Cassie's Kitchen / Shanghai / Dim Sum

小笼包 Xiao Long Bao

Little Basket Buns

"Soup inside a dumpling. Engineering meets artistry. One bite of magic."

Year of the Fire Horse 火马年
3+ Hours
32 Dumplings
5/5 Difficulty
Begin the Journey

The Origin

How do you get soup inside a dumpling? The answer is pure culinary genius — and it starts with pig skin.

Shanghai, China
Nanxiang

Nanxiang, Shanghai

上海 · 南翔

A water town on the outskirts of Shanghai, where in 1875, a humble steamed bun shop owner named Huang Mingxian had an idea that would revolutionize dumpling-making forever.

Year 1875
Creator Huang Mingxian
Folds 18+ (Traditional)
Bamboo steamer

The Secret of the Soup

Huang Mingxian ran the Ri Hua Xuan restaurant in Nanxiang. He wanted to create something extraordinary — a dumpling with broth inside. But how do you wrap liquid?

The answer: you don't. You wrap solid broth.

By simmering pork skin for hours, you extract collagen that sets into aspic — gelatin that's solid when cold but melts when heated. Mix this jellied broth into your filling, wrap it cold, and steam it. The heat transforms the aspic back into liquid, creating soup inside the wrapper.

It's food science before food science existed. Pure innovation born from obsession.

The original shop still operates in Nanxiang today, with lines that wrap around the building. And the argument about which restaurant makes the best xiao long bao — in Shanghai, in Taiwan, in the world — shows no signs of ending.

"The best things in cooking often come from asking 'what if we tried the impossible?'"

Did You Know?

Traditional xiao long bao have exactly 18 folds. Master dim sum chefs spend years perfecting this technique. The folds must be tight enough to hold the soup but delicate enough to create thin, translucent skin at the top. If you can see the meat through the wrapper, you're on the right track.

The Craft

This is one of the most technically demanding dumplings in Chinese cuisine. Respect the process.

皮

Pí — The Skin

Thin enough to be translucent, strong enough to hold soup. The dough must be pliable, the rolling precise. If the wrapper tears, the magic spills out.

汤

Tāng — The Soup

The aspic is the soul. Rich, gelatinous, deeply flavored. It must be cold and solid when you wrap, liquid and luscious when you eat.

褶

Zhě — The Pleats

Each fold creates structure and beauty. They should spiral like a pinwheel, meeting at a small peak that becomes the dumpling's crown.

The Ingredients

Three components, each demanding attention: the aspic, the filling, the dough.

The Aspic (Make Day Before)

The Secret — Start Here
  • 500g Pork skin 猪皮 Scraped clean of fat. This is the collagen source.
  • 4 cups Water or light chicken stock
  • 2 slices Ginger
  • 2 Scallion stalks
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine

The Filling

  • 400g Ground pork (not too lean) 30% fat is ideal. Lean pork = dry dumplings.
  • 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tsp Sesame oil
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • ½ tsp White pepper
  • 2 tbsp Ginger, minced fine
  • 2 Scallions, minced
  • All Chilled aspic, chopped fine

The Dough

  • 300g All-purpose flour
  • 160ml Just-boiled water Hot water makes the dough more pliable
  • Pinch Salt

For Serving

  • ½ cup Chinkiang vinegar 镇江香醋
  • 3 tbsp Fresh ginger, julienned

The Method

This is a two-day project. Day one: aspic. Day two: everything else.

01

The Aspic (Day Before)

The foundation of the soup.

1

Scrape the pork skin with a knife to remove any fat. You want pure skin — fat will make the aspic cloudy and greasy.

2

Blanch the skin in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse. This removes impurities.

3

Add skin to a pot with the water, ginger, scallions, and Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a bare simmer. Cook for 3-4 hours until the liquid is reduced by half and slightly gelatinous.

The Test

Dip a spoon in the liquid and let it cool. It should become tacky, almost sticky. If it's still watery, keep simmering.

4

Strain into a shallow container. Season with a pinch of salt. Refrigerate overnight until completely set into a firm jelly.

02

The Dough & Filling (Day Of)

Preparing your components.

5

Make the dough: Add salt to flour. Pour in hot water while stirring with chopsticks. When cool enough to handle, knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

6

Chop the chilled aspic into small cubes (about ¼ inch). Keep it cold.

Temperature Matters

The aspic must stay cold. If it warms up, it will melt and make your filling soupy and impossible to wrap.

7

Mix pork with all filling seasonings. Stir vigorously in one direction until the mixture becomes sticky and cohesive. Fold in the chopped aspic. Refrigerate while you roll wrappers.

03

Rolling & Wrapping

Where skill meets patience.

8

Divide dough into 32 pieces. Roll each into a ball, then flatten with a rolling pin into a 3-inch circle. The edges should be thinner than the center.

The Technique

Roll from the outside in, rotating the wrapper as you go. Keep the center slightly thicker — it needs to hold the soup.

9

Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of a wrapper. Gather the edges and pleat around the filling, pinching to seal at the top. You want at least 12 folds — aim for 18 if you're ambitious.

Critical Moment

The seal must be complete. Any gap means soup leaks. Press firmly at the top to ensure closure. Don't rush this step — your first few will be ugly. That's fine. They'll still taste incredible.

10

Place finished dumplings on parchment-lined bamboo steamers, leaving 1 inch between each. Work quickly — the aspic in the filling is slowly warming.

04

Steam & Serve

The transformation.

11

Bring water to a rolling boil in your steamer. Place the bamboo baskets on top. Steam for 8-10 minutes.

12

Serve immediately in the bamboo steamer with small dishes of Chinkiang vinegar topped with julienned ginger.

How to Eat

Carefully lift a dumpling by its top with chopsticks. Place it in your spoon. Nibble a small hole in the side. Sip the soup. Add a touch of vinegar and ginger. Then eat. Never bite directly — the soup will scald you and escape.

Troubleshooting

What went wrong and how to fix it.

No Soup Inside

Either your aspic didn't set properly (simmer longer next time), or it melted before steaming (work colder and faster).

Wrappers Tore

Too thin, or the dough dried out. Keep unused dough covered. Roll thicker until you have the technique.

Stuck to Steamer

Parchment paper or napa cabbage leaves should prevent this. Never steam directly on bamboo.

Ways to Elevate

Once you've mastered the basics.

Crab Xiao Long Bao

The Shanghai luxury version. Add crab meat and crab roe to the filling. The aspic becomes even more precious.

Truffle XLB

Din Tai Fung's famous upgrade. A slice of black truffle inside each dumpling. Decadent.

Practice With Gyoza

If xiao long bao feels too advanced, start with potstickers. Same pleating principles, lower stakes. Build your muscle memory.