Dumpling Description

Mr. Ming came round holding a big pot with a slotted spoon, saying

"It's very important to eat dumplings on New Year's Eve", before recommending a few places where I should go find some of the aforementioned little treats! He added "but hurry, because shops close at 1pm today".

Dumplings (饺子) are near ubiquitous in China but a particular strength of the North East region.

Most ones I've seen here have come stuffed with minced pork and shredded cabbage but they can also be filled with other meats, and a host of different vegetables. It seems a pork and mushroom combination is quite popular here.

水饺 (literally 'water-dumpling') refers to the commonly seen boiled variety, but they can also be pan- or deep-fried, or steamed.

There're historical, and cultural reasons for the dumpling tradition at New Year. Many foods are chosen for their auspicious word-play. 黏糕, literally 'sticky cake' (in Shanghai, short strips of noodle-like material, but elsewhere resembling a chewy cake) are often eaten because the name is a homophone for 年高 ('higher-year') implying an improvement next year. 鱼 (fish) is eaten because it is a homophone for 余 or 'surplus'. The reason dumplings are popular, though, is apparently because they resemble ancient ingots of gold.

It does strike me as totally bizarre, however, that of all things, regular dumplings are the must-eat item of the day. There are no concessions to the season, and no special ingredients or stuffing for the festival. Yet people here eat dumplings *all* the time. There are several dumpling shops on this street alone, and in many other restaurants, dumplings feature in the 其他 (other) list in the menu along with things like plain rice, or flour pancakes.

Leaving aside its Thanksgiving origins, the turkey tradition of Christmas in the West makes sense because it's a big bird which can feed a large family gathering. It's a bit different, and a bit special, and Bernard Matthews turkey drummers, or student turkey stir-fries aside, it's not really eaten any other time of the year.

It's like breaking out a round of toast for your birthday, or seeing in the New Year with a Lion Bar and a packet of skittles!

Anyway, apologies for the rambliness of the post. Most places are closed for a few days now, and I'm all studied out for today!