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History & Culture

The Mysterious Origin of Chinese Dumplings

Dumplings are Chinese, right? Or are they from Japan? Word on the street says they’re actually Korean. Except, weren’t they made in Turkey first? Let’s get to the bottom of where dumplings actually come from and discover how to make them at home.

When you imagine dumplings, it’s probably the Chinese wonton or jiaozi that comes to mind - ground meat or dumplings wrapped in a thin piece of dough. But wrapping meat, vegetables and cheese into dough is quite a universal gesture when it comes to cooking. Technically speaking, dumplings include dishes like Indian samosas, Polish pirogis, Italian ravioli and Argentina’s empanadas. But who invented dumplings first?

Chinese jiaozi is the most iconic meatball dumpling. But dumplings come in many forms and with many different fillings across cultures. Photo credit: China Photos via Getty Images.

Chinese jiaozi is the most iconic meatball dumpling. But dumplings come in many forms and with many different fillings across cultures. Photo credits: China Photos via Getty Images. 

What is a dumpling?

 First, let’s unfold a burning question: what is, and what is not a dumpling? We commonly use the word dumpling to describe a bit of filling wrapped in a piece of dough, cooked by simmering, steaming, or frying. But the English language term first emerged in the 17th century, to describe a small lump of dough, with no trace of any filling.

 The word dumpling can refer to several different dishes in China. Depending on which region you’re in, you can find yourself eating jiaozi, baozi, mantou, siomai, or many other kinds of dumplings. Exactly what fillings they contain and how they are cooked varies across regions.

Employees make steamed buns (or Mantou) to ensure Spring Festival market supply on February 6, 2024 in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province of China. A Chinese woman is seen making Baozi in a small street stall on April 10, 2017 in Yuanjiacun, China.

Mantou (steamed unfilled buns) and baozi (steamed and filled round dumplings) are traditional variations of Chinese dumplings. Photo credits: Shi Bufa and Ian Hitchcock via Getty Images.

So, when and where were dumplings invented?

 Dumplings can be found in nearly every cuisine in the world - but who invented them first?

We can’t be sure exactly where they came from first, but the first written account of what could be called a dumpling can be found 1700 years ago by a Chinese poet called Shu Xi, who describes how to make mantou. But Shu Xi notes that the dish is not native to China.1

According to linguists, mantou is obviously not an ancient Chinese word. It may come from the Turkic manti -  lamb stuffed dumplings flavoured with garlic, yoghurt, and herbs, which were an Ottoman Empire treat circa 1300 CE.2

Manti is a kind of Turkish Dumpling. Artisanal pasta makers

Modern Turkish manti are different from Chinese manti. They are stuffed fresh pasta served in broth or with yoghurt and garlic, making them similar to Italian cappelletti. Photo credits: Feifei Cui-Paoluzzo and Roberto Serra via Getty Images.

The truth is that there are many different legends around the origin of dumplings and we don’t know for sure where they came from first. They might have been invented in different places at the same time. 

How dumplings took over the world

 No matter where they first came from, dumplings seem to have largely spread from Northern China to other countries. For example, the 13th-century Mongol invasions brought dumplings to Korea, where two dumplings similar to the Chinese jiaozi and baozi are collectively known as mandu

Yakigyoza (Japanese pan fried gyoza 餃子) food stall at the 41st Meguro Pacific Saury Festival, Tokyo, Japan, September 16, 2018. Volunteers make varenyky for Ukrainian service members and refugees. Female volunteers have grouped together provide support for refugees and Ukrainian troops, Lviv, Ukraine, the 17th March of 2022.

Japanese gyoza also has a distant European cousin - the Ukrainian varenyky, where the original meat and vegetable filling is replaced by cheese and potatoes. Photo credits: DigiPub and Mykola Tys via Getty Images. 

More recently, the occupation of China by Japan during World War II created some new bridges between Chinese and Japanese cuisine. Indeed, what sounds like jiaozi more than… the Japanese gyoza?

 In the meantime, the original Turkish manti made its way to Poland, Georgia, and Russia alongside the expanding Ottoman empire. Look closer to the Polish pierogi: aren’t they just like manti?  And that’s not all: a similar dish called mantu can be found in Afghanistan or Armenia. In Nepal, another variety called momo is very popular.

Family members make 'jiaozi' (Chinese dumplings stuffed with meat and/or vegetables) for dinner on the Chinese New Year's Eve in the village of Yangxi on February 17, 2007 in Fuxian County of Shaanxi Province, China.

Jiaozi dumplings are part of the many customs linked to the Lunar New Year, bringing the community together to cook and share meals. Photo credits: China Photos via Getty Images. 

The more we look into the origin of dumplings, one thing becomes clear - food both defines and unites our cultures. We might put different twists on this dish depending on where we are from, but families and friends have been sitting down to share a variation of dumplings across continents for over a thousand years! 

Why do Chinese people eat dumplings for the Lunar New Year?

 In Northern China, families cook and eat jiaozi to celebrate the transition from an old year to a new one. The shape of the dumplings is similar to an old ingot - a block of silver or gold - so they are shared with family to symbolise financial prosperity. A tradition in Northern China involves hiding a coin inside a jiaozi to bring luck to whoever finds it.3

Southern China doesn’t share this history, but people move around often these days, and immigrants from the North have increasingly brought the tradition to the South. That said, Chinese New Year food traditions are as diverse as the country’s landscape and culture.4

Fully-automated gyoza-making machine on display at the International Food Machinery & Technology Exhibition ''FOOMA JAPAN'' 2018 in Tokyo Big Sight on June 15, 2018, Tokyo, Japan. Utsunomiya 'Yasai Gyoza' (vegetable filled fried Chinese dumplings) in paper box package which has a transparent window on it Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan April 5, 2015.

Japanese gyoza are very familiar in European restaurants nowadays and are becoming more popular in supermarkets. Photo credits: Alessandro Di Ciommo and Jiangang Wang via Getty Images. 

Why are dumplings so popular?

 Dumplings have become a surprising success on the global food scene, combining universal taste with tradition. The dumpling market is estimated to be worth around 23 billion euros and is expected to increase by around 4.5 billion euros between 2023 and 2028, according to a report by industry analysts Technavio.5

Frozen ready-to-eat products are on the rise, and the increased demand for convenient meals among single-person households worldwide during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is turning the century-old dish into an easily marketable product.6

To recognise handmade dumplings from industrial ones, pay attention to the folds: the machine-made dumplings will have unnaturally identical folds, while the handmade ones might be slightly uneven.

But have you ever tried making dumplings at home? If it feels too intimidating, you can start by buying pre-rolled dumpling wrappers and just making the filling. And once you’ve mastered the beginner level, you can always move on to dough making later!

If you feel like doing an intensive dumpling session, you can prepare a large batch and freeze it. Be sure to freeze the raw dumplings on a tray first, paying attention to space them so they don’t stick to each other. Once frozen, you can pack them in air-tight bags, ready to cook for busy days!

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