Xiao Long Bao — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Shanghai signature soup dumplings with paper-thin wrappers encasing a burst of hot savory broth and a juicy filling. The magic is the aspic that melts into liquid soup during steaming.

Ingredients

300g all-purpose flour
150ml warm water
400g ground chicken
200g chicken aspic (gelled broth), diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Black vinegar for dipping
Fresh ginger, julienned, for dipping

Instructions

1 Make the aspic by simmering chicken bones with water and gelatin until rich, then refrigerating overnight until it sets into a firm jelly that can be diced into small cubes.
2 Prepare the dough by mixing flour and warm water, kneading for ten minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrapping it in plastic and resting for thirty minutes.
3 Mix the ground chicken with soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, green onions, sugar, salt, and the diced aspic, folding gently to distribute the jelly pieces evenly.
4 Roll the dough into small thin circles and pleat each dumpling with at least eighteen folds, twisting the top to seal and ensuring no holes where the soup could leak out.
5 Steam the xiao long bao in bamboo steamers lined with cabbage leaves for eight minutes, then serve immediately with a dipping sauce of black vinegar and julienned ginger.

Did You Know?

Master xiao long bao makers are judged by the number of pleats they can create, with the gold standard being exactly eighteen precise folds on each dumpling.