ANAS CHAO

大家好，我是餃子事務部的創辦人趙永寧，我是個在沙烏地出生長大的台灣人。餃子是我從有記憶以來就在吃的東西，我接觸過的每一顆餃子都對照著我人生的轉變。吃餃子對我來說不單是嚐鮮或是充飢，更是我在每個當下對家園的一種寄託。我對餃子的所有認知，都是從這一顆建立起來的。這是我媽媽做的，麵團手工桿成皮，包上牛絞肉、胡蘿蔔、青蔥和一點麻油。
蒸籠裡放個七分鐘，剛做好的直接吃最香。在我的世界裡，只有照著這套流程做出來吃下去的才是餃子。有這個餃子的地方就有我媽媽。不管是在台灣還是在沙烏地，她總有辦法做出同樣的味道。她是從外婆那學來的，而外婆是從曾祖母那學來的。曾祖母是當年逃難的時候從中國西北把這個味道帶到沙烏地的。因為當時他們沒跟著大家跑去台灣當中華民國人，而是選擇去沙烏地當他們理想中的穆斯林。

Hello, my name is Chao Yung Ning and I’m the founder of Ministry of Dumpling Affairs. I’m a Taiwanese that was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. Dumpling is something that I’ve been eating for as long as I could remember, every dumpling I engage with represents a transition in my life. Eating dumpling isn’t just about trying new things or feeding my body, it’s where I entrust my sense of home in every given moment. Everything I know about dumplings is based on this one here. It’s my mom’s dumplings. Hand-rolled wrapping filled with minced beef, carrot, green onion and some sesame oil. Steam it for seven minutes, it’s best eaten straight off the stove. In my world, a dumpling can only be called a dumpling if it is eaten this way. Where I find this dumpling, I find my mom. Whether it’s Taiwan or Saudi Arabia, she always manages to create the same taste. She learned it from my grandma, who learned it from my great-grandma. Great-grandma brought this dumpling over from northwest China to Saudi Arabia, back when they escaped the Chinese Civil war. Because instead of following most people to be a Nationalist Chinese in Taiwan, they decided to be the ideal Muslim in Saudi Arabia.

السعودية، بلاد الحرمين، أرض المساواة و الاخوة و الثقافات المتعددة. يقولوا احنا في خدمة ضيوف الرحمن. و ما هم غلطانين، عشان طالماً منك سعودي، حتكون دايماً ضيف. ايام زمان، المسلمين من كل العالم جو يحجوا، بعضهم ما رجعوا ديرتهم بعد الحج. و من ضمنهم كان في حجاج من وسط آسيا، زي البخارية و الأفغان. اسسوا بيوتهم في الحجاز بحفاظ على نكهة و تراث الطبيخ البيتي، زي ما سوت ام جدتي والاقارب قبل ٧٠ سنة. الحين مرة عادي تلاقي المنتو في السعودية. المنتو اكل من وسط اسيا اللي هو لحم مفروم مع بصل و فلفل أسود محشي في العجينة. المكونات مرة بسيطة بس لها نكهة معقدة تقعد في الاحساس. بعد ما أسسوا آل سعود المملكة على اسمهم، ضيوف الرحمن لازم يتبعوا العادات و القوانين السعودية عشان يبقوا في بيت الله. المنتو انتشر و استقر في المملكة وقت ما حطوا السعوديين الكمون و الخل و الشطة عليه، بس اللي يسوا المنتو ما اتسعودوا، فمالهم الانتماء في مكان اللي عاشوا طول حياتهم

Saudi Arabia, the country of two Holy Mosques, the land of equality, diversity and brotherhood. They say, we are here to serve the guests of God. And they’re not wrong. For as long as you are not a Saudi, you will remain a guest. In the beginning, Muslims from all over the world came as pilgrims and some stayed. This included people from central Asia, such as the Bukharis and Afghans. They built new homes by recreating flavours of old homes, the same way my great-grandma did some seventy years ago. Today, it is very common to find Mantu in Saudi Arabia. It is a central Asian food made of minced lamb, onion and black pepper wrapped in flour dough. Very simple ingredients, yet leaves a complex aftertaste. After the Saud family built a kingdom in their family name, guests of God have to follow Saudi rules to remain in God’s house. Mantu has spread and settled in the Kingdom as Saudis started eating it with vinegar, cumin and chilli sauce. Whereas the people making Mantu lack Saudiness, therefore they struggle to find belonging at the only place they’ve lived in.

在沙烏地只能有破碎的歸屬感，但我在台灣又有多完整的家園？剛搬回台灣時，我對餃子的認知經歷了無數次的重建。在台灣我才意識到，餃子預設的定義是豬肉和高麗菜餡料、是用水煮的所以叫水餃、而且都要沾著醬油吃。當然陸續也認識了各種其他的「餃子」，鍋貼、水煎包、蝦餃、餛飩等。外面賣的幾乎都有豬肉所以我沒辦法體驗，但偶爾找到素食的還是可以讓我大概感受不同外皮、烹煮方式、沾醬帶來的意境，再回家用清真肉餡試著重現那些融合自中國各地的台灣餃子們。

With fragmented sense of belonging in Saudi Arabia, how much of a home would I find in Taiwan? When I first moved to Taiwan, my understanding of dumplings went through several deconstructions. It was then that I realised the default definition for dumpling in Taiwan is pork and cabbage filling, it is boiled so it is called water dumpling, it is usually dipped in soy sauce before eating. Of course, I gradually came to know other “dumplings” too: pot stickers, pan fried dumplings, shrimp dumplings, wonton. But it was almost impossible to get a taste of them in the streets as they were always stuffed with pork. Occasionally I would find vegetarian ones, so I would get a rough idea of what the different wrappings, cooking techniques and dippings are like. Then try to imitate them with Halal meat at home, so I can experience these Taiwanese dumplings that have mutated from their ancestors all over China.