Understanding the World of Dumplings

ben.piscopo

Oct 28 |10:21

Cooked Dumplings (standard)

“Dumpling” can mean many things and today I’m going to clear up this issue once ‘n for all! (Hopefully) In East Asian countries, especially China, there are many varieties of the dumpling concept; kind of like Wine. When we ask about wine others naturally ask “white or red”? Dry or sweet? What country? Which vintage? For wine aficionados, like my brother Nick , such questions are rudimentary. Same goes for dumplings.

In the world of dumplings, there is simply one requirement; you must wrap some contents (vegetables or meat only) with a flour-based wrap. They generally look the same, like most red wines might. The varieties of dumplings can be based on a few things, including: country of origin, cooking style, and contents.

Yummy... Buns!

Dumplings are universal and have many names. The rest of this post is dedicated to showing all of the dumpling varieties I’ve ever encountered in Korea, Japan, and China; including ones that people back home have asked me about (like the mysterious Crab Rangoon!)

饺子 “jiao zi” (Standard Chinese Dumplings) boiled, semi-transparent when cooked. All over china, favored in North. Sometimes enjoyed as the staple in special family meals.

Man Tou Buns

包子 “bao zi” (Meat or Vege Buns) steamed. All over China and 7-11s across Northeast Asia. They are usually bigger than standard dumplings and have a more bread-like texture.

馒头 “man tou” (Plan Buns) steamed. Northern Chinese style, but enjoyed around the country. Man tou is used as a staple by families in the North. It is amazing with spicy lamb dishes and can be eaten as a dessert with sweet dipping sauce.

Pot Stickers

锅贴 “guo tie” (Pot Stickers) pan-fried. Common in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Eastern China. The picture on the left is the typical style of Pot Stickers. They should be browned on the bottom-side and could contain any combination of meat or vege. Read More…

Expat Blogging in Asia

ben.piscopo

Oct 19 |14:11

AsianLiving.ME is not really an expat site, although expats can find it useful. The health, lifestyle, and cooking tips are meant for people trying to live a better life in their own country. That is one of the major differences that AL.ME offers to readers.

There are countless blogs that support the expat community around Asia and the World. When I first came to China I was frequently using WuxiLife, an expat site which was always worth checking up on.

Every 1 million+ city in Asia has its own local expat site, so this page is a place for my guests to find the ones with the most content and information.

Expat-Blog.com: A directory of blogs and expat communities around the world! (See our Listing!)

Best Blogs Asia: A directory of blogs from around Asia. (AL.ME is a member!)

Oh-Bama! China’s Fountain of Youth

ben.piscopo

Oct 15 |22:52

A River in Bama County

This week I’d like to uncover a hidden gem for all Asian Living readers. It is a natural occurrence which is not 100% understood by scientists, but honestly, is science the only way to understand our world? Reality slaps us in the face at times when science has no explanation. And that is why I hope we can all keep our minds open for my latest post about Bama.

Southern Guangxi province has a secret…. For hundreds of years the sleepy county of Bama never thought much of living past 100 years old. At present there are over 70 people living into the triple-digits, post-golden years. (Platinum years, perhaps?) With a population of 250,000, you’ll stumble across one for every 3,500 or so people. But this small agricultural region of centenarians is using this natural phenomenon as a way to boost tourism and market all kinds of products; from botteled water to snake-fermented liquor.

The region, which borders Vietnam to the south, is now steadily filling with tourists looking to get a piece of the magic from the Bama Longevity Cluster. It is understood in Chinese culture that leading a healthy life includes experience with Chi Ku [吃苦], literally “eating bitterness.” These way-past-retired locals are not just sitting around all day; they keep moving and live pretty active lifestyles. In order to do some Chi Ku activities, the local farms of centenarians will let you do back-breaking harvesting work for them! Tourists can be found digging up gourds and cutting down leafy greens for lunch and dinner. (Quite a sight when you know they have come for a holiday!) Some of the mystical properties of the region are said to come from “life-prolonging soil”and “longevity” spas, although genetics is said the be the main factor in distinguishing whether or not a person will live to 100.

