× Pacific Islands
Tongan faikakai topai unfilled · filled · wheat · bread · Boiled, then coated in coconut-caramel syrup
Tonga · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Pacific Islands
Po'e / poke leaf wrapped · unfilled · starch · Baked in an earth oven in banana leaves
Tahiti · historical or cultural region
D S Dated text · Empires & migration
Name from proto-Polynesian poke, "to mix, knead" (Greenhill & Clark 2011)
History and recipe → Mexico, Central America and the Hispanic Caribbean
Tamal Masa wrapped in husk since the Maya.
leaf wrapped · maize · Steamed
San Bartolo murals · city
S Secondary consensus · Ancient
8000–5000 BC claim unverified; San Bartolo (c. 100 AD) and Calakmul market murals; more than 500 types and 4,000 preparations in Mexico (Beatriz Ramírez Woolrich, UNAM) prabapilar
History and recipe → United States and Canada
Chicken and dumplings A pot of chicken, broth and rolled dough, in American cookbooks since 1839.
unfilled · wheat · Simmered in chicken broth
Upland/Old South · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Bryan's Kentucky Housewife (1839) layers chicken with rolled-paste "dumplings"; Tyree's Housekeeping in Old Virginia (1879) gives the stewed dish (D). The British-German lineage rests on popular press only.
Full entry → Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Haudenosaunee boiled cornbread unfilled · wheat · maize · Boiled 20–30 min until it floats. Ceremonies to Sunday brunch
Ganondagan · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
"Predates the use of ovens in the Northeast" (Mohawk chef). Corn is sold through the Iroquois White Corn Project, Ganondagan
History and recipe → Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean
Boiled dumplings / "spinners" unfilled · wheat · Boiled
Jamaica · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Imported flour became a slave staple, traded by the British for rum and molasses (Jamaica 55 gov't heritage page). No source links dumplings specifically to rations.
Full entry → South America and Andes
Humitas Fresh corn in its own husk.
leaf wrapped · maize · Steamed
Quechua-speaking central Andes · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Renaissance & print
Quechua huminta in the Lima Arte y vocabulario (1586) (D); Garcilaso 1609.
Full entry → South America and Andes
Hallaca Christmas in a plantain leaf.
leaf wrapped · maize · Boiled
Venezuela · country
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Colonial blend
Full entry → Anglophone and Francophone Caribbean
Conkies leaf wrapped · Steamed
Barbados · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Wikipedia's kenkey page (citing Atlas Obscura) links conkies to kenkey
Full entry → Europe deep cuts
Kig ha farz unfilled · wheat · Boiled ~2 h in a linen sac à farz in pot-au-feu. Black farz is rolled in the bag to crumble it
Léon · historical or cultural region
S Secondary consensus · Empires & migration
Stendhal on buckwheat Brittany; Léon association dinners (1982). Brière equivalent "grou" (Grassineau-Alasseur)
Full entry → Europe deep cuts
Grou unfilled · wheat · Cooked in pot-au-feu with bacon
Brière marshes · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1981
Recorded by C. Grassineau-Alasseur, Briérons
Full entry → Africa
Kenkey: Fante dokono unfilled · leaf wrapped · maize · Steamed
Yamoransa · city
S A Archaeological or primary source · Renaissance & print
Yamoransa production history (2024 Cogent Arts & Humanities article)
Full entry → Africa
Kenkey: Ga komi Sour fermented corn, with fish and pepper sauce.
unfilled · leaf wrapped · Steamed/boiled
Greater Accra · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Maize arrived with the Portuguese in the 16th c.; women's trade
Full entry → Africa
Banku unfilled · Boiled/stirred
Ga-Dangme coast · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Swallow ball
Full entry → France, Benelux, Iberia, Greece, Cyprus, Malta
Quenelles A soufflé-light pike dumpling from Lyon.
unfilled · Poached, then baked
Lyon · city
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Name borrowed from German Knödel (Académie française); "quenelles de poulardes" on a Paris court menu by 1750 (D). The Lyon pike quenelle is 19th-century.
Full entry → France, Benelux, Iberia, Greece, Cyprus, Malta
Ravioles du Dauphiné filled · wheat · Boiled seconds
Royans · historical or cultural region EU PGI
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
"Raviole du Dauphiné" registered as an EU PGI by Commission Regulation (EC) No 964/2009 of 15 October 2009 (OJ L 271, 16 October 2009, per INAO); Label Rouge since 1998; attributed to Italian woodcutters' influence (G)
Full entry → Europe deep cuts
Kniddelen unfilled · wheat · Boiled until they float
Luxembourg · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Seen as a "poor man's dish"; name in the Knödel family
Full entry → Jewish diaspora (cross-regional)
Matzo balls / kneidlach קניידלעך
Floaters or sinkers? The eternal Seder debate.
unfilled · Simmered in chicken soup
Alsace · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Early recipe in The Jewish Manual (1846). Manischewitz sold mixes as "feather balls Alsatian style" (Joan Nathan).
