Xiaolongbao — the Chinese dumplings with hot soup inside

Xiaolongbao are perhaps the most famous dumplings of Chinese cuisine: born in Shanghai, these small dough balls are filled with pork and cubes of gelled soup, which melts during steaming and turns into a hot, aromatic broth inside the dumpling. Their secret is the very thin dough and the closure with small folds, which keeps the broth trapped until the moment of the bite. According to Shanghai tradition, you bite a small corner, first drink the hot broth, and then eat the dumpling with rice vinegar and ginger strips.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 250 g flour
• 150 ml hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

• 300 g ground pork
• 150 g rich pork stock, chilled until gelled (cut into small cubes)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine (or dry white wine)
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 finely chopped spring onion

For serving: rice vinegar and ginger cut into thin strips

Preparation steps

1. Prepare the gelled stock a day ahead: boil pork bones for 3–4 hours until the liquid becomes rich, strain it and leave it in the refrigerator until it sets like jelly; cut it into small cubes.
2. For the dough, pour the hot water over the flour with the salt, mix and knead for 8–10 minutes until it becomes a smooth dough; cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. For the filling, mix the ground meat with the soy sauce, rice wine, ginger, pepper, sesame oil and spring onion; add the cubes of gelled stock and mix in one direction until the mixture becomes sticky; refrigerate for 20 minutes.
4. Divide the dough into balls of about 20 g, roll each into a disc of 8–9 cm, place 1 teaspoon of filling in the centre and close it with about 18 small folds, twisting the top.
5. Place the dumplings in the bamboo steamer on baking paper (leaving space between them) and steam over boiling water for 8–10 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, very hot, with rice vinegar and ginger strips — bite a small corner and first drink the hot broth inside.

Time: preparation about 1 hour + 30 minutes resting; cooking 8–10 minutes. Servings: about 20 pieces (4 people).