Several days have passed since maultaschen was made and we can now talk about what happened, I have just about mentally and physically recovered from the ordeal.
This issue’s recipe was contributed by my friend Anna Pan. Yes, another Pan! Although we sadly couldn’t discern any tangible relation, I still call her 潘妹妹 (Pan mèimei/ little sister). We met in Beijing but she hails from Stuttgart in Germany. When she heard I was doing this project, she insisted that I make maultaschen.
I had only heard of this dish once before, when my uni friend Sophie (whose family is from Germany) and I were discussing dumplings around the world, as you do. Maultaschen literally translates to ‘mouth bag’ or as Sophie puts it, ‘gob bag’. It consists of parcels of dough filled with sausage meat. Think ravioli but bigger.
As Sophie has been my resident German food adviser for some time now, we thought we could make it together over a video call as she has recently moved to Berlin.
“It’ll be fun”, she said.
Famous last words.
Before I explain maultaschen-gate i.e. the shit show that ensued, let’s first hear Anna’s musings on this dish. She provides her English translation below.
Maultaschen sind eine Spezialität der schwäbischen Küche und seit 2009 von der EU in ihrer Herkunftsbezeichnung geschützt. Für viele ist die Nudelteig Tasche mit Füllung ein Symbol ihrer Herkunft und eine langlebige Tradition die jetzt auch moderne Twists verleiht wird. Für mich aber, trägt dieses Gericht eine andere Bedeutung.
Aufgewachsen in Singapur, Tokio, und Peking waren die bunte Welt der Dumplings (von JiaoZi zu Gyozas zu BaoZi) einer meiner Lieblingsessen. Sogar mit XinYue an der Peking Universität waren die Zeiten wo wir an der Uni Kantine Dumplings geholt haben eine extra freudige Angelegenheit. Als ich nach Deutschland gezogen bin und in Stuttgart Maultaschen entdeckt habe war ich erstaunt. Durch meine Reisen habe ich entdeckt, dass die Welt der Teigtaschen unbegrenzt divers ist und in fast jede Kultur eine Art von “Dumplings” existiert, die alle durch unterschiedlichen Herkunftsgeschichten zum Leben geweckt sind.
Teigtaschen, egal ob chinesische JiaoZi oder deutsche Maultaschen, symbolieren für mich eine multikulturelle Welt, eine Fusion der Kulturen (genauso wie ich hehe). Mann könnte sogar meinen, dass Menschen wie Teigtaschen sind: außen ähnlich aber jeder einzelne in den verschiedensten Formen, Farben und Füllungen...
Maultaschen are a specialty of Swabian cuisine and have even been protected by the EU since 2009. For many, the dough filled “bag” is a symbol of German cultural cuisine and it’s long-lasting traditions (now increasingly also with modern twists). However, for me, this dish holds special significance.
Growing up in Singapore, Tokyo, and Beijing, the colorful world of dumplings (from JiaoZi to Gyozas to BaoZi) was one of my favorite foods. Even with XinYue at Peking University, the times when we would grab dumplings from the university canteen were an extra special affair. When I moved to Germany and discovered Maultaschen in Stuttgart I was surprised. Throughout my travels I discovered that the world of dumplings is infinitely diverse and that a version of dumplings exists in almost every culture, all of which are brought to life through different origin stories.
To me, dumplings, whether the Chinese JiaoZi or German Maultaschen, symbolize a multicultural world and a mouthwatering fusion of cultures (just like me hehe). One could even use Dumplings as an analogy for each one of us: similar on the outside but every one in different shapes, colors and fillings...
When Anna initially sent across this online recipe, I thought it was going to be straightforward. I was comfortable with making filled pasta and here all I needed to do was press the translate button at the top of the page and bam, there it was (previous issues have involved image text recognition, don’t get me started). The translation was coherent and the page even included a video tutorial. I was winning at life. Or so I thought.
I didn’t get off to a great start when I couldn’t find bratwurstbrät, the German sausage filling, and instead settled with English breakfast sausages. Bad idea as when the maultaschen was boiled they mildly resembled a wet sausage roll. I made beef stock/broth from scratch as the recipe asked for it to be cooked and served in the broth (in der Brühe).
The stock making process went smoothly as I’ve made it on previous occasions for borsch and minestrone. However, when we reached the assembly part on Tuesday evening, things started to go downhill. I decided it was best to capture in doodle form with a timeline (see below). In a nutshell, exhaustion hit me and I started to feel unwell. The fragrant beef broth smell was now suffocating and I got a wave of nausea. I had to sit by the window, half sticking my head out, half sipping ginger tea. My boyfriend took over and finished off the cooking as I was out of action. And god knows what Sophie was making in her Berlin kitchen. It was all a blur but I recall lots of cursing and variations of “WE ARE NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN”.
Whilst Sophie set out to make maultaschen, she got frustrated and tried to make knödel instead but that went badly so made frikadellen. Our original plan was for her to share some with her neighbour who is a maultaschen expert to gain feedback. It sadly never made it out the door and from the photos she shared with me after, you can see that it was for the best.
Giant leaky maultaschen. Yum…
As for my attempt, it looks like it could have been worse. The eagle-eyed may have spotted from my image at the start that the maultaschen I made was a bit browned. Surprise surprise, photographing maultaschen was the last thing on my mind that evening as my head stuck out the window. The leftovers were re-heated the next day but cooked in butter first on the pan (hence the browning) and then served in broth.
It turns out a common serving variation of maultaschen is geschmälzt, where it is dressed with butter and onions so I wasn’t too far off. Thankfully, I could stomach the leftovers and must admit they were actually pretty good thanks to a thing called appetite.
All in all, I think I learnt more about my physical limits than German cuisine this week.
Further reading (Berlin centric)
A few weeks back, Michelle Zhao (a.k.a. @nosweetsour on Instagram) visited Berlin and I drooled over every bowl of ramen, pho, Chengdu noodles and every plate of tacos, larb and Korean BBQ she ate. She kindly shared her recommendations/the places she visited. They are helpfully presented in the form of Google Maps pin drops. I urge you all to check them out if you’re in Berlin. You can thank Michelle for your delicious antics (and potential indigestion) later. In the meantime, go drool over her Instagram
However, if you’re looking to try more traditional fare, Sophie pointed out there is a maultaschen restaurant in Berlin called Repke Spätzlerei. Here is the menu in English in case you want to peruse
My friend Martha also lives in Berlin, she is co-host of the podcast umsteigemöglichkeiten with Anne-Marie, they talk dating in Berlin amongst other things - have a listen