[Chinese Recipes] Xiao Long Bao— Soup Dumplings

Xiao Long Bao (Chinese steamed soup dumplings) is a famous Chinese dessert. Sometimes you may hear Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, but like Beijing style Zha Jiang Mian, this soup dumpling can be found in many Chinese cuisines. Xiao Long Bao recipe might differ from one cuisine to another. However Shanghai style is the most dedicate and elegant version.

It is not easy to make this little, juicy and yummy soup dumplings at home. Soup dumping usually is featured by its juicy soup filling. There are two different varieties of the pork filling. Some use pork rind jelly while the other one use stock directly. For beginners, pork rind jelly version is much easier since it would be easy to assemble to soup dumplings.

The basic processing should be: prepare the pork meat jelly in the previous day—knead the dough and set aside—Make the filling and set aside—Make the wrapper and assemble soup dumplings one by one.

In a pot, add cold water and pork rinds to cook for around 5 minutes after boiling until the pork skin becomes slightly transparent. Transfer the pork rind out and rinse in running water. Remove impurities and fat layer. Cut the pork rind into small strips.

In a high pressure cooker or pot, add enough water to cover the pork rinds. Add 4 slices of ginger and several green onion sections. Cook for at least 40 minutes for high pressure cooker and at least one and half hour for ordinary cooker. Leave the soup to cool down. Use food processor to blend for seconds. And then filter the soup once. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

Tips about how to make the juicy filling for soup dumpling

In a small bowl, soak minced ginger and green onion with 1/2 hot water for around 10 minutes to make ginger and green onion water.

In a larger mixing bowl, mix the ginger and green onion water prepared in step 1 by three batch. Use your hand to stir in one direction until the water is completely absorbed by the minced pork.Then add all the seasonings. Mix well and set aside for around 10 minutes to 20 minutes for a better absorption.

To assemble the soup dumplings:

Place the wrapper in your left hand. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of your wrapper. Fix the starting point with the thumb of right hand and begin to fold the edge counterclockwise. Move the thumb slowly in the process. Repeat the process until the dumpling is completely sealed. For more details and photos, you can refer to this post: how to fold baozi.

Steam for 8 minutes after the water boils. And here we are! Enjoy!

Juicy filling.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling


Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Making 24 soup dumplings

Chinese Xiao Long Bao--Steamed Soup Dumplings

Ingredients

Wrapper
2 cups flour
1 cup cold water
Meat Jelly
1/4 pound pork rind
4 slices of ginger
3 green onions
1 tablespoon cooking wine
Water as needed
Pork Filling
1 pound ground pork
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced green onion
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

For the Pork Jelly

In a pot, add cold water and pork rinds to cook for around 5 minutes after boiling until the pork skin becomes slightly transparent. Transfer the pork rind out and rinse in running water. Remove impurities and fat layer. Cut the pork rind into small strips.

In a high pressure cooker or pot, add enough water to cover the pork rinds. Add 4 slices of ginger and several green onion sections. Cook for at least 40 minutes for high pressure cooker and at least one and half hour for ordinary cooker. Leave the soup to cool down. Use food processor to blend for seconds. And then filter the soup once. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

For the Filling

In a small bowl, soak minced ginger and green onion with 1/2 hot water for around 10 minutes.

In a larger mixing bowl, mix the ginger and green onion water prepared in step 1 by three batch. Use your hand to stir in one direction until the water is completely absorbed by the minced pork.

Then add all the seasonings. Mix well and set aside for around 10 minutes for a better absorption.

Mince the pork jelly and mix with the ground pork filling.

For the wrappers

Add flour and water in a mixing bowl and then knead the dough until smooth and stretchy (this process may need 15 to 20 minutes depending on your kneading skill. You can also use a mixer to do this job.) Cover with a wet cloth and reset for 20 minutes. Dust your board and re-knead the dough for around 5 minutes and then further roll into a long log. Cut the log into small sections of similar weight. Press the sections and roll out to a round wrapper. During the process, do remember to cover everything under a wet cloth to avoid drying out.
Prepare your bamboo steamer; cover the steamer with cloth, zongzi leaves or brushing some oil on the surface so that the dumplings will not be sticky to the steamer.

Assemble the soup dumplings one by one like this direction. But remember to seal the hole at the very last step. Place the dumpling on the steamer. Remember to leave some spaces between each other.

Steaming process

Set up the steamer and steam for around 8 to 10 minutes after the water is boiling.
Serve directly or with Chinese black vinegar.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Chinasichuanfood.com. Thanks so much!