Which country actually invented dumplings? You’d probably think it’s China but historians have traced dumplings to Central Asia and the migration of Turkic people. It’s said that Turkic and Mongol tradesmen and horsemen traveled across Asia in cold winters carrying ‘mantu’, which we now call dumplings. That’s because 1600’s England called this delicious dough pocket ‘dumpling’, a sophisticated derivative of ‘lump’.

In fact, when it comes to the origins of mantu, historians encourage us to look at language. Most Asian cultures call the dumpling how the Turks originally did–Koreans call it mandu, Greek people call it manti, Afghans call it mantu, and Chinese people call it mantou too. But the origins aren’t the only debatable part of the convo–who has the best dumplings?

Host and Producer
Yelda Ali

Producer
Stephanie Tangkilisan
Joy Jihyun Jeong

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Manal Ahmed

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Yelda Ali

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Manal Ahmed

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Alison Boya Sun

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Rendy Abi
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Keshia Hannam

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Stephanie Tangkilisan

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Fajar Alkan

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Samuel Kang
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