History and recipe → Italy
Agnolotti Pinched parcels of leftover roast.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Piedmont · region (first-level subdivision)
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Jewish diaspora (cross-regional)
Kreplach קרעפּלעך
Mercy wrapped around judgement.
filled · wheat · Boiled in chicken soup; fried (Hanukkah)
Ashkenaz · historical or cultural region
S L D Dated text · Empires & migration
Hasidic symbolism: dough (mercy) covers meat (judgement). Hypothesis: from Venetian stuffed pasta via 14th-c. Germany. "K-R-P" acronym etymology is folk etymology.
Full entry → Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Spätzle / Knöpfle Squiggles of egg batter, scraped into boiling water.
unfilled · wheat · Boiled
Swabia · historical or cultural region EU PGI
D Dated text · Empires & migration
1725: physician Rosinus Lentilius names "Knöpflein" and "Spazen"; first recipe in the 1783 Göppinger Kochbuch (Rosina Dorothea Knör). Barbarossa-crusade stories are legend
History and recipe → West, Central and Southern Africa
Ekwang leaf wrapped · Simmered in palm oil with smoked fish, meat, crayfish, periwinkle, pepper
Bakweri country · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 1972
A cross-border dish whose name has spread across languages
Full entry → Italy
Culurgiones Wheat-ear braids of potato, pecorino and mint.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Ogliastra · historical or cultural region EU PGI
D Dated text · Empires & migration
"Culurgionis d'Ogliastra" registered as an EU PGI on 28 September 2016, published in the EU Official Journal (L 262) on 29 September 2016 (Qualigeo; ANSA)
Full entry → West, Central and Southern Africa
Miondo leaf wrapped · starch · Steamed in leaves
Duala · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Full entry → West, Central and Southern Africa
Koki leaf wrapped · maize · Steamed in plantain or banana leaves
Mbo of Moungo · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Wikipedia says the Ministry of Arts and Culture recorded koki as one of the 111 elements of Cameroon's national intangible cultural heritage in a decree of 21 February 2021 (decree not consulted)
Full entry → Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Maultaschen "Little God-cheaters" for Lent.
filled · wheat · Boiled, in broth, or fried with egg (geschmälzt)
Swabia · historical or cultural region EU PGI
D L Dated text · Empires & migration
Nickname "Herrgottsbscheißerle" ("little God-cheaters"); Maulbronn monks' Lenten legend (L, anecdotal). Luther used "Maultasche" for "slap" in 1531; recipes under the name in a Leipzig 1794 lexicon; Grimm 1885 = "filled noodle in Swabia". EU PGI 22 Oct 2009 (Reg. 991/2009)
Full entry → Italy
Gnocchi di patate Pillows ridged by a fork.
unfilled · potato · Boiled
Northern Italy · country
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Proto-gnocchi "zanzarelli" in Maestro Martino (c. 1450); "maccaroni detti gnocchi" in Scappi 1570; first potato gnocchi probably Vincenzo Corrado's Il Cuoco Galante (1801 edition); Artusi 1891. The claim that Artusi was first is wrong. Verona "Venerdì gnocolar" carnival (G)
Full entry → Italy
Ravioli Medieval Italy's filled-pasta ancestor.
filled · wheat · Boiled; historically in broth or fried
Prato · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
14th-c. Datini papers; Venetian Libro per cuoco (herb-egg-cheese in broth); Scappi 1570; tomato sauce only after the 16th c.; canning during WWI or by US immigrants (disputed)
History and recipe → Italy
Canederli Alpine bread balls, first painted in 1180.
unfilled · bread · Boiled; in broth or with butter
Hocheppan castle chapel · historical or cultural region
A L Archaeological or primary source · Islamic & Mongol world
Hocheppan fresco c. 1180; innkeeper/mercenaries legend (L)
History and recipe → Italy
Tortellini Venus's navel, swimming in capon broth.
