Xiao Long Bao Recipe (2024)

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Asian Food

Brian Yong

Brian Yong is head of culinary development at Xiao Chi Jie (XCJ). When Brian is not cooking, he is thinking about cooking. When he is not thinking about cooking, he is thinking about eating.

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Updated on 02/10/23

Tested by

Young Sun Huh

Tested byYoung Sun Huh

Young Sun is a freelance recipe developer, tester, and food stylist with over 15 years of experience in the food industry.

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Ingredients

For the Aspic

1 medium scallion
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 dried shiitake mushroom
1 (1/4 inch thick) slice ginger root
3/4 ounce plain gelatin (3 packets)

For the Dough

1/2 cup 195 F water
3 1/2 cups (458 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room temperature water
2 teaspoons vegetable oil

For the Mince

1 pound ground pork, preferably 80/20 lean to fat ratio
1 tablespoon minced scallion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
3 teaspoons (9 grams) Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
3 teaspoons sugar
1/16 teaspoon white pepper

For Serving

Chinkiang vinegar mixed with a pinch of finely julienned ginger, for dipping

Steps to Make It

Prepare the Aspic

Gather the ingredients.
Bruise the scallion stalk by pounding it with the flat side of your knife.
In a small pot over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup of low-sodium chicken broth, dried shiitake mushroom, ginger slice, and scallion to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, submerging the mushroom occasionally.
Mix 3 packets of plain gelatin with the remaining 3/4 cup chicken stock in a heat-safe bowl.
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Remove solids from simmering broth and pour it into the bloomed gelatin, whisking to incorporate thoroughly. Pour into a sheet tray and refrigerate until set, about 45 minutes. While setting, prepare the dough and mince.

Make Dough

Gather the ingredients.
Heat 1/2 cup of water to 195 F in a small saucepan. If you don’t have a thermometer, it should be steaming and on the verge of simmering with small bubbles rising to the top.
Meanwhile, place the 3 1/2 cups of flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the 1/2 cup of 195 F water and stir with a wooden spoon.
Once the initial portion of water has been absorbed, add the room temperature water. Knead until all the flour has been incorporated. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time.
Add oil and knead again until a smooth dough ball has formed, 3 to 5 minutes. The dough should be soft but not sticky.
Cover bowl of dough with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.

Prepare the Mince

Gather the ingredients.
While the dough is resting, prepare the mince. Place the meat in a large bowl and add the scallion, garlic, ginger, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and dark soy sauce. Mix until uniformly combined.
Add the salt, sugar, and white pepper, and mix vigorously, kneading and crushing the mince through your fingers.
Your mince will be ready when the texture is paste-like, and it leaves a film on the walls of the bowl. Set aside and retrieve the aspic.

Prepare the Filling

Take your jellied aspic and cut it into about 4 sections. Julienne the sections, and then brunoise the julienne to achieve small cubes. A rough chop followed by a mince is acceptable as well.
Add your aspic to the mince in 3 to 4 portions, mixing to incorporate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until dough is ready for use.

Prepare Dumpling Dough

Using a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough ball into 4 even pieces. Take one quarter section (cover the remaining sections with a kitchen towel), and using both hands, grasp it by its midsection. Gently massage it with an outward motion to elongate the section into a cylinder.
Place the cylinder of dough on your work surface. Starting from the midsection and working your way outwards, roll the cylinder into a uniform, 1-inch-diameter rope.
Prepare your dumpling skin by cutting 3/4-inch portions off of the rope using your first piece as a guide for the remaining ones. Each piece should weigh about 15 grams.
Flatten each piece by applying firm pressure with the palm of your hand.
Use your rolling pin to roll each piece into a 3 1/2-inch diameter disc, aiming for a thinner edge and thicker center. Lightly dust the work surface with flour if the dough starts to stick.
Proceed to fill and fold the dumpling skins as described below and then repeat cutting/rolling out the dumpling skins and filling/folding them, one section of dough at a time.

