dumpling

/ˈdʌmplɪŋ/

/ˈdʌmplɛŋ/

Other forms: dumplings

A dumpling is a delicious, bite-sized food that's made of savory ingredients wrapped in dough and cooked. Chinese dumplings can be steamed, boiled, or fried.

If you order dumplings in a Chinese restaurant, you'll get a filling made with vegetables, meat, or fish — it might be a wonton, cooked in a soup, or a potsticker, steamed and then lightly fried. Most cultures have some version of a savory dumpling, and many have sweet dumplings as well, like apple dumplings, which have a fruit filling wrapped in pastry.

Definitions of dumpling

1. noun

   a small ball or strip of boiled or steamed dough
   types:

   gnocchi

   (Italian) small dumplings made of potato or flour or semolina that are boiled or baked and usually served with a sauce or with grated cheese

   matzah ball, matzo ball, matzoh ball

   a Jewish dumpling made of matzo meal; usually served in soup

   won ton, wonton

   a Chinese dumpling filled with spiced minced pork; usually served in soup

   type of:

   alimentary paste, pasta

   shaped and dried dough made from flour and water and sometimes egg
2. noun

   dessert made by baking fruit wrapped in pastry
   types:

   apple dumpling

   apples wrapped in pastry and baked

   type of:

   afters, dessert, sweet

   a dish served as the last course of a meal