filled · wheat · Boiled in brodo
Bologna · city
L D Dated text · Renaissance & print
Venus's navel legend (L); the Dotta Confraternita del Tortellino lodged the filling recipe with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce on 7 December 1974, and the full "Tortellini di Bologna" recipe followed on 15 April 2008 (Bologna Welcome)
Full entry → West, Central and Southern Africa
Bobolo leaf wrapped · unfilled · starch · Wrapped in Megaphrynium macrostachyum (Marantaceae) or banana leaves and steamed or boiled up to 2 h. Keeps several days unrefrigerated. Served with ndolé, grilled fish and soups
Centre Cameroon · historical or cultural region
D S Dated text · Modern & global
Documented: Oyono's Une vie de boy (1956) used "bâton de manioc" for it (Echu)
History and recipe → Province of Ferrara
Cappellacci di zucca ferraresi caplàz
filled · wheat · Boiled
Province of Ferrara · district or province EU PGI
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Italy
Cugoli / gnocchi all'ebraica unfilled · In soup or tomato sauce
Venice Ghetto · city
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Italian–Ashkenazi blend (Silvia Nacamulli)
Full entry → Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Balkans
Idrijski žlikrofi filled · wheat · Boiled
Idrija · town or village EU TSG
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Registered as an EU TSG by Commission Regulation (EU) No 31/2010 of 14 January 2010, after national TSG status in 2002 (ICRA Idrija); the first Slovenian TSG
Full entry → Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Balkans
Houskové knedlíky Sliced bread dumplings that soak up every drop.
unfilled · bread · yeasted wheat · Boiled/steamed
Bohemia · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Jesenská's 1925 recipe is the earliest clear text (D); Rettigová's 1826/1833 bread-roll Speckknödel is an ancestor. A 7th-century first mention is unsupported.
Full entry → Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Germknödel A ski-hut cloud of plum jam and poppy seed.
bun · yeasted wheat · Boiled in 19th-century recipes; steamed or boiled today
Eastern Alpine Austria · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Prato's Die süddeutsche Küche (1890) boils a plain yeast dumpling and serves Powidl alongside (D); filled forms appear around 1900.
Full entry → Scandinavia
Kroppkakor Potato globes hiding salt pork.
filled · potato · Boiled
Öland · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
A 1775 traveller (unnamed) praised Öland kroppkakor; then made of barley and wheat with mutton, pork or goose; potato from the mid-1800s; modern form early 1900s (Sweden's Living Heritage inventory); Kalmar nation (Lund student society) feasts since 1897
Full entry → Africa
Souskluitjies unfilled · wheat · Boiled/steamed
Cape Town · city
S Secondary consensus · Renaissance & print
Dutch kluitjies at the Cape, 1652; popular until mid-20th c.; a 1937 SA cookbook gave dumplings a whole chapter (Cooksister); also "Duitse kluitjies" (after Dampfnudel)
History and recipe → Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Balkans
Bryndzové halušky Potato nuggets under sheep's cheese and bacon.
unfilled · potato · Boiled
Liptov / northern Carpathian Slovakia · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Poland and the Baltics
Pierogi Half-moons of potato, cheese and onion.
filled · wheat · Boiled, then fried
Kraków · country
D L Dated text · Renaissance & print
First recipes in Czerniecki's 1682 Compendium Ferculorum (sweet, plus veal kidney, nutmeg; no potato). St Hyacinth 1238 Kościelec legend; the 14th-c. Vita of Hyacinth doesn't mention pierogi; "Święty Jacku z pierogami!" saying
History and recipe → Poland and the Baltics
Uszka Little ears floating in ruby borscht.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Polish lands · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Scandinavia
Palt / pitepalt filled · potato · Boiled
Piteå · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Renaissance & print
"Palt" in the 15th-c. Karlskrönikan chronicle; Andreas Sparman (Palmcron) 1642 uses it for a boiled dough lump (SAOB, Hellquist)
History and recipe → Scandinavia
Blodpalt unfilled · Boiled
Bothnian Bay · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Older blood palt form (1712 Västergötland)
Full entry → Poland and the Baltics
Cepelinai / didžkukuliai Potato airships stuffed with pork.
filled · potato · Boiled
Lithuania · country
D Dated text · Modern & global
First printed recipes in the 1935 Ką valgome? (ed. Elena Repčytė-Starkienė). Ethnologist Vitalija Vasiliauskaitė (LRT 2023): probably from Prussia/Lower Saxony, popular only after WWII through Soviet canteens. The "renamed after the Zeppelin in 1900" date is unverified.
History and recipe → Africa
Dombolo / ujeqe / umbhako / dipapata / rostile bun · unfilled · yeasted wheat · Steamed (separately) or atop stew
South Africa · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Name debate: dombolo vs baking-powder "dumplings" (Sunday Times 2020); yeast distinguishes it
Full entry → Caucasus minorities and Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatar tabaq börek / qashiq börek filled · Cooked in broth: served as a main (tabaq, "plate") or in soup (qashiq, "spoon")
Crimea (status disputed) · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Listed in Crimean Tatar cuisine surveys; a related Tatar (qashiq) ash also exists
Full entry → Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
Vareniki / varenyky вареники
From sour cherry to sauerkraut.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Central / Left-bank Ukraine · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Name from "to boil"
Full entry → Kayseri
Kayseri tepsi mantısı filled · wheat · Baked
Kayseri · city Turkish GI (mahreç işareti)
D Dated text · Recorded by 1973
Full entry → Kayseri
Kayseri purov mantısı filled · wheat
Kayseri · city Turkish GI (mahreç işareti)
D Dated text · Recorded by 1973
Full entry → Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran
Kayseri mantısı Forty to a spoon.
