Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Pittsburgh Dumpling Project: Unfolding the tastes of Korea, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

dumpling house

One of K-town's hidden gems, Dumpling House is a mecca for dumplings and steamed buns steamed or pan-fried. Visit this unassuming spot hidden in a small strip mall and order potstickers, filled pancaked, shumai and fluffy buns by six or eight pieces, or opt for one of the spot's bowls of soup packed with handmade noodles. Paper-thin wrappers with delicate crimping in the sui mai-style form a delicate shell encasing a luscious mix of pork and onion. The dumplings at the Highland Park restaurant are served with a tangy-sweet chili sauce. Pittsburgh’s oldest Japanese restaurant keeps it simple with the gyoza prepared in the Station Square establishment’s hot kitchen. Thin wrappers are stuffed with a bouncy chicken stuffing, steamed to tenderness and given a quick fry that offers a bit of extra umami from a slight char.

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Some of the city’s most experienced and ambitious chefs are offering their takes on mandu, the signature dumpling of the peninsula. Well, if you're the type of person who's into that type of thing (and don't worry, there's a ton of us), Los Angeles is your dumpling mecca. From Chinese guo tie, to Japanese gyoza, to Korean mandu, to Georgian khinkali, to Himalayan momo, to Russian pelmeni, to whoever's going to take credit for manti, seriously.

dumpling house

Kimchi Steamed Dumplings at Dumpling House

The dumplings here are all top-tier, but the pork siu mai, xiao long bao, and pan-fried chicken bun are the best. Mr Dragon’s ample portion sizes are one reason why it remains a popular spot. The soup dumplings are wonderfully juicy with excellent dough consistency, as are the pan-fried buns. Sprinkle with more cornstarch if the gyoza seem to be sticking together. Uncooked gyoza will keep in the freezer in a resealable plastic freezer bag for up to 3 months. Unless you’re an overachiever, don’t worry about making dough from scratch for these pan-fried dumplings.

Dan Modern Chinese

The filling combines chicken and pork, boosted by ginger and garlic. Let them cool for a minute before popping these delightful bites into the vibrant dipping sauce. Though the rainbow soup dumplings look like a social media gimmick, the flavor residing inside these hand-tucked beauties is worth the trek to Paradise Dynasty.

Austin's first Dumpling World offers handcrafted options

Hui tou roughly translates to “double-take delicious” in Chinese, which is fitting for these irresistible pork-filled parcels. Korean-Chinese shrimp dumplings are hard to come by even in L.A.'s sprawling Koreatown, but Pao Jao's saewoo mandu is a winner, with nice chunks of shrimp and that standard green onion and glass noodle filling. Though I never really understood kimchi dumplings, they have an ardent following. One of the standout qualities of Dumpling House's steamed kimchi dumplings is their beautiful circular construction that evenly distributes that extra al dente bite of the steamed wrapper. What started out as a weekend-only stand is now a 7-day-a-week operation (still cash only, amazingly), and for good reason.

Juicy Pork and Crab Bun at Long Xing Ji

Dumplings have a long history in Japan, but their popularity and current preparation are relatively recent. Gyoza — which gets its name from Chinese jiaozi — is Japan’s national dumpling. “There used to be kings and queens in Korea, and it was originally a food for them. Commoners didn’t eat dumplings because it wasn’t something they could afford,” Han says.

Wang Mandu at Myung In Dumplings

She found herself compromising once again with ingredients in her chase to conjure the flavors of her childhood during a post-college job at Disney World’s Japan Pavilion in Orlando, Fla. But at least she was honing her skills as a cook, which would prove useful in her next job working for a Japanese culinary school. His passion for blending culinary cultures mirrors the city’s evolving palette, which has come a long way since those first openings in 1983. As diverse cultures continue to shape Pittsburgh’s dining landscape, the personalization of Korean, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese dumplings offers a delightful gateway into expanding palates across generations.

Xiao Long Bao at Din Tai Fung

Here now are 18 great places to get Chinese and Taiwanese dumplings in Los Angeles. Minh Luong, chef and owner of Tan Lac Vien, offers a Vietnamese spin on Chinese dumplings at his Squirrel Hill and Strip District establishments. The Saigon native, who grew up in Orange County, Calif., spent months working on a recipe that would pay homage to his roots and multifaceted culinary training. His cushiony dumpling skins turn breathtakingly tender when he steams them. Those wrappers envelop a finely chopped chicken stuffing; the combination translates to sublime texture and fragrance in each juicy bite.

