Gyoza, dumpling or dim sum — what is the actual difference?

Three words that get used interchangeably while pointing at three different things. Let us pull them apart.

Dumpling is the umbrella

Dumpling covers just about anything made of dough with something inside. It is an enormous category that spans half the world:

• Jiaozi — China, boiled or fried
• Gyoza — Japan, usually fried
• Mandu — Korea
• Wonton — China, thinner wrapper, often in soup
• Xiao long bao — China, with broth inside the parcel
• Momo — Nepal and Tibet
• Pierogi — Poland
• Ravioli — Italy

All they share is the idea. In technique, dough and filling they differ fundamentally. Saying "I love dumplings" is about as specific as saying "I love bread".

Gyoza is one kind of dumpling

The gyoza is the Japanese branch of the family, derived from the Chinese jiaozi. You recognise it by three things: a thin wrapper, a finely minced filling with plenty of garlic, and the cooking method that leaves the base crisp while the top stays steamed.

That last point is the clearest difference from a jiaozi, which more often arrives simply boiled or steamed. A Japanese gyoza also tends to be smaller and flatter.

Dim sum is not a dumpling

This is usually where it goes wrong. Dim sum is not a dish but a meal. It is the Cantonese habit of eating small dishes with tea during the day — yum cha, literally "drinking tea". What comes past on those trolleys is all sorts: steamed buns, chicken feet, rice rolls, egg tarts, and yes, dumplings too.

So: some dim sum is a dumpling, but dim sum itself is a way of eating. Think of tapas — that is not a dish either.

The best-known dumplings within dim sum are har gow (prawn, translucent wrapper) and siu mai (open top, pork and prawn). Neither is a gyoza.

And what about "Asian"?

"Asian food" is broader still. Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian each have their own kitchen, their own flavour base and their own techniques. A Japanese izakaya has little in common with a Cantonese dim sum house, even if both put some form of filled dough on the table.

In short

We do gyoza's — the Japanese branch. Folded by hand, fried to order, on the Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam.