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.”

饺子，是中国的古老传统面食之一，相传是中国医圣张仲景发明，距今已有一千八百多年历史。饺子深受中国广大人民的喜爱，也是年节食品。

欧洲民众，则有圣诞节吃饺子的传统。随着移民传到新大陆，在美国、加拿大的一些社区，还有自发的“饺子节”。

饺子，在波兰叫pierogi，乌克兰叫varenyky，俄罗斯叫pelmeni，立陶宛叫koldunai，斯洛伐克叫pirohy，意大利叫raviol，德国有maultaschen……

面皮做法与中国类似，有的会加入鸡蛋，馅可荤可素。做法可煎、可煮、可炖、可烤，还有外面裹一圈培根这种暴力吃法。

美国国家广播（NPR）记者Carolyn Beans，回忆起奶奶做的饺子。

“平安夜晚餐属于奶奶。奶奶是完美主义者，饺子是她餐桌上明星。奶奶去世以后，我们无论再怎么做，都没有奶奶当年的味道。不管味道怎样，平安夜绝对不能没有饺子。我想，奶奶也是这样想的。”

但欧洲饺子是怎么来的？大家观点一致：马可·波罗从中国带来的。

为什么欧洲人圣诞节吃饺子？历史上的罗马教廷笃信圣诞节要从俭、清淡。机智的欧洲人民想到流传已久的秘方：素馅饺子。

平安夜（12月24号）“一切从俭”以后，圣诞节（12月25号）便穷奢极侈。圣诞晚上，各种烤鹅烤鸭烤鱼烤肉统统上桌。

现在，欧洲圣诞节的宗教意味并不浓厚，而是全家团聚的日子，肉馅饺子也重新回到餐桌。

2017年，我在一个德国小伙伴家里过节，吃到好几种饺子。平安夜，一大家人从下午开始就红红火火地和面、剁馅、包饺子。还做了含有多种肉类的酸菜大乱炖。

一瞬间，以为穿越到东北。

最让人惊艳的，是一种类似锅贴的波兰小食——乌兹卡。馅是山上采的野生牛肝菌，配上野山菌熬的高汤，村里酿的秋收雷司令葡萄酒，美不胜收。

其实，土耳其的Manti、黎巴嫩的Shish Barak等等，也像中国的饺子，也是他们的美食。

也许，在人类文明的黎明时分，就有那么一大家人。他们收起一整年的奔波劳碌，坐在一起，和面、包馅、捏皮、煮水。火光照亮他们疲惫的笑脸，一切寒冷与争斗，都被拒门外。

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)

暴力饺子 Bacon-wrapped dumplings

俄罗斯饺子 Russian dumplings: pelmeni

德国饺子 German dumplings: maultaschen

波兰饺子 Polish dumplings: pierogi