When it comes to the representative food of winter, dumplings must list on the top rank. Chinese people prefer to eat dumplings in certain festivals or important occasions, especially during winter.

For instance, an old Chinese saying goes “Eat dumplings on Start of Winter or your ears will be frostbitten” and there is an interesting folk tale behind this old saying. It is said that at the end of Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220), there was a great man called Zhang Zhongjing who was known as the “Medical Saint”. Once he went by Henan province and found people there were suffering a typhoid epidemic that had caused hundreds of casualties. In order to save lives, Zhang cooked lamb, hot peppers and herbs which could help people dispel coldness and strength body heat. He wrapped those ingredients into a dough skin and shaped them into ears, which is what we call dumplings today.

Main ingredients of Chinese dumplings usually are flour, salt, meat and vegetables. Based on the original edition, nowadays, people have created various versions of this traditional food. As for the way of cooking, there are mainly three different varieties: boiled dumplings, steamed dumplings and pan-fried dumplings. As to the flavor, there are numerous flavors of dumplings and people from different regions of China prefer different flavors. For instance, residents of northern China like Beijing favor dumplings with mutton filling.

It is heard that this year’s winter would be extremely freezing, so remember to eat dumplings that can prevent your ears from frostbiting.