: 3 h 50 min
MAIN INGREDIENTS
The most popular of the entire pierogi group, pierogi ruskie are crescent-shaped dumplings filled with a mixture of potatoes, twaróg (most similar to farmer cheese, but also curd, quark, and cottage cheese), and sautéed onions. The dough is made with flour, salt, and water, but some recipes also include eggs and milk.
The filling is prepared by first boiling potatoes, then mashing them and mixing them with cheese and sautéed onions. The dough is rolled out and cut into circles which are topped with a dab of filling, then folded over and crimped along the edges.
TIME
- Preparation time: 2 h
- Cooking time: 30 min
- Total time: 3 h
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Bryndzové halušky is a traditional Slovak dish, celebrated as one of the national dishes of Slovakia. It consists of small, soft potato dumplings (halušky) mixed with bryndza, a soft, sheep milk cheese that is creamy and slightly tangy in flavor.
The dish is often topped with smoked bacon or bacon bits, which add a crispy texture and rich flavor to the creamy, soft dumplings and cheese mixture.
TIME
- Preparation time: 40 min
- Cooking time: 20 min
- Total time: 1 h
A Cantonese creation and the traditional part of a dim sum meal, cha siu bao is a pork roast bun that can be either steamed or baked, steamed cha siu buns being the better-known of the two. The two components needed to make the buns are the dough and the filling.
The dough is characterized by its sweet and pillowy texture, which is due to the special method of preparation: it’s made days in advance with low-gluten flour and a starter, and the use of ammonium carbonate and baking powder causes the buns to split open during steaming.
TIME
- Preparation time: 1 h
- Cooking time: 40 min
- Total time: 4 h 10 min
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