filled · wheat · Boiled (dough sometimes pre-baked)
Kayseri · city Turkish GI (mahreç işareti)
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1973
Tatar settlers made Kayseri famous
Full entry → Kayseri
Kayseri yağ mantısı filled · wheat · Fried
Kayseri · city Turkish GI (mahreç işareti)
D Dated text · Recorded by 1973
Full entry → Arab world and Levant
Shish barak شيش برك
Lamb's ears in warm yoghurt.
filled · wheat · Boiled in the earliest recipe (15th c.); baked or fried first, then cooked in yoghurt, today
Damascus · city
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
Name from Persian joshpara, "boiled bit" (Perry), later gosh-e barreh in Iran. Earliest Arabic recipe Ibn al-Mubarrad, 15th-c. Damascus (D).
Full entry → Arab world and Levant
Kibbeh كبة
Bulgur shells around spiced lamb.
shell · Fried/baked/raw
Central Levant · historical or cultural region
A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Shell type; national dish of Lebanon and Syria
Full entry → Caucasus minorities and Crimean Tatar
Circassian p'aste пастэ
unfilled · Served with boiled mutton (melil gheva), garlic gravy ships, sausages and liver. Meat on skewers is even laid on p'aste
Adygea · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Jaimoukha calls it "crushed-millet dumplings"; it is the everyday Circassian staple
Full entry → Caucasus minorities and Crimean Tatar
Mataz / metaz мэтазэ
filled · wheat · potato · Boiled
Circassia · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1979
Homeland form of the Çerkez mantısı already in the atlas
Full entry → Iran, Kurdistan, Assyria, Arabia
Assyrian kutleh shell · Boiled (unlike fried, pointed kibbeh)
Tur Abdin · historical or cultural region
S Secondary consensus
Family recipe published by Vision Times, 24 Sep 2026
Full entry → Caucasus minorities and Crimean Tatar
Circassian lepsteipx'e unfilled · wheat · "Boiled in fat" (effectively deep-fried)
Cherkess lands · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1979
Jaimoukha 2004
Full entry → Iran, Kurdistan, Assyria, Arabia
Kurdish kutilk کوتلک
shell · Boiled. Served in garlic-mint yoghurt soup (daw), in tomato and vegetable soup, or fried. Home food, rarely on restaurant menus
Kurdistan · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Mostly recorded by community websites with an advocacy angle
Full entry → Caucasus minorities and Crimean Tatar
Circassian x'inch'el unfilled · Boiled in broth until they float, lifted out, topped with boiled dried or smoked meat and garlic-broth sauce (bzchinixwps). Also a chicken version (jedir x'inch'elim)
Kabarda · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Recorded in A. Jaimoukha (ed.), Circassian Cuisine (Sanjalay Press, Amman, 2004). The cuisine itself is attested much earlier (L. Y. Lyule visited in 1827 and was served 120 dishes by one host; his account was published in 1857)
Full entry → Iran, Kurdistan, Assyria, Arabia
Saudi matazeez مطازيز
unfilled · wheat · Thin discs simmered in lamb, tomato and vegetable stew (eggplant, potato, zucchini)
Najd / Qassim · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 1985
Saudipedia: the name is not in classical Arabic lexicons; folk etymology from mat ("stretch")
Full entry → Kalmykia
Börg Бөрг
filled · wheat · Boiled
Kalmykia · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Boortsg and tselveg are fried and excluded.
Full entry → Ingushetia
Dulkh-khaltam Дулх-хьалтӀам
unfilled · maize · wheat · Boiled
Ingushetia · region (first-level subdivision)
S Secondary consensus
Full entry → Turkey, the Caucasus and Iran
Khinkali ხინკალი
Twisted topknots full of spiced broth.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Pshavi / Khevsureti highlands · town or village
S L D Dated text · Empires & migration
Shepherd food. Mongol 13th-c. theory (BBC Travel 2019, SCMP) is contested. City kalakuri style is later.
History and recipe → Chechnya
Kürzanash куьрзанаш · kürzanash
filled · wheat · Steamed or boiled
Chechnya · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 1961
Listed apart from galnash in Wikipedia's Chechen cuisine article; needs a Russian ethnographic source.
