Spanish Mackerel Dumplings

Spanish mackerel dumplings are a Jiaodong-style dish made by boning fresh mackerel, mincing the flesh and mixing it with pork, chives and scallion into a filling wrapped in thin dough and boiled, the fish tender and boneless with a smooth, savoury filling.

The dumplings originated among the fishing families of Jiaodong in Shandong and travelled with migrants to the Liaodong coast, taking root in Dalian to become a signature everyday and banquet staple, a seafood noodle dish shared by the Jiaodong and Liaodong regions.

Boiled and lifted out, they are dipped in garlic paste, aged vinegar or soy sauce, the skin thin and juicy and the fish tender, often served with a bowl of dumpling broth in the old saying of "the original broth digests the original food," a staple of Dalian households and feasts.

The fine hand-minced mackerel, the union of chive and fish, and the plump thin-skin form are what set these dumplings apart from dumplings elsewhere.