50 free Dumplings trivia questions with answers — food & drink quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This dumplings trivia quiz travels the whole map of dough wrapped around something good. It starts in China, where a scholar wrote about dumplings 1,700 years ago and where jiaozi are said to have been invented to treat frostbitten ears; from there it goes to Shanghai's soup dumplings and the restaurant chain that folds each one exactly 18 times, to wontons that 'swallow clouds', har gow and shumai at dim sum, and the sticky-rice zongzi of the Dragon Boat Festival. Then it heads west and south: gyoza in Japan, mandu in Korea, momos in Nepal and Tibet, manti and Kayseri, Georgia's khinkali with the knob you are not supposed to eat, Russian pelmeni, Ukrainian varenyky, Polish pierogi and why 'ruskie' does not mean Russian. Europe brings ravioli, tortellini and the navel of Venus, gnocchi, Swabian Maultaschen and Bavarian bread dumplings; Jewish cuisine adds kreplach and matzah balls; the Americas add empanadas, apple dumplings and chicken and dumplings. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the individual dishes, and each question links to the page that establishes it. Fifty questions, free, with an explanation after every answer.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which Chinese scholar mentioned dumplings in a poem about 1,700 years ago?
Shu Xi
His fu poem is one of the oldest written references to the food anywhere.
Q 02Preserved dumplings over 1,000 years old were found in tombs at which Chinese site?
Turfan
The Xinjiang oasis's dry climate preserved the Six Dynasties-era food.
Q 03Jiaozi are traditionally credited to which Han-dynasty figure?
A medicine practitioner
Zhang Zhongjing is said to have made them one winter to help the poor, who lacked warm clothes and enough food.
Q 04What ailment were the original jiaozi meant to treat, hence their old name?
Frostbitten ears
Zhang Zhongjing saw common people suffering in winter without warm clothes or enough food.
Q 05Jiaozi symbolise wealth because they resemble what?
Gold and silver ingots
The boat-shaped sycee were the money of Imperial China, which is why the dumplings star at New Year in the north.
Q 06The Western term 'potsticker' derives from which Chinese word?
Guotie
It literally means 'pot stick' and refers to pan-fried jiaozi.
Q 07Gyoza reached Japan mainly through what event?
Japanese colonisers returning from China after WWII
Millions came home after the Second Sino-Japanese War, bringing a taste for jiaozi with them.
Q 08Jiaozi are traditionally served with a dip of soy sauce and what?
Black vinegar
They can be boiled, steamed, pan-fried, deep-fried, baked or served in soup.
Q 09What does the name xiaolongbao literally mean?
Little basket bun
The xiaolong is the small bamboo steamer they are cooked in.
Q 10The best-known style of xiaolongbao outside China is associated with which city?
Shanghai
The Nanxiang style is the famous one; Suzhou and Wuxi make them larger and sweeter.
Q 11The most popular kind of xiaolongbao originates from which city in Jiangsu province?
Changzhou
It is counted as an iconic dish of Jiangnan cuisine.
Q 12How many folds does Din Tai Fung put in each of its xiaolongbao?
18
The Taipei-based chain won a Michelin star for its Hong Kong branch in 2009.
Q 13Din Tai Fung began in 1958 as what kind of business?
A cooking oil retailer
Founder Yang Bingyi and his Hakka wife Lai Penmei ran the shop in Taipei before turning to dumplings.
Q 14The Cantonese name for wontons, wantan, means what?
Q 21Which poet's drowning in the Miluo River is commemorated with zongzi?
Qu Yuan
Legend says his ghost asked that the rice be sealed in leaves and tied with coloured string to keep dragons away.
Q 22Tangyuan, glutinous rice balls in syrup, are traditionally eaten on which occasion?
Lantern Festival
The name sounds like the word for reunion, so they also appear at weddings and the winter solstice.
Q 23What are dumplings called in Korean cuisine?
Mandu
They were long part of royal court cuisine and are now sold everywhere from supermarkets to street stalls.
Cloud swallow
When cooked, the dumplings float in the broth like small clouds.
Q 15In Sichuan, wontons are known as chao shou, meaning what?
Folded arms
The wrapper is folded into a triangle and the ends pressed together to look like crossed arms.
Q 16Har gow is a dim sum dumpling filled with what?
Shrimp
Its wrapper turns translucent when steamed, hence the name crystal shrimp dumpling.
Q 17Har gow, shumai, cha siu bao and egg tarts are known collectively as what in dim sum?
The Four Heavenly Kings
They are considered the classic dishes of the cuisine.
Q 18Shumai evolved into which snack in Australia?
Dim sim
Other descendants include Hawaiian pork hash and Indonesian siomay.
Q 19Baozi differ from most dumplings in that their dough is what?
Yeast-leavened
They are a filled variation of the plain steamed bun of northern China.
Q 20Zongzi, sticky-rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, are eaten on which occasion?
Dragon Boat Festival
The Duanwu Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and commemorates a drowned poet.
Q 24Momos are steamed dumplings from the cuisines of Nepal and which other place?
Tibet
It is unclear which side of the Himalaya they came from first; they are also popular in Bhutan, Bangladesh and India.
Q 25A popular Turkish style of manti is named for which central Anatolian city?
Kayseri
Turkic-speaking migrants carried the dumpling to Anatolia from Central Asia.
Q 26Manti's name is a cognate of which Chinese word?
Mantou
It is also cognate with the Korean and Japanese names manju and the like, though those now mostly mean different dishes.
Q 27Khinkali, twisted knobs of dough stuffed with meat, come from which country?
Georgia
They originated in the mountain regions of the east, credited to the Mokhevians, Pshavians and their neighbours.
Q 28Pelmeni are considered a national dish of which country?
Russia
They became a staple during expansion into the Urals and Siberia, and the name comes from Komi and Udmurt languages.
Q 29Varenyky are the emblematic dumplings of which country?
Ukraine
Compared with Polish pierogi they have thinner, softer dough and simpler fillings, most often potato.
Q 30Poland's first cookbook, which records pierogi, was published in what year?
1682
Compendium ferculorum was its title; pierogi remain popular in Canada and the United States too.