Kitchen Humanities: Silk Road I - Steamed Dumplings
Summary
In this 6th grade humanities lesson, students prepare Steamed Dumplings as they study the exchange of ideas, goods, and foods between China and other regions during the Han dynasty. This is the first of four Silk Road lessons.
Objectives
After this lesson, students will be able to:
- Cite examples of China’s contributions to the Silk Road
- Cite the geographic features that isolated China before the Han Dynasty
- Explain why certain items were valuable for trade along the Silk Road
- Make connections between the diets of historic cultures and foods we eat today
Assessments
During this lesson, students will:
- Name ideas, goods, and foods from China that were traded along the Silk Road
- Name a geographic feature that isolated China before the Han Dynasty
- Identify traits that translated to value: light, packable, and in limited supply
- Make connections between the diets of historic cultures and foods we eat today
Materials
For the Chef Meeting
- Steamed Dumplings recipe
- Ingredients and tools for demonstration
- Traditional Chinese music recording
- Music player
- Visual aid
Ingredients for the Steamed Dumplings
- Extra firm tofu
- Carrots
- Napa cabbage
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Soy sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Sesame oil
- Salt
- Fresh ginger
- Pepper
- Small won ton wrappers
Tools
- Wok
- Bamboo steamers
- Mixing bowl
- Grater
- Cutting boards
- Vegetable peeler
- Chefs’ knives
- Paring knives
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- Small plates
- Small bowls
- Teaspoons
Equipment
- Stove
Before You Begin
- Collect all the tools and ingredients, and then distribute them to the tables
- Gather supplies for the Chef Meeting
- Create the visual aid
- Copy the Steamed Dumplings recipe to hand out
- Select music and set up the audio player
- Press the tofu to remove excess moisture
Procedures
At the Chef Meeting
- Play music as students silently enter the classroom.
- Welcome students and introduce the Silk Road lesson. Tell students they are embarking on a four-lesson journey along the Silk Road.
- Define the Silk Road as a network of trade routes that began in China and spanned 4,000 miles to the Mediterranean and connected empires.
- Describe the isolation of China during the Han Dynasty due to its geography.
- Use the visual aid to review the goods, ideas and foods that China traded along the Silk Road. Emphasize the value of silk by explaining that the Chinese were the only people who knew how to make it. It was valuable for trading because it was rare. It was ideal for trading because it was light, packable and didn’t break.
- Explain how food can be an indicator of cultural exchange. As new plants and farming techniques were shared along the Silk Road, the foods that people ate changed.
- Introduce the Steamed Dumplings recipe. Tell students that steaming was a cooking technique originating in China and demonstrate how to use the wok and bamboo steamers.
- Ask students to wash their hands and join their table group.
At the Table
- Meet with the table groups to review the recipe and assign jobs. Demonstrate how each ingredient will be prepared and how to form the dumplings for steaming.
- Prepare the recipe.
- Set the table; eat; clean up.
At the Closing Circle
Name
one item that China contributed to trade along the Silk Road.
Vocabulary
Wok