CORPUS CHRISTI — The art of dumpling making is extremely special throughout Asia. They are often a family tradition for many Asian American and Pacific Islanders.
They are also a specialty for Noemi Medrano, the owner of Mimi Kitchenboss.
"The broad definition of dumplings is basically any type of dough wrapped around a filling," Medrano said. "The filling could be meat, the filling could be vegetables. It could be savory. It could be sweet.”
Medrano hosts private cooking classes in her Corpus Christi home.
"A ravioli is a dumpling," Medrano. "An empanada is a dumpling."
Medrano's passion for cooking came from traveling as a child and experiencing different cultures.
"If you're open to it and you let yourself taste without any judgement, you're actually in for a journey, a culinary journey," Medrano said.
She was born in the Philippines.
"But my childhood was a little bit of here and there," Medrano said. "I also grew up in Mozambique, Africa."
Her adventures traveling the globe continued into her adulthood.
“That really opened up my palette," Medrano said.
She said she lived and worked in China for 11 years where the country is filled with mom and pop restaurants.
“You have the grandmother in the back just folding dumplings all day,” Medrano said.
She said dumplings are made differently depending on the region.
"Every restaurant that you go to, they have a very unique fold and a very unique filling," Medrano said. "And that really ties into the Chinese culture where, you know, the more dumplings you eat, especially during the Chinese New Year, the more prosperity and wealth you invite in.”
She said that sentiment reflects in the shape of some of the original dumplings, shaped like money sacks.
She said grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles sit at a long table and roll out dumplings, passing down the family recipe.
"Connecting the older generation with the younger generation," Medrano said. "So it's all about creating those elements, putting all those elements together. Our love language is really food."
She continues to share her love of cooking Asian cuisine.
“It gives me a lot of pride that a lot of people want to learn how to make dumplings, learn how to make lumpia," Medrano said.
Medrano said the food from her cooking classes is a vehicle to open up people's minds, palettes and hearts to Asian culture.
