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Xiao Long Bao— Soup Dumplings

September 15, 2014 36 Comments

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Xiao Long Bao (Chinese steamed soup dumplings) is a famous Chinese dessert. Sometimes you may hear Shanghai Xiao Long Bao, but like Beijing style Zha Jiang Mian, this soup dumpling can be found in many Chinese cuisines. Xiao Long Bao recipe might differ from one cuisine to another. However Shanghai style is the most dedicate and elegant version.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

It is not easy to make this little, juicy and yummy soup dumplings at home. Soup dumping usually is featured by its juicy soup filling. There are two different varieties of the pork filling. Some use pork rind jelly while the other one use stock directly. For beginners, pork rind jelly version is much easier since it would be easy to assemble to soup dumplings.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

The basic processing should be: prepare the pork meat jelly in the previous day—knead the dough and set aside—Make the filling and set aside—Make the wrapper and assemble soup dumplings one by one.

In a pot, add cold water and pork rinds to cook for around 5 minutes after boiling until the pork skin becomes slightly transparent. Transfer the pork rind out and rinse in running water. Remove impurities and fat layer. Cut the pork rind into small strips.

In a high pressure cooker or pot, add enough water to cover the pork rinds. Add 4 slices of ginger and several green onion sections. Cook for at least 40 minutes for high pressure cooker and at least one and half hour for ordinary cooker. Leave the soup to cool down. Use food processor to blend for seconds. And then filter the soup once. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Tips about how to make the juicy filling for soup dumpling

In a small bowl, soak minced ginger and green onion with 1/2 hot water for around 10 minutes to make ginger and green onion water.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

In a larger mixing bowl, mix the ginger and green onion water prepared in step 1 by three batch. Use your hand to stir in one direction until the water is completely absorbed by the minced pork.Then add all the seasonings. Mix well and set aside for around 10 minutes to 20 minutes for a better absorption.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

To assemble the soup dumplings:

Place the wrapper in your left hand. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of your wrapper. Fix the starting point with the thumb of right hand and begin to fold the edge counterclockwise. Move the thumb slowly in the process. Repeat the process until the dumpling is completely sealed. For more details and photos, you can refer to this post: how to fold baozi.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Steam for 8 minutes after the water boils. And here we are! Enjoy!

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Juicy filling.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

5 from 2 votes
Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling
Print
Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Chinese Xiao Long Bao--Steamed Soup Dumplings
Course: staple
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Dumpling
Servings: 24 Making 24 soup dumplings
Calories: 122 kcal
Author: Elaine
Ingredients
Wrapper (If you need visual help about the wrapper, check dumpling wrappers)
  • 2 cups flour
  • 150 ml room temperature water +15ml for adjusting
  • a small pinch of salt
Meat Jelly
  • 1/4 pound pork rind
  • 4 slices of ginger
  • 3 green onions
  • 1 tbsp. cooking wine
  • Water as needed
Pork Filling
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
  • 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp. minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp. minced green onion
  • 1 tsp. sugar
Instructions
For the Pork Jelly
  1. In a pot, add cold water and pork rinds to cook for around 5 minutes after boiling until the pork skin becomes slightly transparent. Transfer the pork rind out and rinse in running water. Remove impurities and fat layer. Cut the pork rind into small strips.
  2. In a high pressure cooker or pot, add enough water to cover the pork rinds. Add 4 slices of ginger and several green onion sections. Cook for at least 40 minutes for high pressure cooker and at least one and half hour for ordinary cooker. Leave the soup to cool down. Use food processor to blend for seconds. And then filter the soup once. Pour into an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
For the Filling
  1. In a small bowl, soak minced ginger and green onion with 1/2 cup hot water for around 10 minutes.
  2. In a larger mixing bowl, mix the ginger and green onion water prepared in step 1 by three batches. Use your hand to stir in one direction until the water is completely absorbed by the minced pork.
  3. Then add all the seasonings. Mix well and set aside for around 10 minutes for a better absorption.
  4. Mince the pork jelly and mix with the ground pork filling.
For the wrappers
  1. Add flour and water in a mixing bowl and then knead the dough until smooth and stretchy (this process may need 15 to 20 minutes depending on your kneading skill. You can also use a mixer to do this job.) Cover with a wet cloth and reset for 20 minutes. Dust your board and re-knead the dough for around 5 minutes and then further roll into a long log. Cut the log into small sections of similar weight. Press the sections and roll out to a round wrapper. During the process, do remember to cover everything under a wet cloth to avoid drying out.
  2. Prepare your bamboo steamer; cover the steamer with cloth, zongzi leaves or brushing some oil on the surface so that the dumplings will not be sticky to the steamer.
  3. Assemble the soup dumplings one by one like this direction. But remember to seal the hole at the very last step. Place the dumpling on the steamer. Remember to leave some spaces between each other.
Steaming process
  1. Set up the steamer and steam for around 8 to 10 minutes after the water is boiling.
  2. Serve directly or with Chinese black vinegar.
Recipe Notes

The Nutrition Facts is based on each single Xiao Long Bao.

