Dumpling Time Abroad

By Kong Daren

Dumplings (called Jiaozi in Chinese) are a staple food of China. Legend has it that they were invented one-thousand eight hundred years ago by a sage of Chinese medicine named Zhang Zhongjing. They are a perennial favorite of the Chinese people who eat them at festival times.

Dumplings are also a traditional food in Europe and are eaten at Christmas time. With the emigration to the New World, certain areas of America and Canada celebrate“Dumpling Festival.”

Dumplings are called“pierogi”in Poland,“varenyky”in Ukraine,“pelmeni” in Russia, “koldunai” in Lithuania, “pirohy” in Solovakia, “ravioli” in Italy and “maultaschen” in Germany.

The dough skin is like the Chinese version no matter which recipe it is. Some are made with egg and can be stuffed with meat or vegetarian filling.They can be pan-fried, boiled, stewed or baked; and some are even wilder than that—they are wrapped in bacon.

American National public Radio (NPR)reporter Carolyn Beans recalled the dumplings her grandmother made for her as a child.“Christmas was my grandmother’s time to shine.She was a rigid perfectionist about how she made her dumplings and they were always featured prominently as the star attraction of her dinner table.After her passing we could never recapture the amazing flavor of the dumplings she used to serve us back then.But regardless of how they taste,dumplings are definitely a part of our Christmas dinner. I guess my grandma probably agreed with me.”

餃子，是中國的古老傳統面食之一，相傳是中國醫圣張仲景發明，距今已有一千八百多年歷史。餃子深受中國廣大人民的喜愛，也是年節食品。

歐洲民眾，則有圣誕節吃餃子的傳統。隨著移民傳到新大陸，在美國、加拿大的一些社區，還有自發的“餃子節”。

餃子，在波蘭叫pierogi，烏克蘭叫varenyky，俄羅斯叫pelmeni，立陶宛叫koldunai，斯洛伐克叫pirohy，意大利叫raviol，德國有maultaschen……

面皮做法與中國類似，有的會加入雞蛋，餡可葷可素。做法可煎、可煮、可燉、可烤，還有外面裹一圈培根這種暴力吃法。

美國國家廣播（NPR）記者Carolyn Beans，回憶起奶奶做的餃子。

“平安夜晚餐屬于奶奶。奶奶是完美主義者，餃子是她餐桌上明星。奶奶去世以后，我們無論再怎么做，都沒有奶奶當年的味道。不管味道怎樣，平安夜絕對不能沒有餃子。我想，奶奶也是這樣想的。”

但歐洲餃子是怎么來的？大家觀點一致：馬可·波羅從中國帶來的。

為什么歐洲人圣誕節吃餃子？歷史上的羅馬教廷篤信圣誕節要從儉、清淡。機智的歐洲人民想到流傳已久的秘方：素餡餃子。

平安夜（12月24號）“一切從儉”以后，圣誕節（12月25號）便窮奢極侈。圣誕晚上，各種烤鵝烤鴨烤魚烤肉統統上桌。

現在，歐洲圣誕節的宗教意味并不濃厚，而是全家團聚的日子，肉餡餃子也重新回到餐桌。

2017年，我在一個德國小伙伴家里過節，吃到好幾種餃子。平安夜，一大家人從下午開始就紅紅火火地和面、剁餡、包餃子。還做了含有多種肉類的酸菜大亂燉。

一瞬間，以為穿越到東北。

最讓人驚艷的，是一種類似鍋貼的波蘭小食——烏茲卡。餡是山上采的野生牛肝菌，配上野山菌熬的高湯，村里釀的秋收雷司令葡萄酒，美不勝收。

其實，土耳其的Manti、黎巴嫩的Shish Barak等等，也像中國的餃子，也是他們的美食。

也許，在人類文明的黎明時分，就有那么一大家人。他們收起一整年的奔波勞碌，坐在一起，和面、包餡、捏皮、煮水。火光照亮他們疲憊的笑臉，一切寒冷與爭斗，都被拒門外。

But where did European dumplings come from? Everyone is in complete agreement—Marco Polo brought them back from China.

Why do Europeans have dumplings at Christmas time?Historically, the Vatican held devoutly to the ideas of thrift and a diet consisting of light foods.The resourceful Europeans passed down a secret dumpling recipe:vegetable-filled dumplings.

After a “humble and thrifty”Christmas Eve (December 24),Christmas Day (December 25)is a day of extravagance and gluttony with all manner of baked goose, roast duck, broiled fish and barbecued meats making their way onto the traditional dinner table.

Lately the religious overtones of the European Christmas feast have gone by the wayside. It’s now mainly a day of family party or gathering, but dumplings have once again made their way back to the Christmas dinner table.

In 2017, I spent Christmas with a German business partner who gorged himself on dumplings. On the afternoon of Christmas Eve,the entire family began kneading dough and stuffing the Christmas dumplings with luscious filling.They even made one stuffed with meat and sauerkraut called“Bigos.”

In the blink of an eye we felt suddenly back in northeast China.

Most stunning is a certain kind of Polish pot sticker called Uszka filled with wild porcini mushrooms picked in the mountain. When served with a thin broth made with wild mushrooms and mountain-brewed Riesling wine, it just completes the picture of a perfect dining experience.

Actually, things like Turkish Manti and Lebanese Shish Barak are also really similar to Chinese dumplings and are considered a delicacy in their home country.

Most likely there was just one large family at the dawn of human civilization. After a whole year of battling for survival, they probably sat down together to knead up some dough, mix up some filling, enclose it in dough skins and toss them in a steaming vat of boiling water.The light must have glinted off of the bright smile on their otherwise exhausted faces as, for that brief shining moment in time they left the cold and their struggle for survival at the door and enjoyed a feast of piping hot, succulent dumplings.(Translation: Chase Coulson)

暴力餃子 Bacon-wrapped dumplings

俄羅斯餃子 Russian dumplings: pelmeni

德國餃子 German dumplings: maultaschen

波蘭餃子 Polish dumplings: pierogi