Crow’s Head Dumplings

Crow’s Head Dumplings

　　Crow’s Head Dumplings (lǎo guā sā), pronounced "wa" for the first character and the second tone for the second, are a local Shaanxi dish similar to hand-pulled noodle dough pieces, but the dumplings in this dish are much larger than regular dough bits. The dough pieces are shaped with pointed ends and a round middle—resembling a crow’s head—which is how they got their name. The creativity of the people of Shaanxi is truly admirable.

　　The way to make dough soup is to stir flour into a paste, then once the pot boils, use chopsticks or something similar to pinch off pieces or strips and cook them until done.

　　For the authentic way to make Crow’s Head Dumplings, first mix water and flour to knead a soft dough, let it rest briefly, then flatten the dough in a basin. Pour a little water around the dough, as if soaking it, then knead it again. Boil water in a large farmhouse stove pot. Rub pieces of dough between your palms to form sheets. Because of the water, these will come out irregular in shape and thickness, along with some sticky, fluffy bits. Make them whatever size you like. By the end, there will be a lot of starch washed out into the basin—pour that into the pot as well. The resulting Crow’s Head Dumpling soup will at first look like a thick, bubbling pot full of lively simmering broth, and only when you stir it with a spoon can you feel the large sheets and chunks of dough within.