Chinese Soup Dumplings

Directions

1. Add water to the flour gradually. Gently mix with a pair of chopsticks or spatula until the flour is fully incorporated. Turn out the dough and knead by hand into a smooth dough ball. Cover and allow to rest at minimum 15 minutes, up to 60 minutes until soft and pliable but not sticky. The Chinese saying is “the dough should be as soft as an earlobe.”

2. Work on the filling while the dough is resting.

3. Using a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough into four even parts. Work with one part at a time, keeping the rest of the dough covered until time to use. Roll one dough quarter into a rope then cut into 6 to 8 equal sections.

4. Use the palm of your hand to press each piece into a round disk. Use a small rolling pin or the end of a French pin to flatten it into a thin round wrapper. Try to roll them all evenly into a similar size about 4 inches in diameter. Dust with flour if the dough sticks. Repeat until all the dough is used

5. Use the fresh wrappers immediately. If you wish to freeze them for later, sprinkle extra flour in between each wrapper. Pile them up then place into an air-tight plastic bag (squeeze out the air as much as possible). Defrost in the fridge then use them straightaway.

6. Chinese Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)

7. Xiao long bao are Shanghai’s most popular type of a type of dumpling, or “buns,” traditionally filled with pork (or pork and crab) and a pork bone broth that begins as a gelatinized aspic then melts into a liquid inside the encased wrapper as the buns are steamed. Do not confuse the name of these dumplings as if they are floating in a soup. This is a one-bite wonder that pops with juicy flavor.

8. Gelatin Broth

9. These dumplings are all about the broth, so making a homemade pork stock using pork neck, ribs, feet, and hock bones that can be sourced from your local butcher or a grocery meat department. Recipes are included here for both a quick pork aspic that is doable in a day and a stovetop version that takes hours to steep, but makes a deeply flavorful, fully gelatinized pork gelatin. Using a pressure cooker is a viable option, but keep in mind this usually produces more liquid that the stove top, but can achieve a rich broth much quicker and might require adding a little extra gelatin powder.

10. Quick Method

11. 4 cups pork or chicken bone broth/stock

12. 1 Tbsp. gelatin powder

13. Combine gelatin with a 1/2 cup of the room temperature stock in a medium bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes until it absorbs and swells. Bring the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth to a boil then lower the heat. Slowly pour 1 cup of the hot stock into to the gelatin, stirring. The gelatin will melt and turn into liquid. Add the rest of the stock to the gelatin and stir to combine. Pour into a rectangular baker or a baking sheet with a tall rim. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 to 4 hours until set like jelly.

From Shawnie's class “Chinese Soup Dumplings”