These Soup Dumplings Will Warm You To The Core

I absolutely love dumplings. In all their shapes, sizes, and forms, I am a huge fan of anything packaged in a chewy or tender dough. And there’s a special place in my heart for soup dumplings. I hope I have done this recipe justice for anyone who’s up to the challenge of making the dumplings themselves at home.

Xiaolongbao are a form of Chinese dumpling, or “buns,” filled typically with ground pork (and sometimes a combination of ground pork and crab) and a homemade pork broth. Often they’re steamed in a bamboo steamer. When dining out, they might be delivered to your table in one too.

Importance of good broth

One of the major components of soup dumplings is the broth, of course. The most traditional recipes make the broth with water and pork bones. Scallions, Chinese rice wine, ginger, garlic, white pepper, and other herbs or traditional seasonings could be used. The bones have a tremendous amount of gelatin, which means once the stock has chilled, it turns into a mass of pork “gel,” which is exactly what melts right out of the hot dumpling and onto your spoon.

Because pork broth isn’t common to find on the shelves of most grocery stores, I used chicken bone broth and enhanced it with ginger, garlic, and Chinese soy sauce, and added gelatin. I wanted to use a commercial bone broth since this isn’t a homemade “bone broth”; however, any broth or stock will do just fine. Chinese soy sauce can be either light or dark. The light is not “lower in sodium,” rather it’s the one most commonly used, thinner, and lighter in appearance than the darker version.

The key component of the shortcut is adding gelatin. But if you find really hearty pork bone broth, chicken broth, turkey broth, or beef broth at a local butcher or specialty market, I encourage you to use it. The better the quality of the product, the better the dumpling will taste.

Different styles of dumpling wrappers

There are different ways to go about this.

– Adding boiled/hot water to flour = softer, more pliable dough = good for steaming dumplings.

– Adding cold water to flour = restrictive dough with more elastic = good for boiling dumplings.

Alternative way to roll the dough

In the recipe, I divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one out. You will have scraps left that you can roll again. If you prefer a more accurate method, weigh the dough. You should be able to get 48 pieces at 0.6 oz. each. You would then roll each ball into 4″ to 4 1/2″ circles.

How to use a bamboo steamerBamboo steamers are a wonderful tool to use for dumplings, vegetables, fish, meat, you name it. For the dumplings, all you will need is a few Napa cabbage leaves. Place the steamer—I used a 10″ one—over a medium to large wok filled one-third of the way with water. The water should not touch the steamer (this is very similar to using a double boiler for melting chocolate). Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and allow the leaves to cook just a little before steaming the dumplings. Space the dumplings out so they have room to expand when cooking.

18 pleats on the dumpling mattersWhere the pleats on the dumpling form at the top of the pouch is what tells the world whether or not you’re a master of dumplings. It’s quite intimidating to get 18 pleats, and I’ve tried and tried again. If you can’t quite get them all, then 10 to 12 will certainly do!

Make dumplings in advanceIf you’re not ready to cook the entire batch, that’s fine. Make a half batch or full batch, freeze in one layer on a sheet tray, then store them in gallon-size bags and return to the freezer for up to 2 weeks for best quality. Pull them out wherever you’re ready for dumpling goodness!

Yields: 45-48

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 3 hours

Ingredients

Broth

• 1 1/4 c.

  chicken bone broth

• 2 tbsp.

  Chinese light soy sauce

• 1

  (2″) piece ginger, sliced

• 5

  cloves garlic, smashed

• 1

  (1/4-oz.) package gelatin

Wrappers

• 4 c.

  (480 g.) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• 1 1/4 c.

  hot water

Pork Filling & Assembly

• 1 lb.

  ground pork

• 3

  scallions, sliced

• 2 tbsp.

  Chinese light soy sauce

• 2 tbsp.

  Shaoxing rice wine

• 2 tsp.

  grated cloves garlic

• 1 tsp.

  finely grated peeled ginger

• 1/4 tsp.

  ground white pepper

• 1/2 tsp.

  kosher salt (optional)

• 1

  head of Napa cabbage

Chinese black vinegar and chili oil, for dipping

Directions

Broth

1. In a medium pot over medium-high heat, bring broth, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Discard ginger and garlic. Add gelatin and whisk to incorporate.
2. Pour broth into a shallow pan and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

Wrappers

1. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, beat flour and water on medium speed until dough is soft and smooth in texture, 5 to 10 minutes (you can also do this by hand). Wrap dough with a thin damp cloth or plastic wrap and let rest at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour at room temperature.
2. Line a sheet tray with parchment, then dust with flour. Cut dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece to about 1/16″ thick, then cut into 4″ rounds.
3. Transfer rounds to prepared tray. Cover with a damp towel to prevent drying out.

Pork Filling & Assembly

1. In a food processor, pulse pork, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, pepper, and salt, if using, until mostly smooth.
2. Break up broth with a spatula. Fold broth into pork mixture. Scoop a little over 1 tablespoon filling and arrange in the center of each wrapper. Enclose filling with wrapper, then crimp edges into pleats, leaving a small hole in the center. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel until ready to steam.
3. Line a 10″ bamboo steamer with cabbage leaves. Fill a 10″ to 12″ wok one-third with water. Place steamer on wok, then bring water to a simmer over medium high heat. Arrange 12 dumplings in steamer, cover, and steam dumplings until plump, firm, and slightly translucent, 10 to 13 minutes.

SOUP DUMPLINGS