Full entry → Iran, Kurdistan, Assyria, Arabia
Marqooq مرقوق
unfilled · wheat · Sheets cooked in meat and vegetable stew
Central Arabia · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Full entry → Kumukh, Lak highlands (Dagestan)
Hjavkkuri Гьавккури
unfilled · wheat · Boiled in meat broth
Kumukh · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
The sweet variant аьрайн гьавккури is probably fried and is excluded. The Lak kurze festival dumplings ("first furrow", spring equinox) belong on the kurze entry.
Full entry → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Chuvash shchamakh unfilled · filled · wheat · Soup with "a kind of dumplings". The encyclopedia groups shchamakh with Turkic-Iranian dishes
Chuvashia · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Ethnographic survey
Full entry → Southern Dagestan
Khinkʼar ХинкӀар
unfilled · wheat · Boiled in broth
Southern Dagestan · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1967
Full entry → Southern Dagestan (Kurakh area)
Pichʼekar ПичӀекар · pichʼekar
filled · wheat · Boiled
Southern Dagestan · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1967
Azerbaijan's state multiculturalism centre equates it with Azerbaijani gürzə.
Full entry → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Mari podkogyl подкогыльо
filled · wheat · potato · Boiled and eaten at once, not frozen. Flat seal for curd fillings
Mari El · region (first-level subdivision)
S L D Dated text · Empires & migration
"Pod" = cauldron, "kagyl" = pie, so "boiled pirozhki". Legend: a goddess's love of the giant dumpling created the Mari people
Full entry → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Tatar pilmän пилмән
filled · wheat · Always served in clear broth
Volga Tatars · region (first-level subdivision)
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
Udmurt pelnyan пельнянь
filled · wheat · Boiled
Izhevsk · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
History and recipe → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Komi / Komi-Permyak pelnyan filled · Boiled
Komi-Permyak · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
See 4.1
Full entry → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Bashkir süsbärä сөсбәрә
filled · wheat · Boiled in broth
Bashkortostan · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
The Bashkir form of the joshpara name family
Full entry → Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
Pelmeni пельмени
Siberia's frozen treasure.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Perm · historical or cultural region
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Name from pel'nyan' "ear bread". Still Ural-Siberian in the early 19th c.; recipe in Ignati Radetsky's 1855 Gastronomes' Almanac. Chinese/Mongol transmission theory is unproven. A pelmen monument stands in Izhevsk (2004).
History and recipe → Volga-Ural and Siberia (plus Karakalpakstan)
Karakalpak júweri gúrtik unfilled · wheat · Boiled in the meat stock, drained, and heaped on a platter under lamb, beef or turkey, with potato, onion and carrot. National dish
Karakalpakstan · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 1958
Recorded as klëtski of sorghum flour in soup among Karakalpaks in 1958 ethnography (Khorezm Expedition, Trudy vol. III). 2023 Nukus record dish: 20 turkeys, 35 kg sorghum flour, 15 kg wheat flour, served on a 3.5 × 2.5 m platter
Full entry → Central Asia and Afghanistan
Uzbek manti манти
Silk Road parcels from the tiered steamer.
filled · wheat · Steamed in mantovarka/kaskan (multi-tier steamer)
Uzbekistan · country
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Silk Road lineage
Full entry → Central Asia and Afghanistan
Chuchvara чучвара
Tiny Silk Road dumplings in broth.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Mawarannahr · historical or cultural region
S Secondary consensus · Empires & migration
Persian joshpara name (G)
Full entry → Central Asia and Afghanistan
Afghan mantu منتو
filled · wheat · Steamed
Afghanistan · country
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 1972
Bite-sized like Turkish mantı
Full entry → Central Asia and Afghanistan
Ashak آشک
Leek dumplings under yoghurt and meat sauce.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Afghanistan · country
S Secondary consensus · Recorded by 1972
Vegetarian filling
Full entry → South Asia
Ukadiche modak उकडीचे मोदक
Ganesha's favourite sweet.
filled · rice · Steamed
Pune · region (first-level subdivision)
S Secondary consensus · Empires & migration
Tilak made Ganesh Chaturthi a public festival in 1893 and modak spread widely; Japanese kangidan offered to Kangiten
History and recipe → Central Asia and Afghanistan
Kazakh/Kyrgyz manty мәнті / манты
filled · wheat · Steamed
Kazakh–Kyrgyz steppe · country
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Follows Uyghur recipe (JoySauce)
Full entry → China: Sichuan, Hakka and Xinjiang
Uyghur manta مانتا
filled · wheat · Steamed
Kashgar · city
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
Yinshan Zhengyao (1330) mentions manta
History and recipe → South Asia deep cuts
Lama pakthuk unfilled · wheat · Boiled
Ladakh · historical or cultural region
S Secondary consensus
Full entry → South Asia deep cuts
Ladakhi chhutagi unfilled · wheat · Simmered with vegetables or meat, dried yak cheese
Zanskar (status disputed) · city
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Same sources
Full entry → South Asia deep cuts
Siddu / sidu filled · bun · wheat · potato · Part-cooked on fire, then steamed
Mahasu · district or province
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Linked to the Gaddi. Claimed from Tibetan tse-doe "steamed bread" (weak, unverified etymology)
Full entry → South Asia deep cuts
Ladakhi skyu unfilled · wheat · Simmered with root vegetables, mutton, dried greens
Ladakh (status disputed) · city
S Secondary consensus
Described by Ladakhi writer Kunzes Angmo (The Better India)
Full entry → South Asia
Kozhukattai கொழுக்கட்டை
South India's sweet and savoury rice dumpling.
