Soup Dumplings（Xiao Long Bao）
Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) are small and delicate, with thin skins and tender, juicy fillings, offering a delightful taste sensation. They are a highly popular traditional Chinese delicacy, commonly featured as a star item in Chinese and Asian restaurants abroad. Today, I'll share my secret recipe for making these special soup dumplings.
INGREDIENTS
- 500g pork filling
- 400g pork aspic
- 400g high-gluten flour
DIRECTIONS
Pour 400g of high-gluten flour into a mixing bowl, and add an appropriate amount of lukewarm water while stirring continuously.
Tip:
When kneading the dough, the ratio of flour to water typically ranges from 1:0.5 to 1:0.6. I've calculated using a ratio of 1:0.5, which equates to approximately 200g of lukewarm water.
Knead into a crumbly texture, then continue adding lukewarm water.
Knead into a dough, cover with a damp cloth, and let it rest.
Tip:
Resting the dough is crucial for making noodles or dumplings. Rested dough will be more elastic, soft, and have a smoother texture.
After resting the dough for 10 minutes, continue kneading it several times until the dough becomes very smooth and elastic.
Tip:
Repeat steps 2-3, kneading the dough a few times until it becomes very smooth and elastic. Let it rest for about 20 minutes.
While the dough is resting, take out the 400g of prepared pork aspic and cut it into small pieces for later use.
Tip:
As mentioned earlier, the method for making pork aspic has been provided. For those who are unfamiliar, you can search for my previous recipe for instructions on making pork aspic.
Take a large bowl and pour in 500g of pork filling. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1 tablespoon of white sugar, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of chicken bouillon, 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine, and the prepared pork aspic.
Put on disposable gloves and mix the pork filling and seasonings in one direction until they are thoroughly combined.
Continuously knead the mixture until the filling and broth are fully integrated.
Take a piece of dough that has risen, knead it into a long strip, and cut it into dough pieces.
After flattening and rolling it into a round wrapper, wrap the filling and pinch it into 18-24 pleats.
After wrapping all the dumplings, let them rest for 5 minutes, then steam them in a steamer until steam rises.
Once the steamer is producing steam, steam the dumplings for about 8-10 minutes.
Your delicious and juicy Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) are ready to be served!