Xiao long bao are “soup dumplings”, a specialty of Shanghai. No, they’re not dumplings in soup; they’re soup inside of dumplings. Chopped cold jellied meat stock plus a ball of pork or crab is wrapped up in noodle dough and then steamed, and the result is a plump jiggly dumpling that gushes out hot soup stock when you bite into it. They’re served with a dipping sauce of vinegar, soy, and shredded ginger.
Goldern, they’re addicting.
And now I’ve discovered a variation on this ingenious treat. “Pan fried pork buns”, which are a stouter soup dumpling that has been steamed and then pan sauteed so that they have crusty brown bottoms, like a pot sticker. They’re served sprinkled with black sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
They’re both miracles of Chinese engineering, and absolutely delicious.
My favorite bao are cha sui bao which are baked bao with BBQ pork inside. Yum. I haven’t found anyplace in Austin that makes them; anyone know of any? The pan fried pork buns sound really good. I’m also interested in the xiao long bao but I’m pretty sure I’ll never find those here. Maybe I need to learn how to make cha sui bao.
I lived in Asia for several years and ate them regularly. They’re ridiculously tasty, especially the ones at Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101.
Still haven’t found a nearby restaurant in America that serves them.
They are AMAZING. Our local Hong Kong cafe, Cooking Papa, does an adequate rendition, served in the little foil cups. When we get takeout with friends not in the know, we always ensure that we warn them about the gushy inside. Certainly one-bite food.
There’s whole swathes of food criticism arguing about which Bay Area XLB version is “best” and what categorizes “best” etc., etc.
Have had them for a long time - can’t even remember when I first had them. Of course, several restaurants near me in Flushing specialize in them, plus I am Chinese-American, so it’s a bit like asking someone Jewish “OMG have you ever had this thing called Matzoh Ball Soup”
Just google “Xiao long bao Chicago”
Moon Palace, Lao Shanghai (A Tony Hu place), and Hing Kee in Chinatown have them.
Maybe you’ll have better luck than me but I rarely get one I thought was any big deal. Not sure why but there never seems to be very much soup at all and sometimes none that I could detect.
Like I said, hopefully you’ll do better.
As a lucky ducky who lives in Shanghai, I can go out and have them any ol’ time that I want. They are super-delicious, especially the crunchy-bottom ones - those are called shengjianbao. The best place to get them is at Yang’s Dumplings, with many convenient locations. One would imagine that the best ones would come from some little stall on the side of the road, but it’s a lie - you really do get the best shengjians from the big franchise restaurant. I suppose that’s because it’s explicitly restaurant food - you can’t make them at home because they require special equipment.
Living in Shanghai so…yeah I have both varieties all the time.
Just to warn anyone trying these for the first time: even using the spoon method and remembering to blow inside, there’s a good chance you’ll burn your mouth and/or get soup on yourself the first time. Rite of passage and all that.
I had them while in Kaifeng last year. Even with a half-dozen Chinese folks offering helpful suggestions, they were all but impossible to eat with my limited chopstick skills. I was a bit miffed coming back home to hear about the spoon method from a Chinese-American. Good, though.
I tried all sorts of dumplings when we were in Shanghai and they were amazing. There was a kind of dumpling that came with a straw… all the natives just sucked out the soup and didn’t eat the actual dumpling part. We got some really funny looks when we tried taking a bite.
Sounds great. We had an extremely inadequate tour guide in Shanghai, and no decent (I mean “no decent,” several steps below “not good”) Chinese restaurants around us.
