- If you asked me for one dish that every single culture has, the answer is easy.

I'm excited.

- I'm excited, too.

(both giggle) - Dumplings.

Posing with a dumpling feels right.

Whether boiled or fried, sweet or savory, you can find dumplings just about anywhere.

My name is Beryl, and this show explores how our foods can bring our different cultures together.

And this is our dumpling episode.

Have you ever had Mongolian food before?

- Mongolian food?

No, I don't think I have.

- [Beryl] But this is a pretty simple dough.

Like it's- - Yeah.

I feel like it's like a pasta almost.

- Come feel the dough, baby.

That's a baby tushy right there.

- It feels really good.

Today I've paired up Em and Ooyanga to swap their favorite dumplings from their cultures.

Em will make Mongolian naadmiin huushuur, while Ooyanga will try her hand at kreplach, a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish.

I'm excited because this season I get to help.

And since we're making dumplings, everyone around got involved as well.

Everyone made a dumpling.

(all chuckling) Rolling pins at the ready.

It's dumpling time.

(gentle folk music) - Dear Ooyanga, my name is Em.

And today you're going to be making Ashkenazi or Eastern European Jewish kreplach.

I am a first generation American and my family is originally from Poland.

Kreplach are dumplings that are usually made for holiday meals, and they're stuffed with different things.

Kreplach.

Kreplach?

Kreplach.

- [Em] And my very favorite is probably the meat-filled because those were the ones that my grandmother always made.

- [Beryl] How's it going so far?

- This is fine, I think.

- Yeah, it's fine.

It's fine.

These are famous last words.

It's all fine.

- [Em] The word kreple, originated from the German for fritter.

But kreplach to me means dumplings, and that's the Yiddish word that we use.

- [Beryl] So this will be your first time trying this dish?

- For sure.

- Fun fact, the word kreple also means crush.

And I have a huge kreple on Kreplach.

And I think that you'll have a huge kreple on kreplach too.

- [Beryl] Bounce back.

Okay, that looks good.

Does this dish, like, remind you of anything from your culture or does this feel, like, different?

- I would say it's pretty similar.

I think the only difference is having eggs in the dough.

- When my Bubby used to make kreplach, she would make a huge heap of them.

I would love standing in the kitchen and watching her.

And if I was lucky, she would let me help her make them.

- Usually it's leftover meat, but we don't have that, so we're gonna cook the ground beef first.

And in the oil of the beef, or like the fat, we're gonna saute the onions and the garlic.

- I've tagged in.

(gentle music) Caramelizing onions is a two woman job.

(gentle music) - [Em] I continue to make kreplach because it is one of the ways that I really, truly appreciate celebrating my Jewish identity.

- [Ooyanga] Hopefully it doesn't blow up.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

- It looks good.

- [Beryl] Yeah.

- I'm not very much about the religion, I'm more about the cultural ethnic stuff.

And the food is really at the heart of it all.

Because where's the warmth?

- Mm, sweet.

- [Em] The warmth is in the kitchen.

That's where the heart is for me.

When you're making your kreplach, first and foremost, make sure to roll the dough out super, super, super thin because it will puff up a little bit as you cook it.

- Should it be bigger?

(gentle music continues) Feels good.

Cool.

- [Em] And then you also wanna make sure not to overfill them.

- [Beryl] Show us your dumpling.

- It looks really sad.

I'm gonna make a better one.

Doesn't it look like a dinosaur?

- [Beryl] Yeah.

- [Ooyanga] And this one is the A student.

I think Em said not to overstuff it.

- Yeah, Em did say not to overstuff it.

- [Ooyanga] They said it'll taste good, but don't.

- Em (chuckles).

The one thing you said not to do.

I literally did.

(gentle music continues) Oh, it looks great.

(all laughing) Okay, Lars is up, Lars is up.

Everyone's gotta make a dumpling.

Yay!

Everyone made a dumpling.

- Yay, you did it.

(all laughing) - Dumplings are so centric to so many different cultures.

And I think this is just a different kind of dumpling that maybe you've never had before.

For me, I can't imagine liking any dumpling more than I like kreplach.

I hope you have fun making them.

Love, Em.

- Okay.

The dumplings are so big.

And even though Em had said it would blow up and like bloat, I didn't realize it was gonna be this big.

It's really good.

I think maybe I rolled the dough too thick because it's really thick.

I feel like it's more dough than the meat.

- [Beryl] You need to get one of mine then.

- I know, that's what I was thinking.

- Can I try rolling one out?

- Yeah.

- Ooyanga made this look so much easier than it is.

Wait, dang.

- Making your own dough makes it really hard, I think.

It's meat-heavy.

It's also oniony.

It's like, this is very similar to Mongolian food, which is kind of crazy.

But I think I was more surprised by the broth.

- [Beryl] It smells really good though, this broth and the meat.

- And realizing how familiar it is.

I feel like I'm just eating food that I would eat at my grandparents, like.

- [Beryl] Would you ever make something like this again?

- Probably, yeah.