filled · unfilled · rice · Steamed
Tamil Nadu centroid · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
May predate modak as a technique (Slurrp: contested)
Full entry → Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and the Himalaya
Nepali momo / momocha म:म: · ma:ma
The Himalayas' favourite street food.
filled · wheat · Steamed
Kathmandu · city
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Lhasa Newar traders adapted the Tibetan dumpling. Kamal Ratna Tuladhar recalls seeing a momo shop on a Kathmandu roadside for the first time around 1942 (Caravan to Lhasa). Until then momo was cooked only in wealthy Lhasa-Newar homes. A rival claim of Nepali origin via Princess Bhrikuti is unsupported.
History and recipe → Altai Republic; Kumandin areas of Altai Krai
Tutpash unfilled · wheat · Cooked in rich mutton, horse or yak broth
Altai Republic · region (first-level subdivision)
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Full entry → Kumandin areas, Altai Krai and Altai Republic
Kumandin wild-garlic dumplings filled · wheat · Boiled in milk
Kumandin lands · historical or cultural region
S Secondary consensus
From an interview with an ethnographer citing I. Nazarov's monograph «Кумандинцы».
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Hundun / wonton 馄饨 · húntun
Clouds floating in broth.
filled · wheat · Boiled in broth
Astana Cemetery · country
A Archaeological or primary source · Silk Road & Tang
Tang wontons excavated at Turpan
History and recipe → Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and the Himalaya
Tibetan momo མོག་མོག · mog mog
filled · wheat · Steamed in mucktoo (multi-tier steamer)
Central Tibet · city
S A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
Name from Chinese 馍馍
Full entry → Tuva
Tuvan buuza Бууза
filled · wheat · Steamed
Tuva · region (first-level subdivision)
S Secondary consensus
Unconfirmed variants (VK folk-culture post only, low/G) are пуца (putsa, large steamed manty) and манчы (manchy). Fried хуужуур (khuuzhuur) is excluded.
Full entry → Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, Qinghai; also Jishishan County, Gansu
Mushiri 木丝日
bun · filled · wheat · Steamed
Xunhua Salar Autonomous County · district or province
S Secondary consensus
No Dongxiang or Salar boiled jiaozi-type speciality was confirmed; Dongxiang 发子 is a stuffed-intestine dish, not a dumpling.
Full entry → Southeast Asia deep cuts
Num kom នំគម
filled · rice · wheat · Steamed. Khmer New Year, weddings, Pchum Ben. Symbolizes the yoni (Uma)
Angkor · historical or cultural region
S L Secondary consensus · Islamic & Mongol world
Claim: offerings recorded under Jayavarman VII (196flavors). Speculative: Funan-era origin (blog). Both unverified
Full entry → Southeast Asia deep cuts
Num plae ai នំផ្លែអាយ
filled · rice · wheat · Boiled
Cambodia · historical or cultural region
S L D Dated text · Modern & global
Nickname legend (bursting hot sugar)
Full entry → Southeast Asia deep cuts
Num ansom នំអន្សម
leaf wrapped · rice · Steamed, also grilled or fried. New Year and Pchum Ben
Cambodia · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Full entry → Mongolia and Buryatia
Buuz бууз
Thousands folded for the Lunar New Year.
filled · wheat · Steamed
Mongolia · country
S D Dated text · Modern & global
From Chinese baozi
Full entry → Southeast Asia
Bánh bột lọc Glass-clear tapioca with a shrimp inside.
filled · starch · Steamed/boiled (sometimes in banana leaf)
Central Vietnam · historical or cultural region
A Archaeological or primary source · Empires & migration
An 1896 Saigon dictionary names cakes of clear bột lọc starch (A, name and wrapper only). Most associated with Huế; Quảng Trị and Quảng Bình also claim it.
