Could it be the world’s most universal food?
by Mary Bailey
Consider the South American empanada, the central European pyrohy, the Chinese pot sticker, the Japanese gyoza, the Indian samosa, the English Cornish pasty, the Georgian khinkali. What culture doesn’t make a dough and wrap a filling in it?
Dumplings I have known: the spicy beef empanada sold by girls on the street at the flea market in Buenos Aires; the large, drippily delicious Georgian khinkali; the pyrohy, of course the pyrohy; various Asian dumplings; in soup, steamed, panfried, won tons. Boiled, baked, filled with potato, meat, vegetables, cheese or seafood, eaten in soup, with a knife and fork, or out of hand, the dumpling is the most ubiquitous of foods.
Khinkali
It takes a lot of work to make khinkali. Just how much I found out when I asked the ladies in the kitchen at a hotel in rural Georgia if they could show me. The next morning we made dumplings from scratch in the outdoor kitchen.
First, we made a flour and water dough, kneaded until elastic, then left to rest. After about a half hour, the dough was rolled to ¼ inch thickness. We cut out small discs using a lovely wooden contraption, and rolled again until the discs were paper thin, about four inches in diameter. The filling was a simple affair of minced pork and beef with chopped onion, salt, and generous amounts of red and black pepper. To that is added a large quantity of water. The filling is worked until it is, essentially, a slurry. This sits while the meat absorbs the liquid. A small spoonful of filling is put in the centre of each disc. The next step is fast and furious. Quick hands rapidly pleat the edges of the dumpling until it looks like a chef’s hat. The pleating has to be precise and not too thick. Essentially, the rim of the hat acts as a handle, the dumplings are eaten by hand, carefully, as the meat mixture has made its own divine sauce and you don’t want to miss one bit. The cheese and potato versions are a bit simpler to eat and as delicious.
Everybody sings, everybody dances. After one such foray on to the dance floor, we came back to another towering pile of khinkali, this time with browned bottoms, like gyoza; “not more dumplings!” “No, these are the same dumplings — they take them back to the kitchen to heat them up.”
I bit into one. It wasn’t the best dumpling of the trip, being a bit doughy with a dry, somewhat bland filling; but, if we had spent most of the night dancing and drinking like the tables around us, the platter would have been gone in a Tbilisi minute.
 Cutting dough rounds |
 Filling the dumplings |
 Khinkali in the pot |
Pyrohy
Brad Smoliak calls the pyrohy Ukrainian comfort food. In the early days of the Hardware Grill, Brad elevated the lowly pyrohy by creating a sublime truffled potato filling. Chris Wood sold a modern version with fillings such as goat cheese and blueberry in six packs at Debaji’s. There is the wildly successful Cheemo, that savior of mothers. (I’ll admit to the occasional bag of Cheemo potato perogies in the ‘fridge.) Joe Makowecki, head of the family company that manufactures them in Edmonton, told me that they use the Polish spelling due to Cheemo’s large following in the Chicago area.
The pyrohy is nothing if not versatile, even in its spelling.
“They’re not an everyday food, they’re a treat. So don’t mess with them,” says Brad, alluding to the high calorie load of the Ukrainian pyrohy in all its glory — boiled, then pan-fried and served with bacon and sour cream. “The secret to a good pyrohy? Don’t go lowfat — they are not a low-fat thing, don’t put turkey bacon on them. My baba used to fry them in bacon fat.” Brad says the best way to enjoy pyrohy is to make a party. “It’s more fun to make them as a group. Somebody makes the dough and everyone brings a filling, and you make them together.”
duck and mushroom pyrohy
Brad Smoliak, Kitchen by Brad Smoliak
filling
| 2 | duck leg confit*, shredded |
| 1 c | mushrooms, mixed (fine chopped) oyster, shitake, cremini, (portabella can turn the filing gray) |
| ½ c | fine-chopped onion |
| 2 T | butter |
| 1 t | crushed garlic |
| ½ c | fine chopped, dried cranberries |
| ½ c | demi glace/gravy |
| 1 t | fresh thyme, chopped |
In a heavy sauté pan heat the butter until the foam subsides, then add the onions and cook until soft, then add the mushrooms, and cook until all the moisture has come out and the mushrooms have begun to caramelize. Add the duck and the remaining ingredients and cook until the filling sticks together. Chill for 30 minutes.
* You can buy duck confit at specialty grocery stores, and if you can’t find it, or can’t make your own, you can always use roasted chicken legs (flavor won’t be as rich). The dark meat is more flavorful and will stay moister. Same for the demi glace, if you can’t find it, you can use gravy; just something to moisten and hold the filling together.
dough
| 3 c | sour cream |
| 3-4 c | flour |
This is the easiest dough recipe, but it is not an exact measurement, it will depend on the moisture content of the sour cream that you are using.
Using a dough hook, mix the ingredients together until a soft dough forms, the dough should not be sticky, and should come away from the bowl cleanly. I also use this dough for crackers, pizza, etc. Roll the dough out to about ½” thick. Cut in circles approximately 3 inches wide. Place 1 tablespoon of filling inside, pinch closed. Repeat until all filling and dough is done, there may be extra of one or the other.
Cook pyrohy in gently boiling water, until they float to the surface.
Drain and pan fry in butter with a few fresh sage leaves. Serve with pan sauce and a dollop of sour cream if desired.
Asian Dumplings
With Chinatown full of great places to eat dumplings, I must admit it was many years before I actually made them from scratch. The book Asian Dumplings: Mastering Gyoza, Spring Rolls, Samosa and More by Andre Nguyen has been my bible on the road to dumpling mastery. But even Ms. Nguyen says it’s ok to cheat and use won ton wrappers when you are in a pinch.
har gao (shrimp dumplings)
Keep in mind that won ton wrappers are quite fragile; steam, don’t boil, and always mince filling ingredients so nothing can poke through and ruin your seal.
| 2½ t | cornstarch |
| ½ t | sugar |
| ½ t | sesame oil |
| ½ t | white pepper |
| ½ | egg white, lightly beaten |
| 4 oz | shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, minced |
| ½ c | minced water chestnuts |
| ½ t | minced fresh minced ginger |
| 2 | very thinly sliced, then minced scallions, white part only |
| 1 T | minced canned bamboo shoots (optional) |
| salt, to taste | |
| 16 | 3½” round gyoza wrappers |
| ½ c | hoisin sauce, or chile garlic sauce, for dipping |
| 2 T | chopped scallions or green onion |
In a medium bowl, whisk cornstarch, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, pepper and egg white. Add shrimp, water chestnuts, scallions, bamboo shoots and salt, and mix until combined. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
Working with one wrapper at a time, place a small spoonful (about ½ teaspoon) of filling in the centre of the wrapper, and fold in half to form a half-moon. Grip a single edge of the wrapper near one side of the dumpling, fold it inward, and pinch to form a pleat. Repeat to create 6 pleats total. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
Bring 2 cups water to a boil in the bottom of a 12″ skillet. Place dumplings into a 12″ three-tiered bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper that has been poked with holes, and place steamer over water. Cover and steam until dumplings are cooked through, about 4 minutes. Serve with hoisin sauce mixed with scallions for dipping.
Makes 16 dumplings.