Who Invented Dumplings? Tracing Their Origins

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’. <br /><br />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?<br /><br />Host and Producer<br />Yelda Ali<br /><br />Producer<br />Stephanie Tangkilisan<br />Joy Jihyun Jeong<br /><br />Associate Producer<br />Manal Ahmed<br /><br />Researcher and Writer<br />Yelda Ali<br /><br />Additional Researcher<br />Manal Ahmed<br /><br />Director of Photography<br />Alison Boya Sun<br /><br />Editor<br />Rendy Abi<br />Editor-in-Chief<br />Keshia Hannam<br /><br />Head of Production<br />Stephanie Tangkilisan<br /><br />Animator<br />Fajar Alkan<br /><br />Graphic Design<br />Samuel Kang<br />Fitra Pratama<br />Annie Zhao<br /><br />Additional Archival Material<br />Getty Images<br />Derek Chen<br />Michelle Tang<br />Joshua Weissman<br />Wikimedia<br />Tasty<br />Sesame Disk<br />Immediate Media Co<br />TMGrup<br />Legendary Eats<br />Washington Post<br />Coalcracker Bushcraft<br />New York Times<br />British Food History<br />Ozlem's Turkish Table<br />Cooking County<br />The Spruce Eats<br />Red House Spice<br />Chasing The Donkey<br />Tiktok/dannygrubs<br />Tiktok/foodwithsoy<br />Tiktok/xiangshegourmet<br />Tiktok/foodnetwork<br /><br />Additional Music<br />MoodMode - Funny Whimsical Music<br />Immersive Music - A Gentle Transition