How To Make Xiao Long Bao / Soup Dumplings (The Easy Way)
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Prep Time: 1 hourhour
Cook Time: 8 minutesminutes
Resting dough and chilling:: 4 hourshours45 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour8 minutesminutes
Servings: 20dumplings
Calories: 109kcal
Author: Marvellina
In this recipe tutorial, I'm sharing how to make xiao long bao the easy way at home but doesn't compromise the taste and the experience of eating xiao long bao.
Preparing the gelatinized soup (preferably the day before):
Put 1 teaspoon of gelatin in a bowl. Add 2 Tbsp of the stock and let it sit for 5 minutes and it will swell, absorbing all the liquid. Heat up about 1/2 cup of the stock and let it come to warm before adding this to the gelatin. You don't want it hot, just warm. Add this to the gelatin and stir. The gelatin will melt and turn into translucent liquid. Add the rest of the stock and stir to combine. Cover and keep this chilled in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours
Prepare the dough for the wrap:
Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add in the hot boiling water and stir with a spoon into a crumbly dough. Use your clean hand to knead the dough into a rough dough. Cover with cling wrap and rest for 20 minutes. Prepare the filling while waiting
Preparing the filling:
The gelatinized soup should have set by now, having a consistency like a jello, soft and bouncy. Chop into small pieces
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir in one direction to combine. Have a taste by boiling a tiny amount in a water. Adjust the taste to your preference. Add the chopped gelatinized soup into the meat mixture and stir to combine. Cover and keep this in the fridge while preparing other things
Back to the dough:
Give the dough a few knead and you will be surprised by how soft the dough is now. Give the dough some kneading until it is smooth, about 1-2 minutes
Divide the dough into 2 or 3. It's easier to work with smaller amount of dough as we want to roll it as thin as we can, but not paper thin, just . Keep one covered to prevent it from drying out and work with the other one
Lightly dust your work surface with some flour. Roll the dough out into about 1 mm thickness. It's pretty thin. Then use a 4-inch cutter or round jar or whatever you have to cut the dough out, cut as close as possible
You can always use a rolling pin to roll the dough that you cut out thinner if you didn't manage to roll it as thin before. Dust each wrapper with a bit of flour to prevent sticking to another wrapper. Gather the scrap and roll it out again. If it's getting harder to roll it out, wrap it with a cling wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes and you won't have problem rolling it out again later
Repeat the same step with the second (and third dough if you divide into 3). Keep all the cut-out dough covered
Filling and wrapping:
Place one wrapper on a work surface and put about one tablespoon of filling on the center. It's easier to create pleats when you let the wrapper sit on the work surface. While one hand is holding the wrapper, the other just folds the wrapper over and pinch slightly as you fold and continue to create pleats all around and then pinch to seal, leaving the top open. This actually helps to prevent the dumpling from "exploding" during steaming and I like how it looks too
Steaming:
Bring the water in a steamer to a boil. Line a bamboo basket or a steaming rack with parchment paper. Arrange the dumplings on top, giving them a bit of space as they will puff up a bit. Steam over medium heat for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through
Serving;
Serve the soup dumplings immediately while they are still warm