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raw chinese soup dumplings in a bamboo basket

Homemade Chinese Soup Dumplings xiaolongbao (小笼包) (100% From Scratch)


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  • Author: Kelly
  • Total Time: 24 hours 8 minutes
  • Yield: About 20 Soup Dumplings 1x

Description

Perfectly chewy, piping hot soupy pork-filled bites of comfort heaven. When you eat your first bite you’ll know why soup dumplings are one of the best foods ever created. This recipe starts with authentic homemade 2-ingredient dumpling dough (flour and water only), a naturally super gelatinous meat stock (no commercial gelatin added), and a very tasty seasoned pork filling. This is a perfect recipe to make this weekend and a really great way to celebrate the Chinese New Year.


Ingredients

Scale

FOR THE DOUGH 

  • 1 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour (121g to 130g)
  • 6 tablespoons warm water (90g)

FOR THE GELATIN STOCK (the soup) *Use any leftover stock to make homemade ramen.

  • 1 pig trotter (about 1 pound), split in half (450g)*
  • 1/2 pound chicken backs or pork skin, sliced into strips (225g)
  • 1/4 of a medium yellow onion (45g)
  • 1 1/2 medium garlic cloves (10g)
  • 1/2 inch knob of fresh ginger (2g)
  • 1/2 leek (1 1/2 ounces) (white and light green parts only) (45g)
  • 1 scallion, whole (white and green parts)
  • 1/4 medium carrot (15g)
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (14g)
  • 1 teaspoon dried porcini mushrooms or 2 fresh shitake mushrooms (optional)**
  • 6 cups water (1416g)
  • salt to taste

FOR THE FILLING 

  • 1 pound of fatty ground pork (70% meat/30% fat ratio) (450g)
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (14g)***
  • 2 teaspoons scallions, finely minced (green parts only)
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (2g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar (3g)
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon soy sauce (24g)
  • 3 tablespoons water (45g)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, julienned (15g)
  • 1 1/2 cups gelatin stock, chilled and diced into 1/4-inch cubes (355g)
  • salt to taste

TO SERVE (traditional dipping sauce)

  • 1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang or Zhenjiang vinegar)
  • fresh ginger, julienned, to taste
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce (optional)


Instructions

  1. Make the gelatin stock (aspic). Add the pork and chicken to a medium pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Remove the meat, dump the water, rinse out the pot, and clean the meat under running water to remove any more impurities.  Place the meat back into the pot. Add all remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 3 hours checking on it periodically. Alternatively, you may use a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time by about half. Allow the gelatin stock to slightly cool, and strain it through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the solids. Place the gelatin stock in a heat-proof glass jar and allow it to cool to room temperature before sealing and refrigerating overnight. 
  2. Make the pork filling. Add the fresh ginger to a bowl with 3 tablespoons of hot water and allow the mixture to steep for 30 minutes or more. Discard the ginger or reserve for another use. Add the pork to the bowl of a food processor and process until the pork becomes light and almost paste-like and add it to a large mixing bowl. Add the ginger-infused water and all remaining pork filling ingredients EXCEPT the cubed gelatin stock and salt to taste. Stir the mixture well to combine the ingredients.
  3. Test the flavor of the pork filling. Pan-fry a small amount of filling in a lightly oiled skillet, taste it and adjust the seasonings adding salt, a little more soy, scallions, or Shaoxing, etc. if desired. Once you have the filling just right, add the cubed gelatin stock and stir to incorporate. Do not stir too vigorously, just gently enough to combine the two mixtures well. Cover and refrigerate the seasoned filling while you make the dumpling dough. 
  4. Make the dumpling dough. Add the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (or to a large mixing bowl), add the warm water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together and you can form a ball out of it. Knead the dough (which will be stiff at first) for 12 minutes in the mixer on speed 2, or by hand for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the dough is much softer and becomes smooth.  If you feel the dough is just too hard to knead, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest 15 minutes before continuing to knead it. Once the dough is fully kneaded, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours. 
  5. Roll out the dumpling wrappers. After the dough has rested, roll the dough into a log about 6-8 inches long. Cut the dough into equal pieces (about 12 grams each). Cover the dough pieces with sustainable cling film to keep them from drying out. Lightly dust a work surface or non-stick dough mat with a little flour and roll each dough piece out to about 3 inches in diameter. Dust the wrappers with cornstarch and stack them on top of one another and cover with a damp towel to keep them from drying out.
  6. Prepare the bamboo steamer. Line the bottoms of the steamer with fresh cabbage leaves, banana leaves, or parchment paper that has slits cut in it. If using cabbage or banana leaves brush them with vegetable oil first which keeps the dumplings from sticking. 
  7. Fill the dumplings. Place a dumpling wrapper in the palm of your hand, add a heaping tablespoon of filling and make as many pleats as you can while using your thumb to keep the filling enclosed inside of the dumpling as it’s being sealed. Do your best to get 10 to 18 total pleats. Be sure to seal the dumplings closed at the top by twisting and pinching them. Place filled dumplings into the bamboo steamer about 2 inches apart (it’s best if they’re not touching because it reduces the chance of them tearing open when removing them from the steamer. If your mixture starts to become difficult to fill, place it into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to allow it to firm up before moving on. 
  8. Cook the dumplings. Add enough water to a sauté pan or wok that you can steam the dumplings for 8 minutes without running out of water. Never allow the water to have contact with the dumplings while steaming. When the water is boiling, add the steamer baskets,  cover with the lid, and cook for 8 minutes. Remove the steamer basket and serve with dipping sauce (see the main post for how to safely eat soup dumplings), Enjoy!

