Xiao Long Bao 小笼包

Chinese soup dumplings, sometimes also referred to as Shanghai Soup Dumplings as they are often associated with the city of Shanghai, xiaolongbao or “soupy buns” (as it is hilariously translated on some menus), are a steamed dumpling consisting of a paper thin wrapper enveloping a seasoned pork filling and hot, flavorful soup. Each dumpling is pleated with many folds. Once steamed, the delicate dumplings are dipped in a mixture of Chinese black vinegar and julienned ginger for the perfectly balanced bite. Receipe from The Woks of Life.

Step 1: The Aspic

The first thing to make is the aspic, or meat gelatin, which will create the soup in the soup dumplings. You’ll make a pork soup with bones and skin, which will help you create a smooth, firm aspic once chilled. You can use the skin from a skin-on pork shoulder and buy pork neck bones or ham bones. If they’re not readily available in your local market, ask the butcher.

½ lb pork skin (225g), cut into 1-inch strips

1 lb (450g) pork neck bones (you want neck bones that still have meat on them!)

water

2 slices of ginger

1 scallion, cut into three pieces

1 tablespoon shaoxing wine

In a small pot, add the pork skin and pork bones and cover with cold water. Bring to a rolling boil, and immediately drain and rinse off the bones and the skin. This gets rid of any impurities.

Rinse out the pot and put everything back in. Add 4 cups (950 ml) of water along with the ginger, scallion and wine. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, turn off the heat, allow the soup to cool, and strain the liquid into a bowl. As to the leftovers in the pot, you can discard them or go the Chinese route, which would be to drizzle some light soy sauce over everything and start grazing.

Once the liquid is completely cooled, cover and refrigerate overnight. This is what you’ll have the next day. Meat jello!

Step 2: The Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour (130g)

6 tablespoons warm water (90 ml)

In a mixing bowl, add the flour and warm water 1 tablespoon at a time. Work and knead the dough for 15-20 minutes. The dough should be very soft and smooth. Cover with a cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Step 3: The Filling

Step 4: The Assembly

Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and roll the dough into a long cylinder/cigar, about an inch in diameter. Cut the dough into small equal pieces weighing about 11 grams each (the dough chunks should be a size resembling that of gnocchi).

Roll out each piece into a round disc about 3 – 3 ¼ inches diameter. Keep everything under a damp cloth.

Prepare your bamboo steamer. You can line it with cheese cloth, napa cabbage leaves, or these lovely bamboo steamer discs, which can be found in some Chinese restaurant supply stores (if using these, you must brush the discs with oil first!).

When all that is prepared, take out the filling. You’ll be making each bun one at a time. Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of your dumpling skin. Pleat with as many folds as you can muster: 12-18 folds should do it.

Make sure the top is sealed. If the filling ever gets too wet or hard to handle, put it in the freezer for another 15 minutes and start again.

Place the buns in the lined steamer basket, about 1 1/2 – 2 inches apart.

Step 5: The Steaming

In a metal steamer pot or wok, boil water. If using a wok, put the water at a level so that when you put the bamboo steamer into the wok, the water rises about ½ inch up the bottom of the bamboo base. You never want the water to touch the dumplings inside, though, so make sure not to fill it too high!

Make sure not to fill it too low either, because if all the water evaporates, you could end up burning your bamboo steamer. See our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.

Once the water is boiling, put the bamboo steamer in the wok or steamer pot, cover with the bamboo steamer lid, and steam over high heat for 8 minutes. Immediately remove the bamboo steamer from the pot and serve. You're done!