Soup Dumplings aka Xiao Long Bao
- Yield:4 servings / 2 dozen
- Time:1 day, 54 mins show details
Shanghai style soup dumplings, or Xiao Long Bao (pronounced "shao long bo") are unique in the dumpling world in that there's a considerable amount of "liquid" inside each dumpling. You suck them dry before finishing off the rest of the tasty filling! Most other recipes I've found require boiling pork and chicken bones, and then processing pork skin and fat. This recipe is a bit simpler as we skip all that and use good ol' gelatin! This still does require overnight preparation; however, this is MUCH easier to make than any other recipe I've found online.
I also use regularly found dumpling wrappers. I might follow up with a wrapper recipe later on but for now you can typically use pre-made ones from most grocery stores (in the Asian section) OR for more authentic, find a local Asian market.
Ingredients
- 12 cupsWater
- 5 tablespoonsWhite Sugar
- 1½ tablespoonsKosher Salt
- 2 cupsUnflavored Gelatin
- 1 cupFresh grated Ginger, If using powdered you can use half
- 4Whole scallions chopped, Use the whole scallion, white and green
- 1 poundGround Pork, You can also use "meatloaf" mix (pork, beef and veal) though it will come out a bit more dry if you do
- 4 tablespoonsCooking Wine, You can also use regular white wine + salt to taste
- 1 tablespoonTamari, You can sub the Tamari and Soy Sauce out for just sodium reduced Soy
- 1 tablespoonSoy Sauce
- 1 tablespoonSambal or Sriracha optional
- 1 teaspoonSesame Oil optional
- 1 teaspoonBlack Pepper optional
- 24Dumpling Wrappers
Equipment
- Food processor
- Steam pots
- Steam pan liners
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Preparation
- 1 day
The night before: Fill a large pot with the water and bring to a boil. Stir in 1/5 of the sugar (1 TBSP), 1/3 of the salt (1/2 TBSP) and let it dissolve. Reduce to a low simmer and stir in the gelatin. Simmer uncovered for at least 30 minutes (the liquid will be noticeably thicker.) Cover and chill in the fridge overnight.
- 2 mins
The next day: Combine the ginger, scallions, a little bit of water and the optional sambal/sriracha in a food processor until it turns into a paste.
- 3 mins
Combine the ginger paste, ground meat, wine, remaining 4/5 (4 TBSP) of the sugar, tamari, soy sauce, and the optional sesame oil and black pepper together.
- 2 mins
Chop up the gelatin and fold that into the meat mixture with your hands.
- 5 mins
Fill a pot up with 2-3 inches of water and place your steamers on top. Line with steamer pan liners. Bring the water to a simmer.
- 1 min
Pick up a dumpling wrapper and tug around the outsides to make little stretch marks (like you would a tiny pizza.) Place it so it covers your non-dominant hand and scoop ~2 tablespoons of the mixture into the center of the wrapper.
- 5 mins
This is the tough part: you have to pinch and fold in little steps around the outside of the dumpling, all the while trying to squeeze as much air out, so that it looks like the picture above. Once you connect the two ends of the dumpling together you can twist it so it looks like a ducks butt. Again, make sure you squeeze as much air out as possible while doing this.
- 30 mins
Repeat for the rest of the dumplings. While doing this you can steam 6 at a time in the pots. Make sure they're at least an inch apart, and make sure the top knots (duck tails) are pointed straight up. Stack and cover the steamers.
- 6 mins
Steam the dumplings for 5-7 minutes. The wrappers will become slightly translucent and lose their floury look. Once done pull them out and replace with more dumplings until finished!
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Comments
Is there a huge advantage to using the specified steam pots? Do they cook more evenly or prevent sticking? Or are they more preferable because they allow stacking? I just have a pot and a steamer insert, and I'm wondering if this will work well with that equipment.
So long as they don't touch one another (they'll stick, rip and you lose all the great juice!) you can use anything to steam. The problem with the "in the pan" types is that they are sometimes curved (for veggies) so the dumplings will all slide towards the middle. These are flat so they don't move.
So long as they're steamed, any method should work. I just use the ones I listed as it makes it easy.
Also I should add, you can always use cabbage leaves instead of the liners I linked. I prefer the liners for ease of use but both work.
Did you consider using chicken or pork broth/stock instead of plain water to make the aspic? I'm sure that would really make it more authentic in flavor. The savory broth is what separates these style dumplings from all other.