For Jojo Zhu, making dumplings is not just a carefully honed craft. It is a way of sharing her family’s traditions and how they care for each other. After emigrating from the Northern Chinese city of Harbin to the Bay Area, Jojo, and her father, Peishu, found a lack of representation of their cuisine, inspiring Jojo to launch Papa’s Dumpling to bring authentic handmade dumplings to farmers market community.
At Mission Community Market, Jojo shares freshly made steamed dumplings (bao zi) and pan-fried potstickers (guo tie) in flavors like pork, shrimp, and chive or vegan tofu, mushroom, and basil, all cooked to perfection or frozen and ready to heat at home. Jojo shared more about the love and history that is tenderly folded into each dumpling, and what makes the cuisine of Northern China special.