bigideasjust4u: Chinese Soup Dumpling (小笼包）

Chinese Soup Dumpling (小笼包-Xiao Long Bao)- It is not soup with dumplings in it, but dumplings with soup in them. This soup dumpling is one of the popular Dim Sum or Yum Cha. However, not all restaurants serve this for Dim Sum/Yum Cha. It is a labour intensive dish and the Dim Sum Chef must be skilful to create a thin wrapper. The difference between soup dumpling and dumpling is that soup dumpling contains broth inside the dumpling itself so when you eat, you bite a little hole in the dumpling, then carefully sip the hot broth out of it. That is the reason why it is called-Soup Dumpling.

I have watched Poh's Kitchen on TV, came to realize that the broth inside the dumplings was created by gelling the broth and seal the jellied broth with filling inside the wrapper. So when the dumplings are heated, the jellied broth liquifies again, that is why the dumplings contain soup inside them. Ah ha...that is the secret of soup dumpling..I used to think the soup inside the dumpling came from the filling itself when it got steamed the meat filling released the juices out of it.

I love soup dumplings, and have not try making them. After watching how Poh made the soup dumplings, I was pretty confident that it wasn't difficult. Went to do some research on the internet as I was keen in making it, I decided to simplify the broth making process by using stock that I can buy off the shelf. Here is my simplified Soup Dumpling Recipe. Everything turned out to be good except I need to practice more on rolling out the wrapper making it as thin as possible, due to my rolling skill the wrapper was too thick at the top after the dumpling has been pleated up. It was a good effort though.. I am going to make it for my family when I go home end of this May.

Make about 30 Soup Dumplings

For the Jellied Broth:

1 Cup Chicken Broth/Stock

3 Teaspoons Clear and Unflavoured Gelatine Powder

For the Filling：

200g Mince Pork

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 ½ Tablespoons Shao Xing Wine

1 ½ Tablespoons Seasame Oil

3 Cloves Mince Garlic

1 Thumb Size Mince Ginger
Dash of Pepper

½ Cup Chives, finely cut (optional)

For the Dough:

1 ½ cup Plain Flour

1 ½ Cup Wheat Flour (or you can use 2 Cup Plain Flour if you do not have Wheat Flour)

1 ½ Cup boiling water

Note: You can prepare the jellied chicken broth( Step 1) and filling (Step 2) a day in advance.

1. Bring to the chicken stock to a boil and slowly whisk in the gelatine powder unsure that it is all dissolved without lumps. Remove from heat, pour it over to a shallow bowl. Refrigerate until set in.

2. Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a big bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

3.Dice the gellied broth into small pieces (0.5cm cube) and set aside.

4. Combine the flour in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the boiling water and mix it with a pair of chopsticks until a soft but not sticky dough is formed (you probably won't need all the water). Hand knead the dough on a lightly floured area until dough is smooth and elastic. Beware the dough will be still hot.

4. Roll the dough into a long sausage, 1 inch in diameter. Cut the dough into walnut-sized pieces, then roll them into round balls; cover the balls with a damp towel and some flour.

5. You are now going to make crescent-shaped dumplings. On a well-floured work surface, put the ball on the work are and use your palm to press the ball to become a disc using a rolling pin roll inwards to form a a paper-thin circle (3.5 to 4-inches in diameter). Stack wrappers (sprinkle some flour in between the wrappers) and keep under plastic until all of them are rolled out. Be generous with the flour, on and off lightly flour the rolling pin.

You may click here to watch a video which I extracted from youtube on how to roll a dumpling wrapper. Just watch the part on how to roll out the ball into a paper-thin circle, ignore the pleating part as that pleating is for Dumpling (Jiao Zi) and not SOUP Dumpling. Remember you have to roll inward to create the circular shape, by rolling outward it will mishapen quickly. By rolling inward, the centre of the wrapper will be thick and the outer edges will be thin. Try to roll as thin as possible else you will have a thick top after you have done the pleating.

6. To make the dumplings, put about a tablespoon of filling then 1 or 2 pieces of dice broth in the center of a wrapper. Do not put too much filling else the bottom of the wrapper will break. Pleat edges of the wrapper repeatedly, pinching the edge closed after each pleat until the entire dumpling is sealed.Pinch and twist top to seal ( I prefer not to seal the top). Transfer sealed dumplings to a lightly floured wooden or parchment-lined board. Make the remaining wrappers in the same way.