Fold Dumplings

Place a dumpling skin in the palm of your hand and add a tablespoon of the filling into the skin. Depress the filling into the skin with your spoon, cupping your hand so that the filling is married to the dumpling skin. Repeat with remaining dumpling skins.
To form the Xiao Long Bao, place your prepared dumpling skin in the palm of your left hand. With your right thumb and middle finger, grasp the edge of the dumpling skin at about 2 o’clock (if it were a clock).
With your left thumb gently depressing the filling, twist your left wrist in a clockwise motion. This will create a pleat for your right hand to seal. Continue pleating all the way around the top of the dumpling.
As you reach the end of the pleating, you can release the grasp of your left thumb, while continuing to twist and seal the pleats with your right hand. It won’t be pretty at first, but as you practice the concept described above, it will become natural.
Don’t worry about the look—the important part is the seal, so just be sure to pinch any gaps shut. At this point, you can freeze your dumplings on a parchment-lined sheet tray if not cooking right away.

Cook Dumplings

Bring your steamer to a full boil. Place dumplings in your steamer basket. To prevent your dumplings from sticking to your steamer, cut a piece of parchment paper to size and perforate with a fork. You can also use a leaf of napa cabbage, or a light coating of oil.
Cook for 6 minutes at a full steam (8 minutes if steaming from frozen). Rest for 2 minutes before consuming. Serve steamed Xiao Long Bao with a dipping sauce of Chinkiang vinegar (Chinese black vinegar) and a pinch of raw ginger julienne.

Recipe Tips

Preparing Aspic: Ginger and scallion are aromatics that add dimension to the Xiao Long Bao broth and do not require a long cook time to extract their flavor. Shiitake contains guanylic acid, which enhances the umami profile of the dumpling.
Preparing Dough: By using a mix of cold and hot water, we find a balance between workability for preparation of the dumpling skins, and mouthfeel for the final product.
Preparing Mince: Vigorously mixing the mince promotes emulsification of the fat and proteins, and development of a toothsome mouthfeel in the cooked dumpling filling.
Preparing Filling: If knife work isn’t your thing, a meat grinder can process the aspic in a pinch.
Assembling Dumplings: Try to fill and fold the dumpling skins soon after rolling them out, as they can get soft and stick together. Work with a quarter of the dough at a time, rolling out each piece and filling and folding them, then repeating the process with the next quarter of dough. To make the process go faster, have someone work with you: one person can roll out the dumpling skins and the other person can fill and fold each one as it's ready.
The filling can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Recipe Variation

Soup dumplings with pork and crab meat are also popular. Try using 3/4 pound of ground pork and then folding 1/4 pound of cleaned, picked crab meat into the filling mixture at the end.

How to Store and Freeze

It’s best to cook these as soon as possible after folding. If you can’t use them within 2 hours of preparation, they freeze well. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or tray and cover with plastic film.
Cook the frozen dumplings immediately without thawing. Extend cook time to 8 to 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 185 F.

How do you serve and eat soup dumplings?

Serve soup dumplings while they're still hot. Ideally you would steam the dumplings in a bamboo steamer (or a similar metal one) that can then be taken directly to the table to minimize touching or transferring the dumplings to a serving platter, which can cause them to tear and leak their precious juices.

To eat the soup dumplings, you'll need a pair of chopsticks and a soup spoon, preferably an Asian soup spoon. Carefully lift the dumpling from the steamer with your chopsticks to your soup spoon without tearing the dough. Poke a small hole with a chopstick or gently bite a small hole into the dumpling skin. Any juices that may leak out will be contained by the spoon. Spoon some of the vinegar and ginger on top, if desired. Slurp the soup and eat the dumpling from the spoon. You could also just set the dumpling directly in the vinegar dipping sauce first and then move it to your soup spoon to eat. Enjoy!

Chinese Dumplings (Jiaozi)

Asian Food
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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
460	Calories
19g	Fat
45g	Carbs
24g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	460
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 19g	25%
Saturated Fat 5g	26%
Cholesterol 53mg	18%
Sodium 1102mg	48%
Total Carbohydrate 45g	16%
Dietary Fiber 2g	6%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 1mg	6%
Calcium 29mg	2%
Iron 4mg	20%
Potassium 337mg	7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

soup dumplings
xiao long bao
dinner
chinese

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