A Picturesque Sunset in Guangxi

A 2008 write-up on Bama can be found in the Wall Street Journal here. If you are planning a China-Vietnam trip, it’s worth a quick visit to Bama after a few days in beautiful Yangshuo (Guilin).

Here are some products from Bama, which can be purchased on Taobao.

DIY Holiday Dumplings

ben.piscopo

Oct 14 |07:32

Wonton Wrappers

Another Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day week have come and gone here in China! This time is important here for two reasons: first, to celebrate the moon at its fullest; and second, to commemorate the founding of “New China” in 1949. Last year was the 60th anniversary, which is thought of as an important age for growth and maturity in a person.

But a romantic evening under a full moon is incomplete without one thing: homemade Dumplings! Last week a colleague invited me to his family’s house to make dumplings from scratch. (Actually, we bought the little dough wrappings… but everything else was really fresh!) I suggest buying dumpling wrappings from your local Asian food store or major grocer chain. Here are “Wonton Wrappers” available on Amazon.

Before we get started, I should mention that dumplings are generally a once or twice a month thing in Chinese households; similar to our pizza or pasta nights I remember from growing up. In this case, it is a great way to bring the family together for a bonding session. 10 per person should be enough. On this most recent occasion, we added a pan-fried fish and a tarot-root soup to make it a full meal for 5.

Dumpling Prep

1~ PREP filling: Fresh meat is crucial to good dumplings. I prefer pork, but you can use anything you want! Grind up about 1 pound (.5kg) and put in a bowl. In the picture we added corn, but I wouldn’t suggest it.

2~ Spice the meat how you prefer, but we used a few splashes of soy sauce, some sugar, and turmeric. It’s better to go light on the seasoning at this point.

3~ Shred celery and carrots. Mix thoroughly with the meat you have prepped. Feel free to use clean hands to mash it all together. (Great task for a kid with some self-control!) Read More…

Why Care about Persians and Arabs?

Ben杰明

Oct 1 |10:09

The Persian Empire, 500 B.C.

As a Caucasian, average American student living the first 22 years of my life in the United States, it would be unusual for me to know a great deal about Persians, Arabs, or any other ethnicity that thrives outside our borders. No doubt the school board never planned to keep me sheltered from the Middle East, but a shortage of cultural understanding may have led to some of our greatest wrong-turns as the global police. An “over there” mentality has been born of a lack of exposure to their ways, acceptance of hyperbole in the mass media; and the apathetic response of an educated public.

That is why I chose to learn more about these differences by sitting down for an hour with my new colleague, Shirin; an Iranian-American who is my mother’s age. Her two children are about my age; one teaches dance in Chicago while the other works making documentaries in LA. While speaking to her I felt as though I was speaking with my dear Aunt Gloria. There is a warmth about her personality and comfort in the way she speaks. She emits a glow which makes her a delight to work with in school.

I asked her first. “I know Persians are not the same as Arabs, but what can you tell me about the differences?” It was obvious that she had explained this many times before. Her jokes about misspellings of Persian writing were perfectly rehearsed! She made a point to mention that “60% of university students in Iran are women.” Women’s rights seem to be more universal, although I still wouldn’t consider them to be as liberal as Western countries. Also, as the center of Persian history and modern culture, Iran maintains the greatest number of Persian speakers and writers. I had no idea before today that Persian was its own language separate from Arabic. Spoken Persian is also called Farsi, not Arabic. The writing looks similar, but it is as different as English and French.

Persia, a suitable name which I think has less stigma attached to it than greater “Iran”, has over 2500 years of recorded history, my colleague said. Second to the Chinese in length of history. They first lost ground to Arabic invaders around 600 AD and hundreds of battles since then have left the modern borders we adhere to today. Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Iran have the largest populations of Persian people to date.

So, again, why should we draw a line between these two groups of people? Because there is a line and calling them all “Arabs”, which is a common slip-up by North Americans, causes them strong resentment and even anger. They have different languages, different past, different food, and different religions. Although we disagree with their politics, it’s much more useful to learn from their ancient culture than to dig up reasons for fighting with them.

Archive for October, 2010