{"id":629,"date":"2012-05-30T20:30:30","date_gmt":"2012-05-31T00:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=629"},"modified":"2012-05-30T20:35:53","modified_gmt":"2012-05-31T00:35:53","slug":"dumplings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/dumplings\/","title":{"rendered":"Dumplings (\u997a\u5b50\uff09"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0A fellow \u8001\u5916 studying abroad with me in China once said that “A man can live off of dumplings and beer alone, and it ain’t a bad existence”. True words probably haven’t ever been spoken.<\/p>\n

For a mere \u5341\u5feb (sh\u00ed ku\u00e0i)-that’s a little under two us dollars- you get everything you need. The holy trifecta of meals: cheap, delicious, and easy to eat. They are the perfect food. Gloriously satisfying and easy on the wallet.<\/p>\n

Dumplings may be Chinese Foods’ greatest secret. It makes you wonder why dumplings aren’t served everywhere in the world. I’m amazed McDonalds doesn’t have a 10 piece McDumpling Meal.<\/p>\n

Enter the Dumpling:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are these delicious pouches of ground-up meat, vegetables and starch? Why are they so cheap and yet so fantastically good?<\/p>\n

Dumplings or \u997a\u5b50 (ji\u01ceozi) are one of China’s most recognizable and historical food stuffs, synonymous with luck or \u5e78\u8fd0 (x\u00ecngy\u00f9n), good fortune or \u65f6\u8fd0 (sh\u00edy\u00f9n) and happiness or \u5e78\u798f (x\u00ecngf\u00fa). While traditionally a dish eaten during holidays, celebrations and festivals, \u997a\u5b50 have evolved into a staple of every day life in China and range from fast food to go boxes, to fine dining, multiple course meals.<\/p>\n

Watch how to make your own dumplings here:<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=P4sit7MT1kM&feature=related<\/a><\/p>\n

You are what you eat<\/strong><\/p>\n

Much like \u4e32\u513f (chu\u00e0n<\/a>er)\uff0cdumplings are comfort food, all wrapped up in a neat little package in bite-size form. They travel well, keep well and are entirely self-contained. As a result, they can be found on almost any street corner or in any hole-in-the-wall restaurant. The trick is finding a place that specializes specifically in dumplings, which is rather easy so long as you recognize the characters for it.<\/p>\n

Why so prevalent? The reason for this is simple: “dumpling folk” take pride in their work, and over decades (if not centuries) have mastered the exact proportions and specific mixtures of ingredients that maximizes complimentary tastes within these palatable pouches. The dough must be thin enough to not infringe on the flavorful filling, yet thick enough not to fall apart. It may look easy to make, but a true dumpling is a culmination of years of practice and experimentation (believe me, I made dumplings with my host family and they were mediocre at best).<\/p>\n

Variety: the spice of life<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the real reason why dumplings are king is the variety, both in filling and in preparation. Aside from the basic steamed \u997a\u5b50\uff0c there are a plethora of cooking variations used namely: fried dumplings \u70b8(zh\u00e1)\u997a\u5b50\uff0cpot stickers (\u9505\u8d34\u513f gu\u014dti\u0113r), boiled dumplings (\u6c34\u997a shu\u01d0ji\u01ceo), shumai (actually pronounced sh\u0101o m\u00e0i or \u713c\u58f2) and even dumplings with sauce and juices inside, much like \u5c0f\u9f99\u62a5 b\u00e0o (a personal favorite). Once you’ve decided upon how to cook your dumpling, you then you have pages and pages of options of filling to decide amongst, including every imaginable meat, seafood, or veggie mixture in the Chinese cookbook.<\/p>\n

Some Examples:<\/p>\n

\u732a\u8089\u767d\u83dc-Pork and “Cabbage”
\n\u725b\u8089\u9752\u83dc\uff0dBeef and leek
\n\u5c0f\u9f99\u5305\uff0dA mixture of animal stock broth, pork and bamboo shoots<\/p>\n

How to eat:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Eating dumplings is pretty straightforward. All you really need is some basic chopstick skills, a side plate and some dipping sauce that you make yourself. This is my favorite part of a dumpling feast and really lets you add your own special flavor to the meal.<\/p>\n

When eating dumplings, you will have a small side plate to mix your sauce in. Most restaurants provide vinegar or \u9999\u918b (xi\u0101n\u0261c\u00f9), spicy pepper sauce or \u8fa3\u6912 (l\u00e0ji\u0101o), and garlic cloves or \u5927\u849c (d\u00e0su\u00e0n), for you to mash, mix and stir into your plate. This dipping sauce is entirely your call, so you can play around with your palate finding the perfect blend of sweet, spicy, savory and sour.The only tricky part is making sure your dumplings don’t belly flop from your chopsticks into the plate, spraying everyone at the table with your vinegary concoction (my \u8001\u5916 friend was an expert in spattering the table with his super spicy mixture-every time).<\/p>\n

When you order dumplings, you often order by weight, instead of quantity. Sizes are usually half a kilo \u534a\u516c\u65a4 bang\u014dngj\u012bn for a plate or \u4e00\u76d8 (yip\u00e1n), or for those “starving to death” or \u997f\u6b7b\u4e86(\u00e8s\u01d0le), the full kilogram or \u516c\u65a4. Just be mindful of how many of these guys you eat, otherwise you’ll start looking like a stuffed \u997a\u5b50 yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

\u00a0A fellow \u8001\u5916 studying abroad with me in China once said that “A man can live off of dumplings and beer alone, and it ain’t a bad existence”. True words probably haven’t ever been spoken. For a mere \u5341\u5feb (sh\u00ed ku\u00e0i)-that’s a little under two us dollars- you get everything you need. The holy trifecta…<\/p>\n

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