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Xiaolongbao (Shanghai Soup Dumplings)

Name: Xiaolongbao (Shanghai Soup Dumplings)
Prep time: 1 h 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 300 g Pork skin or chicken feet; 1 to taste Scallion & ginger; 700 ml Water; 300 g Minced pork; 1 tbsp Soy sauce; 1 tbsp Ginger juice & minced scallion; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or sake); 1 to taste Sugar, salt, sesame oil; 250 g All-purpose flour; 120 ml Water; 1 to taste Slivered ginger & black vinegar

Shanghai-style soup dumplings — a thin wrapper enclosing pork filling and a 'stock jelly' that melts into hot broth as they steam. Bite in and the soup bursts out, which is why they're called soup dumplings. Eaten with slivered ginger and black vinegar.

Ingredients

4servings

Stock jelly (aspic)
Pork skin or chicken feet · for gelatin300 g
Scallion & ginger · to de-funk1 to taste
Water700 ml
Filling
Minced pork · slightly fatty300 g
Soy sauce1 tbsp
Ginger juice & minced scallion1 tbsp
Shaoxing wine (or sake)1 tbsp
Sugar, salt, sesame oil1 to taste
Wrapper
All-purpose flour250 g
Water · lukewarm120 ml
To serve
Slivered ginger & black vinegar · dip1 to taste

Steps

Stock jelly: blanch and rinse the pork skin, then simmer with scallion, ginger, and water 1+ hour for a rich stock. Strain and chill until it sets like jelly, then chop it fine.
⏲ 70 min
Filling: mix the pork with soy, ginger, scallion, wine, sugar, salt, and sesame oil, stirring one direction until sticky, then fold in the chopped jelly and keep cold.
⏲ 10 min
Wrapper: knead flour and water smooth, rest 30 min, roll into a rope, cut small pieces, and roll into rounds with thin edges.
⏲ 30 min
Place cold filling in the center and pleat the edge into 18-20 folds, gathering and twisting the top to seal.
⏲ 15 min
Line a steamer with parchment or cabbage leaves, space the dumplings out, and steam over high heat 8-10 minutes.
⏲ 10 min
Serve right away with ginger and black vinegar. Nibble a hole, sip the soup, then eat the rest — it's very hot!

Tips & Variations

Variations

Crab xiaolongbao: Enriched with crabmeat and roe — a luxe version.
Guantangbao: A large soup dumpling you sip through a straw.
Shengjianbao: A pan-fried cousin with a crisp bottom.
Chicken stock base: Use chicken instead of pork for a lighter jelly.

Tips

The stock jelly is everything — it melts into the soup. Chill it firm and chop it in.
Keep the filling cold so the jelly stays solid and is easy to wrap.
Roll wrappers thin at the edge, slightly thicker in the center so they don't tear.
Make tight pleats and seal the top firmly so the soup can't leak.
Space them out while steaming so they don't stick, and eat them right away.

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