Notes

  • If the dumplings become difficult to fill, pop the filling into the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes to firm up and then continue filling.
  • If you have trouble making pleats in the dumplings, no worries!  Just be sure to twist the tops closed to seal them even if you can’t get all the pretty pleats (they will still taste just as delicious).
  • Make sure the filling and the stock are seasoned properly so the final dumplings will be delicious. It’s important to adjust the seasonings in the gelatin stock before chilling overnight and allowing it to gel. Also, frying a small piece of the pork mixture allows you to understand if you’ve seasoned it well enough before you add the gelatine stock.  
  • How do I know if my dough has been kneaded long enough? You’ll notice the dough becomes whiter in color and smoother than when you started. And for a real time-saver, let your stand mixer do the work for you and knead it with the dough hook for 10 minutes on speed 2.
  • Let the dumpling dough rest.  Do not skip this step. It’s very important to let the dough relax so that it’s more pliable and easier to roll out. After resting for 30 minutes to 1 hour, you’ll notice the dough is much shinier, even whiter, and really soft.
  • The gelatin stock ingredients are not set in stone.  Feel free to play around with the ingredients you add to the gelatin stock. I happen to love the extra flavor that onions, leeks, and carrots add beyond just scallions and ginger. Play around with it to make your own unique style of soup dumplings.

Can Xiao Long Bao (Xiaolongbao) Soup Dumplings Be Frozen?

Yes, you can freeze Chinese soup dumplings. Xiao long bao (unlike regular dumplings, wontons, and potstickers) can be sensitive to tearing open if they’re not cooked or frozen very soon after being filled. This is because of the addition of the gelatinous meat stock that gives them their soup-like filling.

If you plan to freeze xiao long bao (小笼包): working in batches, line a sheet tray with parchment and dust it with a little flour or cornstarch, and add filled xiao long bao making sure they are not touching one another and place them in the freezer overnight, or until frozen. Once the xiaolongbao are completely frozen, you may add them to a parchment-lined airtight container and freeze them for up to 3 months. To cook frozen xiaolongbao, place frozen soup dumplings about 1 inch apart into a lined bamboo steamer set over boiling water (do not let the dumplings have contact with any water) and steam for 10 to 13 minutes. 

Can You Put Uncooked Dumplings in the Fridge?

DO NOT PUT UNCOOKED DUMPLINGS IN THE REFRIGERATOR. If you refrigerate uncooked dumplings the filling (which has moisture in it) will start to break down the wrapper making it soggy and creating tears thus ruining your precious dumplings.

How Do You Reheat Cooked Xiao Long Bao (Xiaolongbao) Soup Dumplings?

Soup dumplings are fragile and can tear easily so reheating them isn’t ideal, but it’s definitely possible. In the rare event that you will ever have any uneaten cooked soup dumplings in your fridge, you can gently reheat them by steaming them in a lined bamboo steamer set over boiling water. Do not allow the water to have any contact with the dumplings and do not allow the dumplings to touch each other because they can tear. Steam them for about 3 minutes and gently remove them to a bowl using a spatula (do not pick them up from the tops which can cause them to tear open). 

  • Prep Time: 1 day
  • Cook Time: 8 minutes
  • Category: Dim Sum + Dumplings
  • Method: Steamed
  • Cuisine: Chinese

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 3 dumplings
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