A Real Taste of Europe

While I was tempted to go down the road of Italian sweet treats or wacky Futurist food sculptures for the fair, I decided I'd take the path less travelled and intertwine my own cultural heritage with a potentially precarious link between Chinese cuisine and that which we studied in our two-week intensive. Many a time, I was asked 'how on earth do Shanghainese won-tons relate to this course?'

The adventure starts with a CNN article, taking us around the world in 30 dumplings. Ranging from Turkish Manti and Polish Pierogi, to Russian Pelmeni and the Nepalese Momo, I drew a link between my Chinese-style pork and bok-choy won-tons, and Italian-style ravioli. All of these dishes are similar in concept - they consist of a doughy wrapper filled with a meat or vegetarian filling. However, they are vastly different in palate, wrapping style and cultural specialty. I found it super interesting to observe that so many different places produce such similar dishes, with different tastes based on geographical location - this fits in with the idea of terroir discussed in lectures. For example, my Chinese won-tons are filled with pork mince and bok-choy, pork being the most consumed protein in China. I remember my mum telling me throughout my childhood that the bok-choy we buy in Melbourne tastes far inferior to that she grew up with in Shanghai. She always lamented that the won-tons we make here in Melbourne just don't have the same flair - and I have to agree, having eaten authentic won-tons on family visits.

My Shanghainese won-ton recipe has been passed down through the family - I learnt from my grandma. We often spend a day wrapping them, and freeze them to use as school or uni lunches throughout the year. Making won-tons is always a family experience, bringing us all together at a round table, working on wrapping. It facilitates chatter and quality time, and is super rewarding when we eat the freshly boiled product. I was very proud of my won-tons at the food fair, because they provided a different perspective on what we have learnt throughout the course, applying concepts such as terroir and regionality to different cuisines from all over the world. They were a hit at the food fair, consumed quickly by passers-by. Overall, the food fair was a beautiful experience, seeing everyone's cooking clearly filled with passion.

Love, Ingrid