All the Chinese Dumplings You Never Knew Existed
Photo credit: Getty
Chinese New Year is here. It begins January 31st, and celebrations will last a little more than two weeks. Naturally, we have Chinese food on the brain. Specifically, Chinese dumplings.
For the purpose of this piece, we’ll define dumplings as pockets of dough containing sweet or savory fillings. But here’s the thing: a dumpling is not a dumpling is not a dumpling. There are dozens (and dozens) of varieties out there, from fluffy char siu bao to velvety wontons.
Below, we’ve rounded up a number of popular types, although they’re just the tip of the iceberg. We bet you’ve tried one or two of them before; now you’ll know what to call them.
Guo Tie
Photo credit: Rachel Tepper
Guo tie are a pan-fried type of jiaozi, which is a catch-all term for pouch-shaped dumplings. In Mandarin Chinese, “guo" means "pot" and "tie" means "to stick," which is why this variety is also called a "potsticker." Potstickers come stuffed with things like pork, shrimp, beef, chicken, vegetables, and various combinations of all five. All types of jiaozi are traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year.
Shuijiao
Photo credit: Flickr/kawanet
Shuijiao, another type of jiaozi, are boiled. Like guo tie, they can be filled with any number of things, from pork to shrimp to veggies.
Zhengjiao
Photo credit: Flickr/jasonlam
Zhengjiao is the last type of jiaozi on our list. It can have the same fillings as other jiaozi, but zhengjiao dumplings are always steamed.
Sheng Jian Bao
Photo credit: Rachel Tepper
This Shanghai specialty is first steamed, then pan-fried to give it a crispy bottom. They’re filled with pork and gelatin, which melts into a soup-like liquid when cooked.
Xiao Long Bao
Photo credit: Flickr/Charles Haynes
In the United States, these silky, liquid-filled parcels are known as “soup dumplings.” They can have a variety of fillings; these are stuffed with crab meat.
Shaomai
Photo credit: Rachel Tepper
The word shaomai is spelled a ton of different ways in English (shui mai, shu mai, sui mai, shui mei… you get the picture), but all refer to an open dumpling made with a very thin wrapper. They’re usually steamed, and arrive containing delicious foods such as pork, shrimp, and vegetables.
Wonton
Photo credit: Flickr/avlxyz
You’ve probably enjoyed wontons bobbing in hot bowls of noodle soup. They’re made with a thin, silky wrapper and often filled with ground pork and shrimp. In soup, they’re wonderfully slick and slurp-able. A deep-fried version filled with cream cheese, often seen in U.S. Chinese restaurants, is a distinctly American phenomenon.
Char Siu Bao
Photo credit: Flickr/jessicafm
These fluffy white buns, filled with sweet, sticky barbecued pork, are a popular dim sum treat. They come in two varieties: steamed (above) and baked.
Har Gow
Photo credit: Rachel Tepper
Translucent, steamed har gow are another dim sum specialty. They’re most always filled with balls of shrimp flavored with bits of pork, scallions, and bamboo shoots.
Hungry yet? Us too. Get thee to a dumpling house, pronto. (See you there.)
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