We have dumplings in Vietnam, but they aren’t as popular as they are in other Asian countries,” says Minh Luong, chef and owner of Tan Lac Vien, in Squirrel Hill, and Tan Lac Vien 2, at Novo Asian Food Hall. Han says they’re typically prepared in home kitchens for holidays and celebrations, like marking a child’s first birthday. Han started making dumplings 55 years ago when he was 14 and working in a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Korea. He became the breadwinner for his family after the untimely passing of his father. It’s a love letter to the next generation,” says Edward Lai, co-owner and chef of Bae Bae’s Kitchen. Don’t take it personally if staffers are a bit gruff at Huge Tree Pastry.

Nathanan “Natalie” Manjeen offers a lens into Thai street food at her charming Squirrel Hill restaurant. Go for gu chai, a Thai favorite that’s hard to find in Pittsburgh. The crispy, chewy wrapper is prepared with glutinous rice, wheat and tapioca flours. It’s filled with pungent Chinese chives, crimped in a style similar to xiao long bao, and then pressed to form a patty.

dumpling house

Using chopsticks or a spatula, loosen the “wings.” Place a large plate on top of the gyoza. Cover with lid and steam the gyoza until most of the water has evaporated, 6 to 8 minutes. “You definitely don’t want to go on a date after eating them, they’re so stinky,” McClenny says with a laugh. Geared to those new to Japanese cooking, the book also includes instructions on how to stock a Japanese pantry and has a short chapter on essential Japanese cooking tools. Vietnamese dumplings have the most potential for growth in Pittsburgh. Roger Li, owner of Umami Izakaya in Lawrenceville, believes that’s because modern gyoza, those of the post-World War II era, are a specialty item found in homes or at shops dedicated to the craft of making them.

The contrarian's xiao long bao hideout in Monterey Park serves as solid a rendition as you'll find of the soup dumpling, but the spicy wonton proved even more remarkable on a recent visit. Red pepper and coriander deliver a show-stopping punch before the juicy pork filling rounds out the experience with a satisfying, savory finish. The simple, home-cooked meals her mother, Yoko, and maternal grandmother, Kiyoko, prepared for their rural customers, using seasonal local ingredients and traditional recipes, were far from fancy. Yet their skillful mix of salty, sweet, sour and bitter — key elements in authentic Japanese cuisine —  were rich with umami flavor. Though the ramen and noodle soups are excellent at this Monterey Park establishment, it’s the hot oil pork and shrimp dumplings that appear on every table, along with the shrimp and leek variety.

Nikuman-Ya is running the gyoza racket in Gardena, and that should really say enough. Sure, the cheese-pork-bun sounds a little stunt-dumpling, but the original gyoza is gingery, juicy goodness that's just seared on the bottom and warrants a taste if you're in the area. Using your dominant hand, place a scant 1 tablespoon filling in the center of the wrapper. That said, even with premade wrappers, it might take beginners a lot of practice before their fingers develop the requisite muscle memory to fill, fold and pleat at a record pace. She cooked professionally for three years before burning out one night after working more than 300 meals.

Thai Place, opened in 1989, is the region’s longest-standing Thai restaurant business. Its Wexford location is the last of several restaurants with the same name operated by Santi and Surin Thamwiwat, and it’s a solid destination for Thai dumplings. Go for the steamed version, which includes chopped chicken bolstered with herbaceous celery leaves. Diced carrot replaces the more traditional fish roe atop the sui mai, adding a vegetal sweetness. Luong came to Pittsburgh from New York in 2012 to work at Tan Lac Vien. He purchased the restaurant from its original owners, Thy and Steve Ngo, in 2017.

She also makes the gyoza with a lacy, crispy crust on the bottom called “wings,” or hane in Japanese — created by adding a cornstarch slurry to the pan while the dumplings are steam-frying. They’re served, with golden-brown aplomb, upside down on the plate, with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame and chili oils. As of press time, Seok Kun Han’s gorgeous dumplings are only available on weekends at his Korea Garden 2 restaurant in Novo Asian Food Hall. Nak Won Garden’s mandu — listed on the menu simply as “dumplings” — are filled with pork and beef and have a soft, fragrant aroma.

Eventually, he added a dumpling with supple wheat-based skin and a filling with chicken, lemongrass, ginger and a few other ingredients. Though best known for its beef rolls, 101 Noodle Express also makes memorable thick-skinned potstickers filled with pork and a piping-hot stock. The dumplings travel and reheat well at home, just be careful of the innards splattering at first bite. This small corner mandu shop inside the Zion Market appears to be a one-lady-operation.

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