The world of dumplings is a vast, carb-rich, wonderland.
From Europe's spaetzle and gnocchi; to Asia's mantou, wontons and momo; to the Americas' brown bread, tamales and drop dumplings; to West Africa's fufu; and Australia's dumplings with Cocky's Joy (golden syrup dumplings) — some form of dumplings exist in virtually every corner of the world.
Some might argue dumplings are the world's universal comfort food.
A dumpling, by definition, is a small bit of dough cooked by steaming or boiling.
That broad definition means gnocchi, ravioli, spaetzle, baozi, pierogi, knoedel, tamale, matzo balls and mantou are all dumplings.
But for the most part, dumplings fall into two categories: filled and unfilled. This story features unfilled dumplings. Filled dumplings will be featured later.
Spaetzle — German for little sparrows — are tiny noodle-like dumplings made of eggs, flour and liquid.