Dumplings

餃子

The humble dumpling has been elevated to art form in China.

不起眼的餃子在中國已經被提升到藝術境界了。

Nowhere can you find a diversity and sophistication that matches China's exhaustive list of dumpling variations.

中國餃子變化無窮，再找不到其他東西能與之多樣性和復雜性相匹配。

Sure, many cuisines boast a savory or sweet dumpling, maybe even a fried dumpling, but China's got dumplings with transparent wrappers (the classic dim sum, har gow), dumplings in a mouth-numbing sauce (Sichuan's signature longchaoshou), dumplings that burst with soup at first bite (xiaolongbao), dumplings made with fish meat dough (Chiu Chow-style) ... let's just stop there or we'll be here all day.

當然，餃子的烹飪方法有很多，有甜的、咸的，還有煎炸的，但中國的餃子還有透明包裝的經典點心、蝦餃，口感略麻的四川龍抄手，灌湯的小籠包，用魚肉面團做成的潮州式餃……種類繁多，單單列舉的話我們就得用上一整天。

The dumpling is also a marker of auspicious things in China: families gather during New Year celebrations to wrap and eat dumplings together in the hope of prosperous times ahead.

餃子在中國也是吉祥的標志：全家在新年時團聚，一起包餃子，吃餃子，盼望來年的生活蒸蒸日上。