Yeah, I wouldn't even know it's Jewish.

I would just make it and we'd have the same food.

- I'm gonna try and see how we've done.

Mmm.

The filling is so soft.

It just feels nice.

It, like, feels nice to eat this.

Also, yeah.

We made the dumplings a little big.

Sorry, Em (chuckles).

(upbeat music) - Hi, Em.

My name is Ooyanga.

I'm originally from Mongolia and I currently reside in New York City.

And my favorite dumplings are naadmiin huushuur.

- She's so sweet.

- [Ooyanga] Naadmiin huushuur are often round, very large and thin, deep-fried dumplings.

- It's like just tacky enough so that as the gluten develops, it's gonna be like a little baby's butt.

(Beryl laughs) It's perfect.

Rest well.

- [Ooyanga] Naadmiin huushuur are dumplings filled with beef or mutton, and onions and salt.

- Ooyanga, you're making me cry.

It's the onions.

- [Ooyanga] The main descriptor is that it's very thin.

So often we joke that if you held it up to the sun, you'd be able to see the sunshine through the dumplings.

Naadmiin huushuur brings so many special memories of my dad and his side of the family when I would hang out with my cousins.

- Mm.

- Yeah?

- [Beryl] I think that tastes pretty good.

- [Em] Okay, I'm gonna turn this off.

- I don't think it needs any more salt.

- Nope?

(upbeat music continues) - I don't want to burn you.

- Mm, oh yeah.

That is good.

- Right?

That just tastes like a good stuffing.

- Come feel the dough, baby.

That's a baby tushy right there.

- It feels really good.

- [Ooyanga] The hardest part of making it is the dough itself.

- Ooh.

(Em laughing) - [Ooyanga] The dough has to be nice and soft and wet so that it's pliable.

- The dough is really pliable.

- It's very supple.

- Yeah.

I like this.

- [Ooyanga] But also not too soft that you make holes when you're pinching the dough in.

- You make a little circle, right?

- Okay.

- You're gonna put in a little bit of stuffing.

(upbeat music continues) - Yes.

- Okay.

- I love you so much.

- (laughing) It's so sad.

- Oh, Em.

(Beryl laughing) - It's hard, but we're still having fun.

- It's so good.

- Naadmiin huushuur is a great dumpling.

Some people like it nice and crispy and crunchy when it's right out of the oil.

I personally like to let it sit a little bit so it's nice and soft so that I can fold it in half and eat it that way, just like a lot of New Yorkers would eat their pizza.

It's the perfect dumpling, and I hope you like it.

With so much love, Ooyanga.

- Wow.

(gentle music) This was such an experience.

I'm so excited (squeals).

I am supposed to fold it like a pizza and... Mmm.

Oh, this is comfort.

This is so good.

Thank you, Ooyanga!

This is amazing.

I can't believe I made this.

- Oh.

- It's like almost flaky but soft and pillowy, but still a little crispy on the edges.

And the meat is so savory and the vegetables give it flavor, but also a little bit of texture.

And it's just really lovely.

- [Beryl] How similar is this dough to the dough for kreplach?

- You know, looking at the ingredients, it seems very similar.

I absolutely get Ashkenazi vibes from the flavors because there's no major spice.

- These are the couple spices we have.

- I love a challenge in the kitchen.

I'm always up to learning new techniques.

It's almost there.

See?

It's a nice shaggyish dough.

I really thought I knew dough.

I've been making challah since I was very little So dough is like easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

I guess I have a lot to learn.

- Cole, you wanna try?

Come, buddy.

You can do this.

Yeah Cole, yeah, Cole.

- The technique was what really tripped me up a little bit.

I think, like, just getting the right texture to the dough, the right thickness to the dough so that it wouldn't fall apart, so that there wouldn't be holes in it.

Uh-oh (laughing).

I can see a little bit of sun, maybe a little bit.

- [Beryl] I can see the meat through it.

- I see the meat through.

- [Beryl] I'm calling this one a success.

- I am calling it a success.

It's beautiful to learn things from new cultures and new ethnicities.

Like, you gotta come in and have some.

Come on.

Cheers (chuckles).

(gentle music) - Mmm.

This is so good.

It was worth the, like...

This was worth the grief in the kitchen.

(screen beeps) (Em laughing) (screen beeping) - Oh, Em.

(screen beeps) Uh-oh (laughing) (screen beeping) (Beryl laughing) - I can't get it to close.

(screen beeping) Ooyanga, thank you.

- Thank you, Ooyanga.

This is like love in a dumpling.

(Beryl giggles) (gentle music) - I hope you enjoyed this episode of "Pan Pals."

Let me know in the comments what is your favorite kind of dumpling.

And if you like home cooking, you should check out the brand new season of "The Great American Recipe."

The show features eight talented home cooks in a competition that celebrates the diversity and flavors of foods across the U.S. You can watch the first episode here on the PBS Food YouTube channel.

And check out the rest of the season every week on the PBS app on your local PBS station.

Check it out in the links in the description.