We have a terrific Chinese dumpling outlet near where I live in Sydney which serves great dumplings. But being of English descent, the dumplings from my food tradition are quite different, which has perplexed me for some time.
A dumpling is a boiled paste or a wrapping in which something is boiled. It comes from a Norfolk (south-eastern England) dialect dating from about 1600. The derivation may be from some Low German word or from “lump”.
The “-ling” suffix is a diminutive form, denoting the smaller version of something, e.g. a duckling is a small duck and a gosling is a small goose. So we assume dumpling may well have been a small lump (with a changed first letter).
The English dumpling
A traditional English dumpling is a simple dough ball made with flour, suet and a bit of salt that you cook on top of, and serve with, a stew.
The Chinese dumpling
Chinese dumplings can be meat, vegetables, or seafood fillings wrapped in wheat flour. Known as “jiaozi” (gyoza is the Japanese equivalent) they are boiled, steamed, or pan-fried.
Other dumplings
But here is my problem—in many international cuisines there are similar foodstuffs that are by definition dumplings but are never called dumplings.
The most obvious ones are Italian tortellini and ravioli. Never called dumplings, and yet in the way they are made and cooked, they are near identical to Chinese dumplings.
Italian gnocchi, also, is similar to English dumplings. Gnocchi is made from a mixture of egg, potato, flour or semolina. The word “gnocchi” literally means lumps (related to words for a knot in wood and knuckle).
The Polish have pierogi, a stuffed dumpling, often boiled, with a cheesy, creamy mashed potato filling. The Russian equivalent is the pirozhki—a small pie (pirog). And there are many more.
Actions required
So it is time to review the Dumpling Kingdom taxonomy. I think “dumpling” should be reserved for the stodgy English dough balls. These dough lumps are the true dumplings. More sophisticated versions should get their own names. Indeed the Chinese dumplings do have their own names and we should use them:
- GUO TIE—POTSTICKERS—pan-fried filled with meat or vegetables
- SHUI JIAO—WATER DUMPLINGS—boiled wheat-dough served with soy–vinegar sauce
- WONTON—SWALLOWING A CLOUD DUMPLING—light and thin-skinned served in broth or as a fried snack
- HAR GOW—SHRIMP DUMPLING— Cantonese translucent chewy starch wrapper with a prawn filling
- SIU MAI (or SHUMAI)—steamed and open-topped of pork or pork-and-prawn
- DAN JIAO—EGG DUMPLING—minced pork or shrimp wrapped in an omelette
- XIAO LONG BAO—SOUP DUMPLINGS—steamed containing meat and a gelatinised broth
- SHENG JIAN BAO—PAN-FRIED SOUP BUNS—bread-like buns filled with soupy meat, fried and steamed
- TANG YUAN—SOUP BALL DUMPLINGS—soft, chewy rice-flour balls served sweet or savoury
If this is too hard we could be a little innovative. I think CHUMPLINGS for Chinese dumplings would solve my problem, although I do recognise the problem.