Nutrition Facts
Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling
Amount Per Serving
Calories 122 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 18mg 6%
Sodium 343mg 14%
Potassium 73mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Protein 7g 14%
Vitamin A 0.3%
Vitamin C 0.4%
Calcium 0.7%
Iron 4.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Xiao Long Bao—Chinese Soup Dumpling

Filed Under: dessert and bakery, dim sum, Featured, Recipes, staple food

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  1. Zhou says

    September 19, 2014 at 1:10 pm

    I love all of the different tong bao I’ve had. My favorite so far was in Xi’an. Soup dumplings are BY FAR my favorite dumplings. I’ll be saving this recipe for Chinese New Year. If I’m going to be making dumpling for hours, I might as well make the best!

    Now, I have a strange question. Are there any soup dumplings made with Chicken stock or veal stock? I’ve never seen them but that doesn’t count for much. I’d love to make a veal version of this with a nice demi or glace de veau. That would be an interesting experiment in French-Chinese fusion that I would love to try! Man, I love soup dumplings.

    For Western readers, I’d like to offer up alternative pork stock advice for those who would make the mistake of not trying this recipe because of the pork rind. Make a traditional stock using pork bones (find a simple recipe online). Once you have the stock, reduce it by at least 50% and then refridgerate overnight. The stock will look like a pretty hard Jello – which is exactly what you want.

    Anyway, Western readers, try Elaine’s recipes! They’re easy, great and authentic, unlike most of the stuff you’ll find online.

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      September 20, 2014 at 7:29 am

      Hi Zhou,
      I have soup dumplings from Xi’an city. I have spend my four year university life in the city of Xi’an. There are so many yummy stuff.
      Yes you can use chicken stock or veal stock in this recipe as long as the stock can form the jelly. We have chicken soup dumpling named as “鸡汁灌汤包” usually with chicken stock made from chicken bones and chicken feet.
      Thanks for much for providing this information, I will list this as a note for other reader.
      Thanks again for your lovely recommendation. You guys are the reasons why I continue posting recipes. Enjoy cooking!

      Reply
      • Angela says

        May 12, 2017 at 7:36 pm

        Hi, can you tell me what flour is used for the wrappers? Thanks.

        Reply
        • Elaine says

          May 15, 2017 at 8:28 am

          Hi Angela,
          I use all purpose flour to make the wrappers. But you can use bread flour too. Only cake flour is not recommended.

          Reply
          • Rozan says

            August 7, 2019 at 1:51 pm

            What happens when you use cake flour?

          • Elaine says

            August 8, 2019 at 7:41 am

            The wrappers are not supported by enough gluten and quite easy to break.

  2. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

    September 20, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    Craving some Chinese dumplings right now.. these look so incredibly delicious. I have never made dumplings from scratch myself before so you have definitely inspired me to recreate the recipe. Thanks for sharing it!

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      September 20, 2014 at 10:17 pm

      Thalia,
      Making everything at home from starch is really enjoying. Like baker, I am always excited about how my dough turns out finally with seasonings and fillings.
      Try it and I hope you like them the same as me.

      Reply
  3. Lai says

    April 11, 2016 at 10:22 pm

    In your receipt, the dumping wrapper use cold water, you mean ice cold water or room temperature water, because my dumping skin turn out a little bit too hard.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 13, 2016 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Lai,
      It should be room temperature water. If the dumpling skin becomes too hard or too dry, you can slightly add extra 10ml to 15ml water.

      Reply
  4. Maya says

    April 24, 2016 at 8:48 pm

    they are lovely and tasty! there is just one problem I have experienced – some of them are breaking when I am steaming them and the soup runs away 🙁 and sometimes this happens just after open the steamer. Not all of them though, so I wonder, what I am doing wrong? they are all almost the same, and I love the soup taste 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      April 25, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      Hi Maya,
      Are you using homemade wrapper or store bought wrapper? You will need to wait for several minutes until the temperature of the steamer drops slightly.

      Reply
  5. Tina says

    May 9, 2016 at 10:00 am

    Hi There,it such a great recipe
    But is There any subtitute the pork coz i don’t eat pork,is There any other way to make it without pork?thanks 🙂

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 11, 2016 at 9:29 pm

      Hi Tina,
      I think you can use chicken to replace pork. Chicken feet can work as a substitute of pork rind.