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Mantou 馒头 · mántou
bun · unfilled · yeasted wheat · Steamed
Luoyang · approximate
D L Dated text · Silk Road & Tang
Jin-dynasty records; originally filled; Zhuge Liang legend
History and recipe → Guangdong (as eaten by Yuan Mei)
Dian bu leng 颠不棱 · diān bù léng
filled · wheat · Steamed
Guangdong · region (first-level subdivision)
D Dated text · Empires & migration
Yuan Mei, Suiyuan shidan (随园食单), 1792, 点心单: "糊面摊开，裹肉为馅蒸之… 余到广东，吃官司镇台颠不棱，甚佳。中用肉皮煨膏为馅，故觉软美". A dated steamed meat dumpling with an aspic-enriched filling, a precursor of the soup-filling technique. Some writers read the unusual name as a transliteration of a foreign word; this is not verified.
Full entry → China: Cantonese and dim sum
Siu mai 燒賣 · siu1 maai6
An open-topped flower of pork and shrimp.
filled · wheat · Steamed
Guangdong · region (first-level subdivision)
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Cantonese form of shaomai
Full entry → China: Cantonese and dim sum
Char siu bao 叉燒包
A fluffy bun bursting with barbecued pork.
bun · yeasted wheat · Steamed (also baked)
Guangdong · region (first-level subdivision)
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Full entry → China: Cantonese and dim sum
Har gow 蝦餃 · hā gáau
Translucent pleats that test the chef.
filled · starch · Steamed
Wufeng village · town or village
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Early 20th c. Guangzhou origin (G)
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Jiaozi / shuijiao 饺子 / 水饺 · jiǎozi / shuǐjiǎo
The crescent that rings in every new year.
filled · wheat · Boiled
Henan centroid · approximate
A L Archaeological or primary source · Silk Road & Tang
Han 角子; Tang 扁食; Turpan Tang finds; Zhang Zhongjing "jiao'er" legend; ingot shape = wealth
History and recipe → China: Northern and general
Kaifeng guantang bao 灌汤包 · guàntāngbāo
filled · wheat · Steamed
Kaifeng · city
S Secondary consensus · Islamic & Mongol world
Soup-filled-bun techniques developed in Kaifeng (Wikipedia, G); claimed ancestor of xiaolongbao
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Baozi 包子 · bāozi
bun · yeasted wheat · Steamed
North China Plain · approximate
D Dated text · Silk Road & Tang
Inherited old filled-mantou meaning
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Yuanxiao 元宵 · yuánxiāo
filled · rice · Boiled
North China · city
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
"Rolled" not "wrapped"; name "yuanxiao" from Ming
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Teochew fish dumpling 魚餃
filled · Boiled in soup or as fishball-noodle toppings
Chaoshan · city
S Secondary consensus
Described as the Teochew counterpart of Foochow rouyan
Full entry → China: Northern and general
Guotie / jianjiao 锅贴 / 煎饺 · guōtiē / jiānjiǎo
filled · wheat · Pan-fried then steamed
North China · approximate
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Name "pot-sticker"; ancestor of yaki-gyoza and gun-mandu
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Fuzhou meat swallow 扁肉燕
filled · potato · starch · Boiled or steamed. Served in broth. Taiping yan (with duck eggs, a pun on "peace") is served at weddings, New Year and banquets
Fuzhou · city
S L A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Documented: a Fuzhou snack described as "several hundred years" old (Baidu Baike; unverified). Attribution: yanpi credited to Fuzhou peddler Wang Shitong, and a chef supposedly named the dish for its swallow shape (anecdotal)
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Fuzhou bian rou 扁肉
filled · wheat · Boiled in clear broth, often with peanut noodles
Fuzhou · city
S D Dated text · Empires & migration
Name tied to Ming-era 扁食 bianshi, a general term for boiled filled dumplings (Baidu Baike)
Full entry → China: Shanghai, Jiangnan and the East
Zongzi 粽子 · zòngzi
A pyramid of rice tied in bamboo leaves.
leaf wrapped · rice · Boiled
Jiangnan · historical or cultural region
A D L Archaeological or primary source · Silk Road & Tang
Qu Yuan legend (L). Zhou Chu's Fengtu ji (Western Jin, before 297) describes the custom (D); zongzi excavated from a Northern Song tomb at Nanling, Anhui, buried by 1113 (A). The Shuowen gloss 蘆葉裹米也 is from Xu Xuan's 986 supplement, not the Han text. Leaf-wrapped, so borderline.
