Let’s make and eat dumplings together!

Let’s Make and Eat Dumplings Together!

Outdoor and very hands-on. No experience needed. Materials and ingredients provided. Family friendly, suggested age limit is 3 and up. This event is free and open to the public. Limited to 50 guests so please RSVP!

Dear Friend,

There is an old Chinese saying that I think many people can agree with:

好吃不如饺子，舒服不如躺着.

There is nothing more comfortable than lying down. There is nothing more delicious than dumplings.

I am pleased to invite you to a dumpling dinner party with Art In The Park in celebration of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read: Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. In the loosely organized chaos of a shared making and eating 水餃 [shui jiao] dumpling experience, I hope to add to the playfully thought-provoking conversations Yu has crafted around the Asian diaspora. Our time together will be a shared love letter to the dumpling and the way it has brought so many people together in the last 2500 years.

An endless supply of dough and 2 fillings will frame the event and guarantee juicy deliciousness no matter your experience level: a traditional pork-cabbage filling alongside a vegan tofu-chive-potato filling. In a casual and easy-going game of (kitchen) telephone, you will observe, make, cook, and eat your own dumplings to your heart’s content. Please bring an apron, an empty stomach, lots of questions, and a tender listening ear, ready to be involved in every step of the process.

Audio recording and photo documentation will take place throughout the event and every guest will receive a special zine containing recipes and mementos of past dumpling dinners.

This experience was made possible by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles. If you would like to donate to me, the artist, or to our lovely host, Art In the Park, envelopes will be provided for anonymous (cash) offerings.

Again, please RSVP to secure your spot!

Wishing you abundance and joy!!

Jessica Li

dumpling /`dǝmpliNG/

Noun

The precise definition of a dumpling is controversial, varying across individuals and cultures.

-a small savory ball of dough (usually based on bread, flour, or potatoes) that may be boiled, fried, or baked in a casserole. “chicken and dumplings”

-a small item of food consisting of a thin sheet of dough wrapped around a savory filling and cooked by boiling, frying, steaming, or pan-frying. “veggie dumplings”

-a pudding consisting of apples or other fruit enclosed in a sweet dough and baked. “apple dumpling”

Something soft and rounded like a dumpling, especially a short or stout person or animal, most often used as a term of endearment. “my sweet little dumpling”

synonyms: banku, bao, boraki, buuz, chuchvara, doughboy, egg roll, empanada, fara, gnocchi, gnocchi, gujia, gyoza, joshpara, khinkali, kibbeh, knish, knish, kreplach, kudle, mandu, manti, matzo ball, maultaschen, melkkos, momo, palt, pangsit, papas rellenas, papusa, pastel, pelmeni, pidi, pirogi, potsticker, ravioli, samosa, shlishkes, tortellini, uszka, wonton, yomari, and more.

early 17th century: apparently from the rare adjective dump ‘of the consistency of dough’, although dumpling is recorded much earlier.

For Jessica, making and eating Chinese jiaozi dumplings has been a life-long occurrence. Besides being tasty and drenched in fun symbolism, dumplings are the singular traditional food during Lunar New Year that draws the whole family together in making and eating. Originally a humble food–a peasant’s solution to feeding the masses with only a small amount of meat–dumplings come in so many varieties and are found all around the world. Yet modern comforts have flattened the experience of eating dumplings as an appetizer for a special meal while eating out or a convenient frozen store-bought meal. Jessica thoughtfully and playfully invites attendees to slow down and make, eat, and share stories about this beloved food.

Jessica Li spends a large majority of her time captivated with how life is lived and crafts experiences that spark conversations between friends and strangers.