Xiao Long Bao

About This Recipe

Xiao Long Bao are the celebrated soup dumplings of the Shanghai region — thin, hand-pleated wrappers that enclose seasoned pork and an astonishing mouthful of hot, fragrant broth. The 'soup' is no trick of cooking but a clever bit of engineering: a rich pork stock is set with gelatin into a firm aspic, diced, and folded into the filling. As the dumplings steam, the aspic melts back into liquid, flooding the interior. Eating them is a small ritual, lifting one gently into a spoon, nicking the skin to release steam, sipping the broth, then savoring the tender pork. Making them at home is genuinely advanced work, demanding a hot-water dough rolled paper-thin at the edges and the patience to master the delicate spiral pleat, but the reward is among the great pleasures of Chinese cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1/2 cupboiling water
• 1/4 cupcold water
• 300 gground pork (30% fat)
• 1 tbspginger, minced
• 2green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbspShaoxing wine
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspsesame oil
• 1 tspsugar
• 1/2 tspwhite pepper
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 cuprich pork stock
• 1 tbsppowdered gelatin (or 4 sheets)
• 3 tbspChinkiang black vinegar (for serving)
• 1 tbspyoung ginger, julienned (for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make aspic

   Bloom the gelatin in a little of the stock, then heat the rest and stir until fully dissolved. Pour into a shallow pan and chill until firmly set, about 2 hours, then dice finely. This solid jelly becomes the soup inside each dumpling.

   The richer and more gelatinous your pork stock, the more flavorful the melted soup will be.

2. 2

   Make dough

   Pour the boiling water over the flour and stir into a shaggy mass, then work in the cold water and knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest 30 minutes; the hot water partly cooks the starch for a supple, stretchy wrapper.

   Resting is non-negotiable — it relaxes the gluten so you can roll the edges paper-thin without tearing.

3. 3

   Make filling

   Combine the pork, ginger, green onions, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, white pepper, and salt, then stir vigorously in one direction until the mixture turns sticky and tacky. This builds the bouncy, cohesive texture of a good filling.

4. 4

   Combine filling

   Gently fold the diced aspic cubes through the pork filling, distributing them evenly, then refrigerate until firm. Keeping everything cold makes the filling far easier to portion and wrap cleanly.

5. 5

   Roll wrappers

   Roll the rested dough into a long log, cut into 24 even pieces, and roll each into a 7cm round that's thicker in the center and thin at the edges. This gradient supports the filling while keeping the pleats delicate.

6. 6

   Wrap dumplings

   Place about 1 tbsp filling in the center of a wrapper and pleat the edge 18-20 times around, gathering and twisting the top to seal completely. A tight seal is critical so the soup doesn't leak during steaming.

   Don't fret over a perfect spiral at first — a leak-proof seal matters far more than picture-perfect pleats.

7. 7

   Steam

   Arrange the dumplings on parchment or napa cabbage leaves in a bamboo steamer, well spaced so they don't touch, and steam over vigorously boiling water for about 8 minutes until the wrappers turn translucent and the filling is cooked.

8. 8

   Serve

   Serve immediately with a dipping sauce of Chinkiang vinegar and julienned young ginger. Lift each dumpling carefully into a spoon, nick a small hole to release steam, sip the broth, then eat the rest.

Variations

• •

  Crab and pork XLB (xie fen xiao long): fold lump crabmeat and crab roe into the filling.

• •

  Vegetarian: use a mushroom-broth aspic with a mushroom-and-tofu filling.

• •

  Extra-soupy: increase the ratio of aspic to pork for a more pronounced broth burst.

• •

  Add a touch of black vinegar to the dipping sauce for a sharper finish.

Storage

Best eaten fresh from the steamer. To store, freeze uncooked dumplings on a tray until solid, then transfer to a bag for up to 1 month and steam directly from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes. Cooked leftovers lose their soup and are best avoided.

Frequently Asked Questions