Kaifeng Pan-Fried Dumplings 开封锅贴
Kaifeng Pan-Fried Dumplings is featured among the local specialties of Henan.
Kaifeng Pan-Fried Dumplings (开封锅贴) are guo tie, long filled wheat dumplings fried in a little oil and water, a dish that Chinese Wikipedia counts mostly as Kaifeng (开封) cooking in Henan.
How it is made
A guo tie is a filled wheat dumpling, long in shape with both ends left unsealed. The usual method is to film a flat-bottomed pan with cooking oil so nothing sticks, lay the dumplings in, pour water over them on the heat, sometimes with a little vinegar, and cover the pan so they cook through under the lid.
In some regions people keep guo tie apart from fried dumplings (煎饺): fried dumplings are steamed first and then fried in oil, while guo tie go into the pan raw.
Where it comes from
Chinese Wikipedia links the dish to Kaifeng through the iron wok: iron woks were popular in the Song dynasty, and guo tie dishes are therefore counted mostly as Kaifeng cooking. Kaifeng itself is described as the birthplace of Henan cuisine (豫菜).
The same article notes that the invention tends to be pinned on a famous figure, Emperor Taizu of Song (宋太祖). The third of the origin stories it gives is set on the first day of the first month of the third year of the Jianlong era (962). The emperor followed a smell to the palace kitchen, found an imperial cook frying leftover dumplings in an iron wok, found them crisp and fragrant, and named them guo tie. The dish is said to have passed from the palace to ordinary kitchens. The story is told as legend.
How it is eaten
The usual dip for guo tie is vinegar, and some people add chilli sauce.
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Luoyang Xiaojie Pan-Fried Dumplings 洛阳小街锅贴 →
Guo tie sold under a named Luoyang shop brand on Xigong Xiaojie and developed from 1988, set against the Kaifeng dish's Song-era attribution.
