Narrator: No matter where you're from,
you probably grew up eating dumplings
in one form or another.
You might steam them, boil them, fry them, or bake them.
And let's not forget the endless options of fillings.
Here are 23 dumplings from around the world.
Some of the earliest evidence of the dumpling
dates back to over 1000 years ago in Chinese cuisine.
And while countless varieties exist in the country,
we'll only be talking about one: xiao long bao.
The ever-popular steamed soup dumpling
consists of a delicate wrapper
filled with broth and minced pork, crab, or shrimp.
It's typically served in bamboo baskets.
According to legend, the first xiao long bao
was created by Huang Mingxian,
a food vendor who wanted to update the classic dumpling
and stand out amid his competitors.
Known as a Sardinian ravioli,
these dumplings are folded to look like an ear of wheat.
Hailing from the province of Ogliastra,
they're typically filled with potatoes, pecorino cheese,
lard, onions, garlic, and mint
but can also be filled with ricotta, spinach or chard
and saffron.
They're often served with a drizzle of tomato sauce
and topped with pecorino.
This breakfast dumpling is most popular in northern Vietnam
and is made of thick rice flour and broth paste,
filled with ground pork, shallots,
wood ear mushrooms, and seasonings.
The dough and filling are then stuffed into a banana leaf,
formed into a pyramid, and steamed.
You can find it at many street vendors in Vietnam.
These Nepali dumplings are usually filled with meat,
vegetables, and/or cheese
and served with a tomato-based dipping sauce.
Some Nepali vendors in Kathmandu
have even filled momos with Snickers and Mars Bars
to accommodate tourists.
Coxinhas, which translates to "little thighs,"
are a popular Brazilian street food made of a thick dough
that is filled with seasoned shredded chicken
and then shaped to look like a chicken leg.
It's then breaded, deep fried, and drenched in hot sauce.
One of the national dishes of Taiwan,
ba-wan is among the country's most prevalent street foods.
This iconic dumpling consists of rice flour
and potato starch wrapper,
filled with pork, bamboo, and mushrooms.
It can be steamed or fried
and is typically served with a sweet and spicy sauce
or a rich broth.
These breaded, deep-fried dumplings
are also known as shrimp pockets or shrimp turnovers,
and they consist of a flour-based, buttery dough,
filled with a creamy mixture of shrimp, onion, and parsley.
They're perfect as snacks or appetizers.
Hailing from Turkey
but popular across Europe and the Middle East,
manti are boiled dumplings
that are typically filled with ground lamb
and accompanied by a garlic-yogurt sauce
topped with sumac.
A classic Guyanese dumpling that is often paired
with a traditional coconut milk broth soup
called metemgee,
this simple, yet tasty steamed dumpling
is made with wheat flour, sugar, and butter.
This savory dumpling is made of soaked bread
that is formed into a roll, then boiled or steamed
and it's served alongside hearty stews and meat dishes,
often soaked in gravy.
Sometimes smoked meat, fresh herbs, or diced onions
are added to the dumpling mixture.
Banku, one of the national dishes of Ghana,
is a slightly sour tasting dumpling
made of fermented cornmeal and cassava dough
that is formed into a smooth paste, and then boiled.
They're traditionally served with soup,
okra stew, or grilled fish with pepper sauce.
This hearty, sweet, and savory dumpling dish
consists of a potato-based dough
stuffed with fried onions, bacon,
all spice, and white pepper.
They're then served with sour cream, melted butter,
and Sweden's iconic lingonberry jam.
These small, flavorful dumplings have origins in Lebanon
but are also popular in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.
Either boiled, baked, or fried,
shish barak are filled with seasoned lamb,
onions, and pine nuts
and are usually served in a warm yogurt sauce
with melted butter, mint, sumac,
and toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top.
These dumplings are often filled with fish,
like carp or salmon,
or meat with chopped onions, cheese, dill, and pepper.
While the savory version
is typically served with sour cream,
the dessert version can be filled
with a mixture of cherries or blueberries
and sweet cottage cheese, cloves, lemon juice, and sugar.
This dumpling's defining filling is kimchi,
but it can also include tofu, shrimp,
pork, beef, cabbage, bean sprouts,
onions, scallions, and mushrooms.
Mandu can be steamed, deep fried, pan fried, or boiled
and are usually served in soup
or alone with a dipping sauce.
Korean dumplings were traditionally prepared
for ancestral rights
and enjoyed most on cold winter days.
Typically served during Shabbat,
this unique Persian Jewish dumpling's defining flavors
come from minced chicken, veal, or lamb
mixed with onions, chickpeas, turmeric, cumin, and cardamom.
Gondi are often served in chicken broth, like a matzo ball.
Popular across Europe and America,
these dumplings are made by filling unleavened dough
with potato, minced meat, cheese, or sauerkraut.
They can also be made with fruit fillings,
making these dumplings both sweet and savory.
Buuz is a steamed dumpling with a flour-based dough
typically filled with garlic and mutton or beef.
A national dish of Mongolia, they're typically served
during the Mongolian Lunar New Year.
This sticky, gooey potato dumpling
is most popular in Bavaria, Thuringia,
and the Rhineland regions.
These ball-shaped dumplings
can be made with cooked potatoes,
raw potatoes, a combination of both,
or a quick, dehydrated version that comes in a box.
It's often served with schnitzel, sauerbraten,
and other hearty meat dishes.
Pinsec frito is a deep-fried dumpling
and is usually served with dipping sauces,
such as sweet and sour, spiced vinegar,
banana ketchup or, Mang Tomas,
or a Filipino pork liver sauce.
It makes a great appetizer.
This Japanese dumpling
that is especially popular in Nagano
consists of fermented buckwheat dough
filled with various vegetables, meat, seafoods,
or anko bean paste.
It's then cooked on an iron pan.
Traditionally, it was eaten by farmers during lunch breaks
and made inside an irori,
a traditional fireplace at a farmhouse.
Though derived from France,
croquetas de jamón have become an essential dish
in Spanish tapas,
featuring one of Spain's most iconic foods, serrano ham.
Formed from a mixture of potato, eggs,
bechamel sauce, and ham,
they're then breaded and fried.
A small Siberian dumpling widely consumed across Russia,
pelmeni is considered one of Russia's national dishes.
It consists of a thin wrapper
that can be stuffed with anything from ground meat or fish
to mushrooms, onions, or cabbage.
They range from mild to very spicy,
with fillings varying between regions and family recipes.
As you can see, the diversity of dumplings
is apparent in cultures all around the globe.
Which dumpings are your favorite?