Xiao Long Bao— Soup Dumplings in " china sichuan food " seri

Posted on 15 September 2014 at 11:30

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.