During my trip to Poland in Dec 2019, I tasted Silesian dumplings for the first time. I was struck by how Silesian dumplings and Hakka abacas seeds resembled each other. When I returned home to Singapore, I decided to make Silesian dumplings with a local twist.
My first Silesian dumpling was at Karczma Pod Strzecha Zaprasza. It was stewed beef cheeks with Silesian dumplings. The tenderly juicy beefy stewed beef cheeks and red wine sauce paired perfectly with the spongy chewy sweet savoury Silesian dumplings. It was one of the memorable dishes from my Poland trip ๐
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Silesian dumplings came from Silesia in southwestern Poland but is popular throughout the country and Polish communities around the world. It is known as kluski ลlฤ skie (pronounced coos-ki-swoh-stair) in Polish.
Silesian dumplings are obligatory carbs served with roast meat, poultry, or caramelised onions, fried bacon bits and drippings.
There are 2 types of Silesian dumplings - with filling and without filling, but they all have that signature indentation or dimple in the middle.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
The origins of Silesian dumplings are unclear. Looking at how it resembled Chinese Hakka abacus seeds, I wondered if it was one of the dishes brought back to Europe by Marco Polo. The great Italian traveler-explorer was in China for 17 years from 1275 - 1292.
Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor who ruled China under the Yuan dynasty from 1271 - 1294, appointed Marco Polo as an adviser / administrator. Marco Polo travelled throughout the emperor's realm.
Marco Polo is credited for bringing spaghetti to Italy and pierogies (similar to Chinese dumplings ้ฅบๅญ) to Europe / Poland. It is plausible that Silesian dumplings (similar to Hakka abacus seeds) may be another Chinese dish Marco Polo brought back to Europe. Of course, all these are still in the realm of legend and speculation.
Abacus seeds ๅฎขๅฎถ็ฎ็ๅญ (suan pan zi) is a traditional dish of the Hakka people of northern China who started to migrate south during the Qin dynasty (221 - 206 BC) to escape war and persecution (because they rebelled against the emperor). Marco Polo was likely to have met Hakka people as they would be in many parts of China by the 13th century. Abacus seeds look and are made in the same way as Silesian dumplings but ingredients today are mashed yam and tapioca flour (instead of today's potato).
Today, you can buy ready made frozen Silesian dumplings everywhere in Poland but you have to make it yourself in Singapore and Malaysia. No worries lah, it is really very easy to make.
Silesian dumplings are easy to make and good fun when the whole family join in to knead and roll the potato dough.
This simple recipe is for Silesian dumplings with no filling.
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Yields: 50 dumplings
Ingredients
๐ฅ 600 grams potatoes
๐ฅ 1 chicken egg
๐ฅ ½ teaspoon salt
๐ต 150 grams potato starch (kanji ubi kentang ้ฉฌ้่ฏๆท็ฒ)
Method
Boil the washed potatoes with skin in salted water.
Drain, skin and mash the still warm potatoes.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add potato starch, mix in egg and salt to the potato mash to make a roll-able dough (similar to pizza dough). Potato mash to potato starch ratio is 4:1.
(An easy way to do this is to quarter the potato mash with a knife. Remove ¼ and replace it with potato starch. Then, put back the ¼ potato mash and mix everything - all the potato mash, egg and potato flour together.)
The prepared dough should have texture like modelling clay, pliable and not sticky. If too dry, add a little water till you get the desired texture. If too wet, add potato starch.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
Pinch off pieces of dough and roll it between the palms to the size of a golf or ping pong ball.
Flatten the dough with the palms and make a dimple with your thumb or index finger.
It can be deep but do not make a hole (which would turn it into a doughnut ๐ ).
Set aside the dumplings and let them air dry.
When you have 20 dumplings formed, drop them into the boiling salted water.
When dumplings rise to the surface, let them cook an additional 2 minutes. Any dumplings stuck to the bottom, just give them a gentle nudge.
Taste test to see if dumpling is done. They should be tenderly firm with a slight bounce to the bite (neither soft nor hard). Just slightly firmer than a marshmallow.
The texture can be adjusted by tweaking the mash potato to potato starch ratio. More starch equals more chewy bounce, less potato flavour.
Remove cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon or wire mesh ladle and let them drain in a colander i.e. perforated container.
Your cooked Silesian dumplings are ready to serve! ๐
Yeah, they look a lot like Hakka abacus seeds (made of tapioca flour and mashed yam), so there are a lot of possibilities of fusing the two traditional dishes. As Silesian dumplings are made of potato, they can be a gluten free alternative to abacus seed dishes.
These potato "abacus seeds" taste good by themselves ๐
Today, I stir fried my Silesian dumplings exactly like I would abacus seeds.
First sautรฉ garlic slices and (soaked) dried shrimps till their aromas are released. Then, add in diced chicken (marinated with soy sauce and sesame oil), tau kwa (dried tofu) strips, and shitake mushroom slices. Stir fry with a little cooking oil till the chicken is cooked. Add in the Silesian dumplings. Fold and stir fry till the dumplings and other ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
(Other recipes call for pork, shallot, dried cuttle fish, black fungus, dried white bait, spring onion etc. There's really no hard and fast rules, as long as it pleases yours and your guests' palates ๐ )
I enjoyed this Silesian dumpling - abacus seed fusion / reunion. The Silesian dumplings were tender and slightly springy to the bite. The dumplings' potato sweetness was complemented by layers of savoury flavours from the stir fried garlic, dried shrimp, mushroom, diced chicken and julienned dried tofu. (Silesian dumplings made of potato are slightly sweeter than abacus seeds made of yam.)
