Dumplings of the World
Wrap a filling in dough and cook it: almost every country does, and each one argues about the pleats. China boiled them, Japan pan-fried them, Poland stuffed them with potato and cheese, and America renamed them Peking ravioli and put cream cheese in a wonton. Here is every style, step by step.
Jiaozi (Boiled Pork and Napa Cabbage Dumplings)
Hand-rolled wheat wrappers pleated around a silky filling of ground pork, blanched napa cabbage, Shaoxing wine and sesame oil, boiled in a big pot and served with black vinegar and soy sauce for dipping.
Gyoza (Japanese Pan-Fried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings)
Thin store-bought wrappers pleated around pork, salted cabbage, shiitake, garlic and ginger, browned on one side, steamed under a lid and crisped with sesame oil, with a soy, rice vinegar and chili oil dip.
Kimchi Mandu (Korean King-Size Kimchi Dumplings)
Big homemade wrappers pleated around a juicy filling of seasoned ground beef, chopped kimchi, tofu, sweet potato glass noodles and garlic chives, steamed and served with a sharp soy, vinegar and chile dipping sauce.
Pierogi Ruskie (Polish Potato and Twaróg Pierogi)
Soft hot-water dough folded around mashed potatoes and crumbled twaróg cheese with black pepper and glassy onion, boiled until they float and served with onion softened in butter and a spoon of sour cream.
Pelmeni (Siberian Pork and Beef Dumplings)
Tiny dumplings of thin egg dough folded around raw ground pork, beef and onion with plenty of black pepper, boiled in bay-scented broth and served with butter, sour cream, fresh herbs and more pepper.
Nepali Momos with Tomato-Cilantro Achar
Round wrappers gathered into topknots around ground turkey spiced with coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, steamed and served with a smoky blender sauce of charred tomatoes, cilantro and Sichuan peppercorns.
Khinkali (Georgian Soup Dumplings)
Big pleated dumplings twisted into a knot at the top, filled with beef and pork loosened with stock and butter and spiced with cilantro, chile, caraway, coriander and cumin, boiled so the filling turns to broth inside, then eaten by hand with black pepper.
Kayseri Manti (Turkish Dumplings with Garlic Yogurt)
Tiny squares of egg dough pinched around a spoonful of spiced ground beef and onion, boiled, simmered with a tomato butter sauce, and served under cold garlic yogurt with dried mint, sumac and red pepper.
Peking Ravioli (Boston Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings)
Joyce Chen's chiao-tzu: homemade wrappers around pork and salted napa cabbage with soy, sherry and sesame oil, steamed and fried in concentric rings, flipped out golden side up and dipped in soy sauce and rice vinegar.
Pittsburgh Potato-Cheddar Pierogi with Butter and Onions
Tender sour cream dough wrapped around smooth mashed russets with sharp cheddar and butter, boiled and tossed in a skillet of onions caramelized in butter, the way western Pennsylvania serves them.
Chicken and Slicks (Appalachian Rolled Chicken and Dumplings)
Browned chicken thighs and breasts simmered in broth with onion, thyme and bay, then flat strips of rolled chicken-fat dough cooked right in the pot and the broth thickened with toasted flour, finished with shredded chicken and parsley.
Crispy Lace Frozen Dumplings (Skillet Potstickers with a Golden Skirt)
A bag of frozen pork potstickers browned in a nonstick skillet, steamed under a thin flour-and-water slurry that fries into one lacy golden skirt, flipped onto a plate and served with soy sauce, sesame oil and chile flakes, in 25 minutes.
Takeout-Style Crab Rangoon (Fried Cream Cheese Wontons)
Takeout style, not any one restaurant's recipe: wonton wrappers folded into points around sweetened cream cheese, scallions and chopped crab, fried golden at 375°F and served hot with a soy, honey and sesame dipping sauce.