Let’s hear it for dumplings! ?
Sure, pizza, pasta, and the crunch of a good chicken burger might rate really high on your comfort food list. Food has a magical way of helping us when we feel down, when we feel tired, or need a boost of goodness. But comfort food serves a specific purpose. And perhaps the dumpling is, in fact, the ultimate comfort food.
There are so many types of dumplings, too; here are just a few dumpling or dumpling-esque foods:
- Jiaozi – the Chinese dumpling that most often pops to mind when talking about ordering dumplings.
- Wonton – it really is a type of dumpling, and they are gorgeous in soup or fried and crunchy.
- Gyoza – The Japanese dumpling filled with either pork, chicken, or veg.
- Momos – from Nepal and India, a gorgeous little bun with Indian spices and either meat or vegetables (sometimes both).
- Samosa – Yes, still a dumpling if dumplings are defined by filling in a pastry or dough. Triangular pops of spiced meats, potatoes, and veg.
- Kloße – from central and eastern Europe and comes in sweet and savory.
- Pierogi – a Polish dumpling with sauerkraut, cheese, meat, or potatoes.
But dumpling also covers thick, fluffy balls of dough and suet cooked on top of a stew or a broth. Ideal for winter evenings or when you really need a heart dish, you can make chicken and dumplings in the crock pot. Or the yummy Jamaican dumplings with a side of saltfish and ackee.
All dumplings, no matter where they are from, are comfort food – but what is it about them that is so delightfully moreish?
Easy
Dumplings are one of the easiest comfort foods to enjoy. They can be made from home, and once you master packing the filling and shaping (which takes time to learn), you can whip them up in batches with very little notice.
If you are making dumplings for stew, with chicken or soup – you only need a couple of ingredients. And, if you are making batches of Chinese or other style dumplings, a little bit of filling can go a very long way. They are deliciously easy to make food.
Cost-effective
Say you have a group of your friends and family coming over. If you want to make a meal that is delicious but cost-effective, soup and dumplings is it. Soup is filling and delicious, and when you make it in a slow cooker, you will get maximum flavors with fewer ingredients.
Dumplings are one way to make meat; potatoes and veggies go far. Because they have a smaller amount of filling but a dough layer, the dough layer does much of the heavy lifting. Not to mention that if you take some time to make bigger batches, you can freeze them for later use too!
Meaning
While in some cultures, a dumpling is a dumpling, others place significant value on the dumpling. When the Chinese Lunar New Year comes around, you will notice platters of dumplings of many varieties.
Dumplings can mean completeness and togetherness, they can be for prosperity and good fortune, and some translations, like Bao, can mean treasure or precious, or when said another way, steam bun. There is something wonderful about eating food that has significance and meaning – and maybe some of that good luck and future fortunes will run off on you!
Connection
There is something so wonderful about sharing food. Platters of snack foods bring people together for a shared experience. Connecting over food is something that people have done for years. People gather around the kitchen, and they are able to talk about their day and other things.
Dumplings are a heartwarming food; the rich spices and herbs, the smell of the dough being steamed, and all of the dipping sauces make for a truly lovely meal. And, when you combine all of those things with your favorite people, you can truly connect for a short while over delicious dumplings.
Experience
The experience of eating dumplings varies depending on the type of dumplings that you choose. Biting into a soup dumpling for the first time and feeling the warm soup middle imparting its flavor is something wonderful.
Some dumplings are soft and fluffy; others have crunchiness to them, but the one thing they all have in common: every dumpling will bring a different delicious experience. And perhaps the real reason that dumplings, no matter what type, are the ultimate comfort food is because they always leave you feeling warm and satisfied.
For those in need of comfort food and looking for multiple recipes to help them recover from illness or are going through a tough time: 4 Comfort Foods That Help You Recover.