There is a proverb in Chinese folklore, called "Li Dong makes up for winter, make up for the emptiness of the mouth". At this time of year, people in southern China usually make a side stove at home, eat lamb, or stew a pot of fragrant sesame oil chicken; northerners use the magic weapon of the festival - dumplings. The family sat around, mixed the noodles, mixed the filling, rolled the skin, kneaded the dumplings one by one, put them in the pot, waited for the pot to open, and finally put it out and ate it.
Although the dumplings are delicious, the taste is the essence. In addition to the beautiful meaning of the alternation of the old and the new, the farewell to the old and the welcome of the new, there is also the "sense of ceremony" of the whole family to make dumplings together, and the juicy stuffing wrapped in the q-bullet dough skin, making dumplings a comfortable food, making people can't help but want to eat.
Once full of the idea that "China's moon is not round abroad", when they go abroad, they often encounter the confusion of "dumplings can't taste Chinese taste". Some attribute it to: the type of raw materials, processing and storage methods, the content and type of impurities in the water, and the proportion of condiments. However, they feel that their feelings are still "important". There is no déjà vu environment, and no matter how delicious they eat, they will be slightly inferior.
Buying some Chinese-made frozen dumplings from Chinese supermarkets and using hometown flavors to comfort them is indeed the solution. But instead of sitting alone at the dinner table and looking at a plate of dumplings "uniformly customized" by an emotionless machine, inviting two or three friends out to taste foreign "dumplings" may play a warmer role.
Speaking of "dumplings", many Chinese will insist that dumplings are a delicious food invented by Chinese ancestors! However, when talking about food with friends from Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, India, Turkey and even the Czech Republic, they proudly call dumplings a traditional diet invented by their ancestors. Dumplings are Chinese, but tumblling is a world food.
Among them, Japan and South Korea are the most deeply influenced by China, and their "dumplings" are the closest to Chinese dumplings in terms of shape and taste. In addition, the dumplings most similar in northern China are the Polish pierogis. Half moon shaped, thin skin and large filling... Not only are the shapes similar, but the Polish love dumplings to a degree comparable to those found in northern China. Someone once described the relationship between Poland and dumplings – all Polish restaurants around the world sell dumplings. If Polish women could cook, they would make dumplings.
Compared to the image of Polish dumplings, the Russian "dumplings", pelmeni (round meat dumplings), taste more like in China. If you can ignore the fact that the dumplings are soaked in sour cream, you can see a steaming bowl of dumpling soup, and enthusiastic Russians invite you to drink vodka. It always gives people a feeling of "dumplings are wine, the more you drink, the more you have".
Not only does Italy have noodles of various shapes, but "dumplings" are also famous. Goat cheese, pumpkin puree, beets and other pocket-in-pocket pasta are mixed with a variety of rich sauces, complemented by onions, lemon peels and nutmeg. A completely different kind of Italian dumpling from Chinese dumplings appeared.
In addition, there are many kinds of "dumplings" in the world, such as mant in Turkey, empanada in South America, mo-mo in Nepal... They look like dumplings, eat like dumplings, or have no dumplings at all. They taste even more different, but they can make a wandering heart feel more of a sense of belonging.
What dumplings did you eat today? Let's share it!