Northern Chinese Beef Dumplings | Marion's Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between northern and southern dumplings? ›

There seems to be two camps when it comes to chicken and dumplings. The northerners love a dumpling that is more ball-shaped and is light and fluffy and the sauce is broth-based. The southerners love a dumpling that is more biscuit and chewy while the sauce is more of a gravy.

Dumplings are traditionally a North Chinese dish and are still mostly eaten in the northern regions. In South China, dumplings are made with a sheet of rice flour instead of wheat flour. Chinese dumplings are a type of dim sum. Other types of dim sum include bao (steamed buns) and fried snacks.

Common dumpling meat fillings include chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, and fish which are usually mixed with chopped vegetables. Popular vegetable fillings include napa cabbage, scallion (spring onions), celery, leek, spinach, mushroom, carrot, garlic chives, and edible black fungus.

As a result, northern-style Chinese dumplings often have a heartier and more robust flavor. Think of those savoury warm flavours that you might crave during a colder winter day. Pork is a common filling, sometimes mixed with chives or cabbage. These dumplings are typically boiled or pan-fried.

Potstickers are always dumplings, but not all dumplings are potstickers. The biggest difference between these two are how they are cooked, but the cooking method has also changed the kinds of ingredients and preparation of both potstickers and dumplings over time. Potstickers are dumplings that are also pan-fried.

Traditional Chinese soup dumplings are popular for a reason—they're easy to cook, pair great with a ton of other dishes, and they're full of rich, savory soup. You've probably seen soup dumplings on your feed and wondered if you're the only one who doesn't know what they are. You're not alone!

Shandong (Lu)

Derived from the native cooking styles of Shandong, a northern coastal province of China, Shandong cuisine consists of two predominant styles: Jiaodong, characterized by light seafood dishes; and Jinan, a style that features the use of soup in its dishes.

Sometimes, a jiaozi (the generalized term for Chinese dumplings) can first be made as a shui jiao before pan-frying it to turn it into guo tie.

Jiaozi (pronounced "jow-zee") are perhaps the most common type of Chinese dumpling. Crescent-shaped and formed with an opaque wrapper made from wheat dough, jiaozi are usually filled with ground pork, cabbage, and scallions, and served with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil.

What is the most common dumpling meat? ›

Popular meat fillings include ground meat (usually pork, but sometimes beef or chicken), shrimp, and even fish. Popular mixtures include pork with Chinese cabbage, pork with garlic chives, pork and shrimp with vegetables, pork with spring onion, and garlic chives with scrambled eggs.

The steaming process is what creates the shiny-looking soft exterior! Steaming is the traditional way of preparing dumplings and has never gone out of style. Many people around the world are loyal to this method of cooking and prefer it over pan-fried dumplings.

Finally, A Beef Dumpling!

They are generally more common in Northern China, whereas most dumpling fillings where our family is from (Shanghai and Guangdong) are pork-based.

Xiao Long Bao (XLB), or soup dumplings, are probably the most famous of Shangai's steamed dumplings, and rightly so. These are delicately pleated balls of dough with broth and pork meat filling. Yes - they don't float in the soup.

Unlike their Northern counterparts, Southern dumplings are traditionally steamed, which allows the flavors to meld harmoniously. The gentle steaming process ensures that the fillings retain their natural juiciness and flavors, creating an enchanting culinary experience.

Compared to the blander fare of the north, China's southern cuisines are notable for their exceptional spiciness and their great variety of fruit, vegetable, fungal, and animal ingredients.

A dumpling—in this context—is a biscuit dough, which is a mixture of flour, shortening, and liquid (water, milk, buttermilk, or chicken stock). The dumplings are either rolled out flat, dropped, or formed into a ball.

Broadly speaking, northern Chinese dumplings have thicker skins than those in the south, which are thinner and more translucent—think har gow, the steamed shrimp dumpling dim sum staple.