Delight your taste buds with this authentic Shanghainese Dumpling Recipe, a cornerstone of dim sum cuisine that perfectly balances tradition and flavor. These delicate soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, feature a tender homemade dough encasing a luscious filling of seasoned ground pork and aromatic ginger, with the magical surprise of rich soup gelatin that melts into a savory broth when steamed. Crafted with a simple yet rewarding technique, this recipe walks you through creating silky dumpling wrappers, folding intricate pleats, and steaming to perfection. Serve these crowd-pleasing dumplings with a tangy soy-vinegar dipping sauce for a taste of Shanghai right in your home kitchen. Whether you're a dim sum enthusiast or a first-time dumpling maker, this recipe promises an impressive dish thatβs well worth the effort.
Prepare the soup gelatin for the filling. Place the pork skin in a pot of boiling water and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse it thoroughly.
Add the blanched pork skin, chicken stock, and ginger to a pot and simmer for 1.5 hours. Strain the liquid and transfer it to a shallow dish. Allow it to cool and then refrigerate until set into a gelatin.
To make the dumpling wrappers, place the all-purpose flour in a bowl. Slowly pour in the boiling water while stirring with chopsticks or a spatula to form a shaggy dough.
Once cool enough to handle, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 1 hour.
For the filling, finely chop the ginger and green onions. In a bowl, combine the ground pork, ginger, green onions, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, salt, white pepper, sugar, and sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
Dice the set soup gelatin into small cubes and gently fold them into the pork mixture until evenly distributed.
Divide the rested dough into 16 equal portions and roll each portion into a small ball. Roll out each ball into a thin round wrapper about 3 inches in diameter, aiming for slightly thinner edges.
Place about a tablespoon of filling into the center of each wrapper. Fold the dumplings into pleated crescent shapes, pinching the edges tightly to seal.
Prepare a steaming setup. Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper or cabbage leaves to prevent sticking. Arrange the dumplings in the steamer, leaving room between them to prevent overcrowding.
Steam the dumplings over boiling water for 8β10 minutes, or until fully cooked through.
Serve immediately with a dipping sauce made of equal parts soy sauce and black vinegar, optionally garnished with slivers of ginger.
Calories |
2941 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
% Daily Value* |
|||
| Total Fat | 130.7 g | 168% | |
| Saturated Fat | 45.7 g | 228% | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 5.9 g | ||
| Cholesterol | 442 mg | 148% | |
| Sodium | 6285 mg | 273% | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 206.1 g | 75% | |
| Dietary Fiber | 8.5 g | 30% | |
| Total Sugars | 7.4 g | ||
| Protein | 216.8 g | 434% | |
| Vitamin D | 0.0 mcg | 0% | |
| Calcium | 213 mg | 16% | |
| Iron | 18.6 mg | 103% | |
| Potassium | 576 mg | 12% | |
*The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.