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Cinavu 吉拿富
leaf wrapped · rice · wheat · Boiled or steamed. Served at millet-harvest festivals, ceremonies and to guests as a blessing
Paiwan uplands · region (first-level subdivision)
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Living ritual food. Explicitly not linked to the Dragon Boat Festival (taiwan.md). Millet has been central to Rukai calendars (Taipei Times)
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Abai 阿拜
leaf wrapped · rice · Steamed or boiled. Called "the most important sacrifice of any festival in Rukai and Paiwan"
Rukai villages · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Modern & global
Some writers say the Rukai call cinavu "abai"; others treat them as separate dishes. Naming conflict, see Caveats
Full entry → Chinese minority and lesser-known regional cuisines
Qavay leaf wrapped · Steamed
Paiwan · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Recorded only in a travel blog
Full entry → China: Shanghai, Jiangnan and the East
Xiaolongbao 小笼包 · xiǎolóngbāo
A broth hidden in a pleated purse.
filled · wheat · Steamed in bamboo basket
Nanxiang · town or village China national intangible cultural heritage
D L Dated text · Empires & migration
Huang Mingxian, Rihuaxuan, c. 1871. First called "Nanxiang da rou mantou" (Shanghai gov't, SCMP). The single-inventor story is restaurant lore. Wuxi/Suzhou/Changzhou versions are sweeter and larger.
History and recipe → China: Shanghai, Jiangnan and the East
Tangyuan 汤圆 · tāngyuán
Round moons of reunion.
filled · unfilled · rice · Boiled
Ningbo · city
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
Earliest eating record Song dynasty; Tang "flour cocoons"; Ming names tangyuan/yuanxiao
History and recipe → Korea
Pyeonsu 편수
filled · wheat · Boiled, served cold in broth
Kaesong · city
S Secondary consensus · Renaissance & print
Derived from Ming dumplings via Kaesong merchants (Wikipedia, G)
Full entry → Korea
Mandu 만두 · mandu
Kimchi, tofu and pork, folded for the new year.
filled · wheat · Mul- (boiled), jjin- (steamed), gun- (fried)
Kaesong · country
D Dated text · Islamic & Mongol world
Mongol/Yuan 14th-c. introduction; Ssanghwajeom song; first record in the Goryeosa
History and recipe → Korea
Manduguk 만둣국
filled · wheat · Boiled
Korea · country
D Dated text · Renaissance & print
Royal court called it byeongsi (병시)
Full entry → Korea
Songpyeon 송편
Half-moons steamed on pine needles.
filled · rice · Steamed on pine needles
Korea · country
D Dated text · Renaissance & print
Heo Gyun's Domun daejak (1611) lists it as a spring food (D). The half-moon shape story is a legend.
Full entry → Japan
Shūmai 焼売
filled · wheat · Steamed
Yokohama · city
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Popularised by Yokohama Chinatown
Full entry → Japan
Utsunomiya gyōza filled · wheat · Fried/boiled/deep-fried
Utsunomiya · city
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Linked to the IJA 14th Division, garrisoned at Utsunomiya and deployed to Manchuria; one shop, Koran, dates from 1959
Full entry → Japan
Gyōza 餃子 · yaki-gyōza
Crisp-bottomed, garlicky, made for beer.
filled · wheat · Pan-fried/steamed
Mito · city
D Dated text · Renaissance & print
The 2024 T&F article "The Gyoza Era and Memories of Manchuria" says gyoza appears in Japanese literature from the late 17th century. Its examples are Mito-domain records of Zhu Shunsui serving gyoza to Tokugawa Mitsukuni (1689) and a full recipe in a 1771 menu record; the authors caution this doesn't prove Mitsukuni was the first. Gyoza was in Meiji Chinese restaurants. Mass popularity came after WWII through returnees from Manchuria, including Kwantung Army soldiers and settlers ("The Gyoza Era and Memories of Manchuria", 2024)
History and recipe → Oceania and the Pacific
Dim sim Melbourne's fish-and-chip-shop dumpling.
filled · wheat · Steamed or deep-fried; barbecued "Moe crayfish"
Melbourne Chinatown · city
S Secondary consensus · Modern & global
Term attested 1928; modern form developed by William Wing Young, Wing Lee, Melbourne Chinatown, c. 1945 (per his daughter Elizabeth Chong); larger "South Melbourne Market" style (Ken Cheng)
History and recipe → Pacific Islands
Vanuatu simboro leaf wrapped · wheat · starch · Steamed in leaves with coconut milk
Vanuatu · historical or cultural region
S D Dated text · Recorded by 1999
Full entry → Pacific Islands
Bougna leaf wrapped · potato · Steamed with hot stones or in an earth oven
New Caledonia · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Full entry → Pacific Islands
Laplap leaf wrapped · unfilled · Baked in an earth oven or on hot stones
Vanuatu · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Modern & global
Full entry → Pacific Islands
Fijian purini / pudini unfilled · wheat · Steamed in tins for 1–2 h, or in banana leaves
Fiji · historical or cultural region
S A Archaeological or primary source · Recorded by 2009
A British-colonial steamed-pudding lineage
Full entry → 