Is a momo a dumpling?

Yes. 'Dumpling' is the broad category for any dough parcel wrapped around a filling; momos are the Nepali and Tibetan member of that family. So every momo is a dumpling, but most dumplings aren't momos.

What is the difference between momos and dim sum?

Dim sum is a style of meal, a spread of small Cantonese dishes served with tea, rather than a single item, and it includes several dumplings among many other things. Momos are one specific dumpling, eaten as a snack or a meal in their own right, with a tomato-chilli achar rather than soy.

Are momos and gyoza the same?

No. Gyoza are usually pan-fried with a crisp base, wrapped in a very thin machine-rolled skin, and filled with pork seasoned with soy, sesame and garlic chives. Momos are typically steamed, seasoned with ginger, cumin, coriander and timmur, and most traditionally filled with buffalo.

Which is spicier, a momo or a Chinese dumpling?

Momos, generally, not because the filling is fiery, but because the achar they're served with is built on dried chilli. The heat comes from the sauce, so you control it.

Momo vs Dumpling: What's Actually the Difference?

Every momo is a dumpling, but the reverse isn't true. Here's what separates a Nepali momo from a Chinese jiaozi or a Japanese gyoza.

30 July 20264 min read

The short answer: a momo is a dumpling. “Dumpling” is the family name for any parcel of dough wrapped around a filling, it covers Chinese jiaozi, Japanese gyoza, Polish pierogi, Italian ravioli and Nepali momos alike.

So the useful question isn't whether a momo is a dumpling. It's what makes a momo different from the dumplings most people in New Zealand have already eaten.

The four real differences

1. The spice profile

This is the big one. Chinese and Japanese dumpling fillings are built on soy, sesame oil, spring onion and white pepper, savoury, salty, clean. Nepali momo fillings are built on ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and timmur (Himalayan Sichuan pepper). The result is warmer and more aromatic, closer in character to a mild curry than to a stir-fry.

2. The dipping sauce

Dumplings across East Asia come with a soy-and-vinegar dip, sometimes with chilli oil. Momos come with achar: roasted tomato, dried chilli, garlic, often sesame or peanut, blended into something between a salsa and a chutney. It's sour, smoky and hot rather than salty and sharp, and it changes the whole dish.

3. The filling

The default Chinese dumpling filling is pork, sometimes prawn. The default momo filling is buffalo, richer and denser than beef, and better at carrying heavy spice. Chicken and vegetable are both common alternatives, but buff is the traditional choice.

4. How it's eaten

Dumplings often arrive as one element of a larger spread, part of yum cha, or a side alongside noodles. A plate of momos is usually the event: an afternoon snack, a shared starter, or dinner on its own.

Side by side

Wrapper. Momo: thin and unleavened. Jiaozi: similar but often slightly thicker. Gyoza: very thin, usually machine-made.
Cooking. Momo: steamed by default. Jiaozi: boiled, steamed or pan-fried. Gyoza: pan-fried by default.
Signature filling. Momo: buffalo. Jiaozi: pork and cabbage. Gyoza: pork and garlic chives.
Sauce. Momo: tomato-chilli achar. Jiaozi and gyoza: soy and vinegar.
Shape. Momo: round pleated pouch or half-moon. Jiaozi: crescent. Gyoza: crescent with a flat base.

What about kothey and jhol momo?

Two variations worth knowing, because they map neatly onto things you've probably eaten:

Kothey momo is steamed and then pan-fried on one side, effectively the Nepali potsticker.
Jhol momo sits in a warm, thin, spiced broth. If you've had soup dumplings, this is the inverse: the soup is outside the dumpling rather than inside it.

If you like dumplings, start with buff momos

Anyone who already enjoys dumplings has nothing to adjust to, the format is identical and the spicing is the only new thing. Start with buff, use the achar generously, and eat them hot.

Find chicken, buff and vegetarian momos at Snax on Commerce Street, Auckland CBD. There's more on how we make our momos, a fuller introduction in what are momos, and the rest of the Nepali menu in our Nepali food guide.