Dumplings Of The World, Unite!

A tour of some of the planet's most delicious dumplings, concentrating on ones that don't get enough attention.

Momo

Wikipedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

Momo (derived from the Tibetan "mogmog") are eaten in Tibet, Nepal, and Tibetan and Nepalese communities in nearby Bhutan. They're made of a thin, tender wheat dough wrapped around meat (usually pork, chicken, goat, or buffalo), onions, fresh coriander, and other herbs and spices, and steamed. Vegetable varieties are also popular. They're often served with a chili sauce or oil.

Har Gow (Xia Jiao)

Wikipedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

These Cantonese shrimp dumplings are made of pounded minced shrimp or prawns, mixed with ginger, white pepper, sesame oil, and a few other ingredients, and wrapped in a dough made from wheat and tapioca starch.

Semmelknödel

Chef Koch / Via chefkoch.de

These German bread dumplings are made of crumbled bread, chopped parsley, butter, eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. The crumbled bread is soaked in milk before incorporating the other ingredients and forming the dumplings. Then they're simmered in broth until cooked, and served alongside a beef stew, or roast pork.

Kreplekh

Kosher Like Me / Via kosherlikeme.com

Kreplekh are Ashkenazi Jewish soup dumplings, usually filled with minced chicken and served in "golden broth" (a chicken or goose stock), sometimes with vegetables like carrots or celery.

Gondi

World Cup of Food / Via worldcupoffood.wordpress.com

Somewhere between a dumpling and a meatball, gondi is a Persian Jewish dish made from ground meat (chicken, lamb or veal) and chickpea flour. The dumplings are flavoured with parsley, onions, and turmeric, and served in a chicken broth with zucchini and carrots.

Siopao

Pinay in Texas / Via Flickr: pinayintexascookingcorner

Siopao are a Filipino take on the Chinese char siu bao. These steamed dumplings are made from a wheat flour dough wrapped around a filling (either asado, or barbecue pork; bola bola, a combination of pork, chicken, beef, shrimp or salted duck egg).

Khinkali

Georgian Journal / Via georgianjournal.ge

Khinkali are dumplings from the country of Georgia. Fillings vary, but are often type of meat, whether lamb, chicken, beef, or pork. Fresh coriander (cilantro) and/or parsley are often added to the ground meat mixture, and the finished dumplings are topped with ground black pepper.

Uszka

Zakochanewzupach.pl / Via zakochanewzupach.pl

Uszka are small, bite-sized Polish dumplings filled with mushrooms and onions, and sometimes meat. After the dough has been filled, the dumplings are boiled. They are often eaten in barszcz (borscht) soup.

Hallacas (hayacas)

Wikipedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

Hallacas are a Latin American dumpling similar to a tamale with many regional variations that originated in Indigenous cuisines. Dough made from masa flour (specially treated ground corn) is spread inside a plantain leaf, and filled with meat (usually pork, but sometimes other meats) and then tied tightly before boiling.

Chuchvara

Wikipedia / Via en.wikipedia.org

Chuchvara are an Uzbek dumpling made from a wheat dough wrapped around meat, onions, herbs, salt, black pepper and sometimes tomatoes, and boiled. They can be served with sour cream or yogurt, and fresh chopped coriander (cilantro).