One of my favorite things to eat all year round is dumplings. Not the cooked balls of dough made from flour, potato, or matzo meal (I love those too) but the ones that are filled with luscious bits of meat, shrimp, vegetables, and cheese. There are so many kinds of dumplings made from various regions of the world. It is a global fare that includes the samosa and karchori from India, Korean mandu, Japanese fried gyoza, Chinese wonton and potsticker, the Russian piroshki, Ukrainian vareniki, Poland’s pierogi, Turkish manti, and kreplach from the Eastern European Jews. Let’s not forget our favorite, ravioli !
Dumplings satiate the tastes of many because they can envelop sweet, savory or spicy fillings. They can be boiled, fried, steamed and seeped in sauces, or nuzzled against vegetables and noodles in soups. Depending on the type of dumpling, they can be used as appetizers, for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. I can snack on them all day long and never be bored. They can even be made in your own kitchen! I don’t have to go to a dim sum restaurant to enjoy them. All kinds of dumpling wrappers are now accessible in supermarkets and specialty food markets and they are so much fun to make in a group. Be careful, once you get started, you can’t just eat one!
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