      Reply
  6. DB says

    November 3, 2016 at 1:11 am

    Can you use store bought round wrappers instead of making them from scratch? I like to add julienned ginger to the black vinegar for dipping. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      November 3, 2016 at 2:59 pm

      If you do not want to make from starch, you can simply use store bought dumpling wrappers.

      Reply
  7. Beatrice says

    November 3, 2016 at 6:40 pm

    Hello!! Any substitute for pork rind?? Cause I’ve never heard of it here in Italy and I guess Itmight be a bit difficult to find…Thank you!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      November 3, 2016 at 8:54 pm

      No pork rind in Italy? You can replace it with thickened broth.

      Reply
  8. CJ says

    January 6, 2017 at 11:22 pm

    Thanks for the recipe

    Are you referring to raw pork rinds or the fried pork rinds you buy in the snack aisle?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      January 9, 2017 at 2:26 pm

      I use raw pork rinds.

      Reply
  9. emf says

    June 18, 2017 at 1:48 am

    I’ve made quite the aspic using chicken feet – think it would work well here.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      June 19, 2017 at 8:10 am

      Sure, it should work fine. Chicken feet contains enough collagen.

      Reply
  10. Sylvia says

    August 24, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    Where have you been all this time?! By reading through your instructions, I figured out what I’ve been doing wrong with during my Chinese food preparation. You gave me hope! Thank you! Can’t wait to try your recipes!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      August 26, 2017 at 8:46 am

      You are the most welcome, Sylvia! I hope you will love my recipes and cook yummy Chinese dishes successfully.

      Reply
  11. Ora Chaya says

    September 5, 2017 at 1:07 pm


    This was so much fun to make and we had many successful ones in our batch of like..3 dozen lol!

    But a problem we came across a lot- was that the dough at the top (when you pinch it) was too thick once cooked.

    Is there something I may be doing incorrectly that is causing this?

    Originally when I was steaming these, I had them at High Heat. But I lowered the heat and they seemed to cook better.

    I also had to use Chicken Fat instead of Pork, because I keep kosher. So the receipe for the Gel/Stuffing got changed a lot. It all came out delicious! And I replaced everything equally.

    But I’m still stuck on the dough and what I may be doing wrong. Do you need to roll these out with a rolling pin? Or is hand pushing them just enough?

    How thick should each piece be?

    Thanks for your recipe and time! <3

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      September 5, 2017 at 8:28 pm

      Hi Ora,
      The problem is caused by your method of making the wrappers. The wrappers should be rolled out with a rolling pin and more importantly you need to make the edges thinner than the center part by rotating the wrapper during the process, just like make dumpling wrappers. So the pinched top will not be over thick.
      Chicken fat is a great substitute for pork for sure and I believe you get the right taste. Good job and continue practicing, you are close to the perfect ones now.

      Reply
  12. Alan says

    September 11, 2017 at 11:19 pm

    Hi. Would the high gluten flour or lower be most suitable for this recipe? Thanks.

    Reply
  13. Mohsin Masrur says

    November 1, 2017 at 10:18 am

    Wow, very clear explanation! It makes me feel “make it now”. Worth reading.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      November 2, 2017 at 7:47 am

      Thanks. Go ahead and it will not disappoint you.

      Reply
      • Elaine says

        June 21, 2018 at 7:55 pm

        It is 1/2 cup and add by three batches. Thanks so much for the correctness.

        Reply
  14. Pad says

    December 4, 2018 at 8:46 am


    If I have left over meat jelly can I freeze it and use it when I make XLB in a couple months?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 4, 2018 at 8:20 pm

      Yes you can freeze meat jelly for later use. But do not recommend leaving them too long in fridge.

      Reply
  15. Rhodora Woodard says

    February 4, 2019 at 1:22 am

    My first encounter of soup dumplings was in Flushing, NY three months ago. DELICIOUS!
    I am going to try your recipe for our Chinese New Year Celebration.
    What is the size of the 4 slices of ginger which I need to add to the 1/2 of hot water and green onions? Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      February 7, 2019 at 7:43 pm

      Hi Rhodora,
      2 pieces of ginger for cook the pork rind and the mince the left and soak with green onions. Happy cooking! I am sorry for the late reply due to the Chinese Spring Festival Gap.

      Reply
  16. Jodie says

    June 8, 2019 at 8:22 pm

    Hi, I’ve had these dumplings once before and am now In love with them so I’m going to attempt to make them at home. However, I can’t get hold of pork rind for the base. Any recommendations or substitutes that I could use instead???

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      June 12, 2019 at 8:10 am

      You can use thicker chicken stock and freeze the filling for a while before wrapping.

      Reply

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