Nice Dump(lings)

Local versions of a worldwide classic words :: MJ Castor

No one calls them this, but dough pouches can be found in the cuisine of almost every culture on earth. From Italian ravioli and empanadas of South America to the dumplings of ancient China, stuffing meat or vegetables or fruit (or anything) inside a pocket of dough and cooking them is a timehonoured tradition.

“It’s a universal food,” says Chef Michelle Musey. “Traditionally, it was a poorperson food, a way to stretch your carbs to feed big families. But it’s also a traditional art: An entire family—multiple generations— will come together to pinch pierogi for an entire day to stock the freezer.”

Musey is the driving force behind Mamma Musey’s Pierogi, a Sunshine Coast-based (pre-boiled!) pierogi company she started in 2017, using a recipe from her husband’s Ukrainian grandmother—a recipe that’s more than 100 years old. “It was traditional at the start, just cheddar, onion and potato,” Musey says. “Then we made cheddar and bacon and evolved from there. We like to change it up and give things a twist—the craft pierogi. Our vegan spicy dill pickle and cashew cheese is very popular. For the holidays, we have a turkey-dinner pierogi. It’s all traditionally made from scratch, and we have a lot of fun in the kitchen. I know this because our kids want to be pierogi pinchers when they grow up.”

With such a rich and lengthy history as a family favourite, a handed-down recipe seems to be the norm for dough pouch/ dumpling cuisine. Sumire Aoshima and Fumie Kudo relied on a recipe from Fumie’s mom for pork gyoza when they started Pemby Foods, Pemberton’s first and only provider of locally made Japanese gyozas.

“That recipe was simple and tasty— easy,” Aoshima says. “For the veggie gyoza we came up with our own recipe through a lot of trial and error.”

Making their gyoza by hand in the commercial kitchen at the Pemberton Legion, Aoshima and Kudo both have experience working in Sea to Sky Japanese restaurants and say they can each pinch 120 gyoza in one hour without losing their focus on quality. The community support, Aoshima adds, has been tremendous. “Not everyone enjoys cooking or has the time,” she says. “In Japan, families make their own gyoza. For our community, I don’t want people to have to buy unhealthy, processed food. Gyoza can be cooked in a pan, air fryer or in a soup quickly, and you can keep everyone happy with no additives or preservatives.”

Squamish, once known as the place restaurants go to die, is exploding in population of late and making decent progress on the culinary front. Particularly when it comes to dough pouches—the dumplings on offer at Raincity Distillery are as good as any in the province.

“We wanted to do something different,” says Raincity co-owner Johnny Xu. “There are lots of breweries and cideries in town with great options for bar food, pizza, tacos—you name it. I’m Chinese and my business partner, Alex’s, wife is, too. When we meet up or hang out, we go to dumpling places, so we thought, Let’s try that.”

Aoshima and Kudo both have experience working in Sea to Sky Japanese restaurants and say they can each pinch 120 gyoza in one hour without losing their focus on quality.

Rather than build a complete kitchen inside their distillery, Raincity purchased a powerful steamer then scoured the lower mainland to find the perfect premade Chinese dumplings. “We ate all the dumplings we could find, and in the end we order from a lady in Richmond,” Xu says. “Everything is handmade and that’s important to keep the dumpling skin thin. That’s a big thing in Asian culture; if the skin is too thick it gets chewy or doughy.”

Best known for their locally distilled spirits and high-craft cocktails in the tasting room, Xu says both residents and tourists appreciate the clash of western bar culture and Far East cuisine. “We have three core dumplings on offer and then we rotate two specials throughout the year. The mushroom is definitely a favourite.”

Many sources cite China as the originator of the dumpling, but others claim there is evidence of dumpling fossils from Mesopotamia that could predate, or at least match, the documented tales of Zhang Zhongjing making dumplings more than 2000 years ago during economically tough times, as a way to help warm people during an especially cold and brutal winter.

With our own winter upon us, it doesn’t really matter where dough pouches came from or what they’re made of. What’s important is where they’re going: in our bellies!

Find the excellent dough pouches in this article at www.mammamuseyspierogi.com, www.raincitydistillery.ca and @pembyfoods on Instagram.