This Simple Ingredient Swap Makes Kreplach A Snap

While your Jewish grandmother might have a special recipe for the perfect kreplach, one simple ingredient swap can make this recipe easier to make. If you are wondering what kreplach is, don't feel that you have missed out on a new food trend. According to The Spruce Eats, kreplach is a type of dumpling and an Ashkenazi specialty. Often filled with meat, chicken, or cheese, the triangular-shaped dumpling can be either boiled or fried (via Merriam-Webster). Although an overstatement, it is sometimes seen as a Jewish version of a ravioli, a pierogi, or a dumpling.

Kreplach dough may seem intimidating at first, between kneading it, letting it chill, and rolling it to an ideal thin square. If that sounds tricky, there's a swap for that. Since a kreplach is similar to a filled pasta or dumpling, Epicurious suggests that using a wonton wrapper in place of pasta dough is an easy ingredient hack. 

A thin dough is important for a tasty kreplach, but that skill takes a deft hand. If your dough rolling technique is not up to par, a wonton wrapper makes for an easy substitute. Made from the same basic ingredients as a pasta, wonton wrappers are thin and easy to manipulate in cooking (via Bon Appétit). With one key ingredient swap, making this dish can be a snap, but how does kreplach play in Jewish traditions?

While food and cultural traditions vary, Chabad.org states that kreplach is a traditional food often served during the Jewish celebrations of Yom Kippur, Hoshana Rabbah, and Purim. Although some recipes vary, a common version of kreplach uses a triangle shape. The triangle is said to be a symbolic representation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, according to Epicurious. Even if the shape has a symbolic quality, the thinness of the dough is important. Epicurious referenced the Sam Levenson quote, "a tempting bit of their buried treasure should show through." Regardless of the shape, it seems that the dough texture is important to the dish, which makes using wonton wrappers an especially smart swap. 

Although a kreplach can be enjoyed in many ways, it is often served in a chicken soup. Kosher.com asserts that the kreplach floating in chicken soup is an ancient tradition. Food blogger Tori Avery shares her recipe with a side of both Jewish history and her family's history (via Tori Avery). While kreplach might not be on the tip of your tongue when talking about dumplings, Avery's reference to a popular Yiddish phrase that translates to "one even gets bored of eating kreplach," might tempt people to prove it wrong. With a simple ingredient swap, would anyone get bored eating kreplach?