Tucked away in a strip mall in west Edina is Cahill Bistro. Its empanadas are served with crema casera and roasted tomato salsa. Photos: Chris Emeott
Embark on a tour of global flavors all deliciously wrapped in dough.
If it’s wrapped in dough and packed with flavor, we are there in a heartbeat. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a dumpling as, “a casing of dough enclosing a typically savory filling, such as meat or seafood and cooked usually by boiling, steaming or pan-frying.”
Edina and Linden Hills are blessed with an abundance of restaurants with countless permutations and combinations of global dumplings. There are bao, calzones, dumplings, empanadas, gyoza, pasties, potstickers, samosas and many more. On this tour, what unites these portable bites of culture is how each put their own twist on traditional recipes while staying true to their culinary roots. Whether baked, fried or steamed, these dumplings prove that good things really do come in small, delicious packages. You don’t need a passport to take a culinary trip around the world—instead, enjoy these eight varieties to begin your adventure.
Bao
Puttshack puts an Asian fusion spin on bao with its Nashville Hot Bao Buns. Fried chicken is marinated with cayenne and served with chipotle aioli and rainbow slaw.
These Chinese steamed buns are a distinct type of dumpling because they are fluffy and made with leavened dough. And the filling is not entirely encased in dough. But this difference makes it a rich culinary experience because it gives the dish a pillowy and bread-like texture. Puttshack has tasty Nashville Hot Bao Buns that have cayenne-marinated house fried chicken, chipotle aioli and rainbow slaw. puttshack.com
Calzone
Calzone in Italian means “trouser leg.” It gets that fun name from its shape. Some people think a calzone is just a folded pizza, but it differs from its pizza pie cousin because of how it’s prepared and its fillings. A calzone is made from salted bread dough and fillings are typically cured meats, mozzarella and ricotta cheese. Once it’s all folded up, it gets baked in the oven. Folding it over makes a sealed pocket. The sauce should never be inside the calzone. It’s meant to be dipped into a sauce, usually marinara. Davanni’s has more Americanized calzones, but they are served with a side of marinara sauce. Editor’s Pick: The Works. davannis.com
Dumpling (Jiaozi)
Dumplings or jiaozi are usually boiled or steamed and have an unleavened wrapper that is thicker than gyoza or other similar looking delights. Master Noodle and Big Bowl both have tasty braised short rib dumplings and chicken and vegetarian options. Editor’s Pick: soup dumplings or xiao long bao, which are steamed and have a little bit of broth inside. Find them on Master Noodle’s menu as Steamed Pork Juicy Buns. bigbowl.com; masternoodleusa.com
Empanada
Empanada means “wrapped in bread” in Spanish. Cahill Bistro, an Ecuadorian restaurant in west Edina, is nestled into a strip mall near the intersection of Cahill Road and West 70th Street. It offers pain fried corn dough stuffed with either braised beef (Empanadas de Carne) or fresh vegetables (Empanadas Vegetarianas). Both iterations are served with roasted tomato salsa and crema casera. Martina in Linden Hills has a more fusion take on the empanada, which is stuffed with creamed leeks and Gorgonzola and served with chimichurri sauce. cahillbistroedina.com; martinarestaurant.com
Gyoza and Momo
Muddy Tiger chef Jyotiee Kistner steams momos before panfrying them to complete the cooking process. Customers can order vegetarian (encased in green dough) and chicken flavors.
These Japanese dumplings come from the Chinese jiaozi. But the main thing that sets them apart is that they have thinner wrappers, a garlic flavor and are usually pan fried on the bottom to get crispy before being steamed to complete the cooking process. They are traditionally made with pork and cabbage, and you can find them at AMA Sushi, Coconut Thai, Nakamori Japanese Bistro (which has vegetarian options), Raku and Yumi. For the Nepali momos, their preparation is slightly different. They’re first steamed and then panfried. Muddy Tiger has vegetarian and chicken momos. amasushimn.com; coconutthaimn.com; muddytiger.com; nakamorimn.com; rakumn.com; yumisushibar.com
Pasty
Historically, the pasty was the lunch of choice for miners. It is compact, easy to carry and hearty enough to keep a person full for hours. When miners from Cornwall settled in the Iron Range and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, they brought this beloved and hearty handheld meal with them. There are sadly no restaurants in our readership area that serve these deliciously British pockets of goodness. However, Kowalski’s Markets and Lunds & Byerlys stock Pasty Oven’s version of this tasty treat. The company is based in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They come in two flavors: beef, pork and rutabaga, and beef and pork. kowalskis.com; lundsandbyerlys.com
Potsticker (Guo Tie)
These fried dumplings are called guo tie and are similar to dumplings or jiaozi except they are fried. They have a thicker wrapper than gyoza. Big Bowl has braised short rib potstickers as well as chicken and vegetarian varieties. Master Noodle has fried beef and pork options. bigbowl.com; masternoodleusa.com
Samosa
The term samosa comes from the Middle Persian word sambosag, which means triangular pastry. It can come in many different shapes, including a flat triangle, a cone or even a crescent. Raag has a delicious potato and pea samosa made in the Punjabi fashion, which is a pyramid. Two samosas are served alongside mint chutney and tamarind sauce. raagindiancuisine.com
