There are many delights to be enjoyed over the Chinese New Year, dumplings are one of them! But why this tradition?
First, a primer on dumpling vocabulary....
Jiaozi 饺子 Dumpling, the generic term
Shui Jiao 水饺 Boiled dumpling
Guo Tie 锅贴 Fried dumpling aka pot stickers
Eating dumplings at the new year is associated with wealth, as they have a similar shape to gold ingots. Sure enough a good reason to enjoy a plate of delicious dumplings. However, the origins of the humble dumpling stem from the Eastern Han Dynasty, 206 BC to 220 AD. Thanks to Felicia’s background in Traditional Chinese Medicine she recounts the traditional tale of dumplings' inception:
“It is told that during a particularly hard winter, frostbite affected many villagers. Legendary doctor Zhang Zhongjing created small dough-wrapped, packets of lamb mixed with medicinal herbs to warm and nourish them. These were folded into ear shapes, boiled and consumed; treating and nourishing the villagers, and, creating a lasting culinary hit!”
Who would have thought that dumplings are the original health food?!
Outside of their medicinal value, adding herbs (and spices) to dishes eaten on a daily basis has been shown to mitigate the inflammatory effects of certain ingredients and cooking processes (say... frying), as well as improving their storage quality.
Not that dumplings ever last for very long in our freezer. Arguably they are a perfect quick and easy to prepare meal in their own right, for busy executives or athletes.
For most people, improving health is about finding motivation and prioritising self-care with an ultimate goal of taking action. If you want to take effective and targeted steps that fit into your unique lifestyle, The Whole Health Practice is here to help.
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However you may celebrate, wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
祝大家新年快乐, 身体健康！
Stay Healthy,
Alastair
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Dumplings can be enjoyed at anytime, especially for those with a busy lifestyle or want to meet their nutritional goals.
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Related Studies
Park S, An J, Lee J. Consumer acceptability and texture analysis of frozen dumplings using different cooking methods. Food Sci Biotechnol. 2023 Aug 2;33(4):877-887. doi: 10.1007/s10068-023-01389-9. PMID: 38371684; PMCID: PMC10866823.
Chen K, Gao Z, Ding Q, Tang C, Zhang H, Zhai T, Xie W, Jin Z, Zhao L, Liu W. Effect of natural polyphenols in Chinese herbal medicine on obesity and diabetes: Interactions among gut microbiota, metabolism, and immunity. Front Nutr. 2022 Oct 28;9:962720. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.962720. PMID: 36386943; PMCID: PMC9651142.
Huang L, Ding B, Zhang H, Kong B, Xiong YL. Textural and sensorial quality protection in frozen dumplings through the inhibition of lipid and protein oxidation with clove and rosemary extracts. J Sci Food Agric. 2019 Aug 15;99(10):4739-4747. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.9716. Epub 2019 May 7. PMID: 30924943.
Bi X, Soong YY, Lim SW, Henry CJ. Evaluation of antioxidant capacity of Chinese five-spice ingredients. Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2015 May;66(3):289-92. doi: 10.3109/09637486.2015.1007452. Epub 2015 Feb 10. PMID: 25666419.
Huang L, Kong B, Zhao J, Liu Q, Diao X. Contributions of fat content and oxidation to the changes in physicochemical and sensory attributes of pork dumpling filler during frozen storage. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Jul 9;62(27):6390-9. doi: 10.1021/jf5008083. Epub 2014 Jun 30. PMID: 24950913.
Huang L, Xiong YL, Kong B, Huang X, Li J. Influence of storage temperature and duration on lipid and protein oxidation and flavour changes in frozen pork dumpling filler. Meat Sci. 2013 Oct;95(2):295-301. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2013.04.034. Epub 2013 Apr 24. PMID: 23747621.
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