I said reunion because abacus seeds travelled to the West over 700 years ago. It came back as Silesian dumplings and still combine well with the flavours that traditionally complement abacus seeds.
With this simple recipe I can enjoy Silesian dumplings anywhere in the world. If you are familiar with Silesian dumplings, try it with stir fried diced chicken. If you are familiar with abacus seeds, try making it with potatoes for a different taste and texture.
The possibilities for using Silesian dumplings in Chinese cuisine are limitless. I am still tweaking this recipe ๐ Share with me your ideas in the comments ๐
Poland tastes good. Wherever you are.
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 40 mins
Yields: 50 dumplings
Ingredients
๐ฅ 600 grams potatoes
๐ฅ 1 chicken egg
๐ฅ ½ teaspoon salt
๐ต 150 grams potato starch (kanji ubi kentang ้ฉฌ้่ฏๆท็ฒ)
Method
Boil the washed potatoes with skin in salted water.
Drain, skin and mash the still warm potatoes.
Transfer to a large bowl. Add potato starch, mix in egg and salt to the potato mash to make a roll-able dough (similar to pizza dough). Potato mash to potato starch ratio is 4:1.
(An easy way to do this is to quarter the potato mash with a knife. Remove ¼ and replace it with potato starch. Then, put back the ¼ potato mash and mix everything - all the potato mash, egg and potato flour together.)
The prepared dough should have texture like modelling clay, pliable and not sticky. If too dry, add a little water till you get the desired texture. If too wet, add potato starch.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
10 Polish food to try ๐ click
10 Polish restaurants to try ๐ click
Poland food & sightseeing itinerary ๐ click
10 Polish restaurants to try ๐ click
Poland food & sightseeing itinerary ๐ click
Pinch off pieces of dough and roll it between the palms to the size of a golf or ping pong ball.
Flatten the dough with the palms and make a dimple with your thumb or index finger.
It can be deep but do not make a hole (which would turn it into a doughnut ๐ ).
Set aside the dumplings and let them air dry.
When you have 20 dumplings formed, drop them into the boiling salted water.
When dumplings rise to the surface, let them cook an additional 2 minutes. Any dumplings stuck to the bottom, just give them a gentle nudge.
Taste test to see if dumpling is done. They should be tenderly firm with a slight bounce to the bite (neither soft nor hard). Just slightly firmer than a marshmallow.
The texture can be adjusted by tweaking the mash potato to potato starch ratio. More starch equals more chewy bounce, less potato flavour.
Remove cooked dumplings with a slotted spoon or wire mesh ladle and let them drain in a colander i.e. perforated container.
Your cooked Silesian dumplings are ready to serve! ๐
Yeah, they look a lot like Hakka abacus seeds (made of tapioca flour and mashed yam), so there are a lot of possibilities of fusing the two traditional dishes. As Silesian dumplings are made of potato, they can be a gluten free alternative to abacus seed dishes.
These potato "abacus seeds" taste good by themselves ๐
Today, I stir fried my Silesian dumplings exactly like I would abacus seeds.
First sautรฉ garlic slices and (soaked) dried shrimps till their aromas are released. Then, add in diced chicken (marinated with soy sauce and sesame oil), tau kwa (dried tofu) strips, and shitake mushroom slices. Stir fry with a little cooking oil till the chicken is cooked. Add in the Silesian dumplings. Fold and stir fry till the dumplings and other ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
(Other recipes call for pork, shallot, dried cuttle fish, black fungus, dried white bait, spring onion etc. There's really no hard and fast rules, as long as it pleases yours and your guests' palates ๐ )
I enjoyed this Silesian dumpling - abacus seed fusion / reunion. The Silesian dumplings were tender and slightly springy to the bite. The dumplings' potato sweetness was complemented by layers of savoury flavours from the stir fried garlic, dried shrimp, mushroom, diced chicken and julienned dried tofu. (Silesian dumplings made of potato are slightly sweeter than abacus seeds made of yam.)
I said reunion because abacus seeds travelled to the West over 700 years ago. It came back as Silesian dumplings and still combine well with the flavours that traditionally complement abacus seeds.
With this simple recipe I can enjoy Silesian dumplings anywhere in the world. If you are familiar with Silesian dumplings, try it with stir fried diced chicken. If you are familiar with abacus seeds, try making it with potatoes for a different taste and texture.
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The possibilities for using Silesian dumplings in Chinese cuisine are limitless. I am still tweaking this recipe ๐ Share with me your ideas in the comments ๐
Poland tastes good. Wherever you are.
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10 Polish food to try ๐ click
10 Polish restaurants to try ๐ click
Poland food & sightseeing itinerary ๐ click
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Poland food & sightseeing itinerary ๐ click
Written by Tony Boey on 16 Feb 2020
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this looks so good, i'm going to try it too! thank you for sharing your recipe and technique!
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