Dumplings in Space

The whole world was in that very mouthful. It was immediately addicting. The thin padi film burst as I pressed it up against my the roof of my mouth with my tongue, and what spilled out was a sharp and stinging. A cold liquid that made my mouth burn like the hottest summer day. Then, like ice cream on such a day, the milky cream of the sweetnut soothed my firey tounge. Even after I swallowed, my mouth was all sensations, numbingly it rolled in sweet, then sour, then a sharp floral sang all the way up my sinuses.

The concept of the world citizen—an individual who is cultured enough in the ways of each of the planets to see beyond the narrow lens of national or even global identity—is a key part of the modern identity. According to many, the first step to becoming a world citizen is interplanetary travel. No reputable spacecraft travels without the iconic first meal in space, dumplings. This iconic food becomes a stepping stone to transcending to an interplanetary understanding.

Bao with Gel-Suspended Sesame by Annie Stein

Sun Soup Dumpling by Annie Stein

Neptunian Fishcake by Annie Stein

Interplanetary Rite of Passage

When interplanetary travel went from being a matter of science to that of leisure, there was a desire to have some sort of ritual for the occasion of an individuals first space flight. The question of what exactly it should be was answered almost as soon as it was asked.
The first meal aboard and abroad served as an introduction to all the whims and oddities of Zero G, learning to use the velcro tables and manage floating utensils. The shared joy of weightlessness and discovery solidified a kind of solidarity with your fellow traveler, a bond that eased the later isolation.

Bao with Gel-Suspended Sesame by Annie Stein

The leisurely traveler was not quite as willing to adapt to rehydrated rations as professional spacefarers, yet at the same time not all dishes were suitable for space. The lack of convection ruled out fried food, which was probably just as well due to the dangers posed by errant crumbs to machinery and peoples eyes. The Sol System is full of diverse cuisines with plenty of options for a space-friendly first meal, but one food united them all: the dumpling.
The dumpling, as a food all people of Sol have in common, gains futher symbolic meaning when it is eaten as the first meal as one becomes an interplanetary traveler: a citizen of the System rather than a mere planet or moon. No dumplings embodies this more than the Sun Soup Dumpling, created by the union of three iconic foods.

Neptunian Fishcake by Annie Stein

Sun Soup Dumpling

Sun Soup Dumplings are a staple of the first interplanetary meal. It is made from Martian padi dough, a translucent film that is formed into a conical parcel, and the fillings are a broth inspired by Venus' infamous and lethal cnidarian soup, and a creamy interior soup from Jupiter.
Outside of space, sun soup is known as sunset soup, since the thinner yellow broth settles on top of the broth. In zero gravity however, the orange soup lifts up to form a sphere in the middle of the dumpling.
The effect comes from the nature of the two soups. The Venusian soup is an oily and thin yellow broth, while the Jovian one is a much thicker orange soup. These two soups naturally seperate, causing the striking effect that lends the dumpling its name.

Sun Soup Dumpling by Annie Stein

Flavours of Venus; Cnidarian Soup

The yellow broth of the Sun Soup is inspired by the infamous Cnidarian Soup, a lethal Venusian favourite. Cnidarian soup is brewed from stock harvested from the sac of a family of carnivorous plants, ideally a few weeks into its digestion cycle. The stock is somewhat spicy, pleasantly perfumed, with a rich meaty flavour. It is usually boiled with even more aromatic herbs and bones.
The spicy sensation is caused by the cnidocytes the carnivorous plants use to disable their prey. Cnidocytes are explosive cells that pierce skin and chitin to deliver a paralyzing neurotoxin. When the cnidarian soup is harvested at the right time, the cnidocytes are degraded enough that they only cause a pleasant tingle while eating and a somewhat numb mouth afterwards. However, when the stock is harvested too early it carries a mild, but not insignificant, risk of full body paralyzation and a fast death.
Sun soup is rarely made with real cnidarian soup, for several reasons beyond the obvious. Primarily it is because the cnidocytes don't keep well, so it quickly loses its sting. Instead, the base for "cnidarian broth" is created with oil or tallow which is then cooked with plenty of capsaicin-rich seeds and aromatic herbs.

Martian Structure; Padi Film

Padi, a semi-aquatic grain native to Mars, is used to create the edible film surrounding the Sun Soup Dumpling. It is grown in large hydroponic shelves that line many of the hills and mountains of Mars. Padi is high in starch and pectin and can be easily refined into a translucent gelatin. In this state it is known as padi gum. When padi flour is reintroduced to padi gum and kneaded, a strong and flexible film is created.
Padi may well be the most modified food in the galaxy. All padi is fortified with some important mineral or the other, with strains tailormade for each species of the galaxy and the dietary concerns they may face in various situations. As padi also lends itself well to hydroponic farming upon spaceships, it has become a staple of space.

Jovian Delights; Sweetpalm Soup

Jupiter is known for extravagant feasts, fried food and decadently rich food. The Jovian soup at the core of sun soup dumplings is known as Sweetpalm Soup, and is decidedly part of the latter category. Sweetpalm soup is a staple from the Comiterranean, a prominent region of Jupiter that hosts the Jovian Senate. It is made almost entirely of the large nut-like fruit of the sweetpalm. It is very mild and creamy soup with a buttery taste

Table of Contents