Wednesday is Lunar New Year celebrated by Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Singaporeans and others all over the world — including, of course, Chicago. It’s a time for gathering, starting over and wishing each other well. But, best of all, it’s a time for dumplings.
Whether they are the boiled dumplings of northern China, sweet rice cakes of southern China, bean-stuffed glutinous rice squares of Vietnam or the meat dumpling soup of Korea, these starchy packets of yum mean New Year’s Day to millions of mouths across the world. They also mean good fortune. That’s why we plan to load up on as many of these traditional foods as possible. Here’s what they are and how to get them.
Most local Korean restaurants (especially noodle houses) serve clear broth soups filled with chewy rice flour discs (ttok-kuk) or meat dumplings (tong mandu kuk) or combos of the two every day of the year, but the most important time to eat them is this Wednesday. Check out the versions at Seoul Dook Bae Gee (3737 W. Lawrence Ave; 773-583-5353), where ttuk-kuk goes for $5.95 and tong mandu kuk is $7.95.
Stop into any Vietnamese grocery store around Argyle Street and Broadway for banh chung, banana-leaf wrapped glutinous rice squares dotted with pork and stuffed with mung bean paste. Four- to seven-inch blocks of the sticky New Year’s snacks go for $5-$8 at Lo Banh Mi Hung Phat, 4942 N. Sheridan Rd.; 773-878-6688.
Shanghai Restaurant (2168 S. Archer Ave.; 312-326-0077) will start serving the sweet sticky southern Chinese rice cakes known as nian gao this weekend for $3 a serving.
And finally, we weren’t able to find a local restaurant that serves northern China’s jiaozi (tell us if you know one), but just about any Asian grocery (like Viet Hoa Market, 1101 W. Argyle St.; 773-275-9157, or International Club, 4000 W. 40th St.; 773-927-0100) will sell you a bag of frozen ones (we bought the Wei-Chuan brand) for about $2.50 to cook at home. This makes sense since you are supposed to eat these meat-and-vegetable dumplings at midnight with family and friends. Just don’t forget to have a dish of soy sauce spiked with rice vinegar, ginger, chili oil or garlic ready to jazz up these otherwise blandish New Year’s nibblies.
For more on Lunar New Year activities, see On the Go and for a roundup of New Year’s dining events see Dining.
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What’s your favorite form of dumpling?
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