Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Tang Bao)

Name: Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Tang Bao)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 400 g Fine white flour (for wrapper dough); 250 g Lean pork shoulder (skin and bone removed, minced); 400 g Set pork skin broth, cut into soybean-sized pieces (to mix with filling); 25 g Rendered lard (for mixing filling); 10 g White sugar; 10 g Salt; 12 g Soy sauce; 5 g MSG (monosodium glutamate); 1 g White pepper powder; 3 g Dried shrimp roe; 3 g Sesame oil; 120 g Scallion and ginger juice water; to taste Chicken broth (for simmering pork skin); to taste Pork skin (washed and scraped clean of hair, for simmering)

A famous Jiangsu delicacy: thin wrappers of refined white flour encase a filling of lean pork shoulder and pork-skin aspic, yielding plump buns brimming with rich soup.

1h 30m

Easy

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Ingredients

Fine white flour (for wrapper dough) 400 g

Lean pork shoulder (skin and bone removed, minced) 250 g

Set pork skin broth, cut into soybean-sized pieces (to mix with filling) 400 g

Rendered lard (for mixing filling) 25 g

White sugar 10 g

Salt 10 g

Soy sauce 12 g

MSG (monosodium glutamate) 5 g

White pepper powder 1 g

Dried shrimp roe 3 g

Sesame oil 3 g

Scallion and ginger juice water 120 g

Chicken broth (for simmering pork skin) to taste

Pork skin (washed and scraped clean of hair, for simmering) to taste

Instructions

Prepare the meat filling

Remove the skin and bones from the pork, wash it well, and mince it. Add MSG, soy sauce, sugar, salt, white pepper powder, and scallion-ginger juice. Stir in one direction while gradually pouring in cold water, continuing to stir vigorously until the mixture becomes sticky and well combined. Finally add sesame oil and rendered lard and mix thoroughly to finish the filling.

Simmer the pork skin broth

Wash and scrape the pork skin clean of any hair and impurities, then blanch it briefly in a wok of boiling water and remove. Return the pork skin to the wok, add chicken broth, and simmer until the liquid is concentrated. Strain through a fine sieve to remove solids, then stir in salt, white pepper powder, and dried shrimp roe. Simmer for a short while, skim off any floating foam, and pour the broth into a bowl. Once cooled it will set into a pork skin aspic.

Combine the filling

Take 400 g of the set pork skin aspic, chop it into soybean-sized pieces, and mix it evenly into the meat filling.

Make the wrappers

Combine the flour with cold water to form a dough and let it rest for a few minutes. Knead until smooth, roll into long thin ropes, divide into 160 small portions, and roll each portion into a round wrapper with a rolling pin.

Shape and steam the dumplings

Place a portion of filling in the center of each wrapper and pleat the edges together, pinching to form a small crucian-carp-mouth shape with a slightly open top. Arrange the dumplings in a steamer and steam over rapidly boiling water for about 5 minutes, until the wrappers puff up and the broth inside is hot and moist. Remove from the steamer and serve immediately.