Destination
Taipei
The story
Xiao long bao are the delicate pleated soup dumplings that Din Tai Fung — the Taipei restaurant that expanded to become a global chain — made an international sensation: paper-thin wheat-flour wrappers pleated into a distinctive 18-pleat spiral shape, hiding a nugget of spiced ground pork inside a small pool of solidified aspic broth that melts into hot rich soup during the 8-minute bamboo steam. The finished dumpling is served with a small dish of ginger julienne in black vinegar for dipping, along with a soup spoon. The technique for eating xiao long bao is specific: bite a small hole in the top, sip out the broth, then eat the rest with the ginger and vinegar. Every Taipei local knows the technique.
Method
Combine pork skin, chicken bones, onion, ginger, spring onions, wine, salt and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, skim foam. Simmer 3 hours over low heat until reduced by two-thirds and deeply gelatinous. Strain into a shallow tray. Cool, then refrigerate overnight — it should set into a firm jelly. Cut into 5mm dice.
In a large bowl, combine minced pork, extra pork fat, ginger, spring onions, soy, wine, sesame oil, salt, pepper and sugar. Mix vigorously with your hand for 3 minutes until sticky and well combined. Fold in the diced aspic gently — do not crush it. Refrigerate 30 minutes to firm up.
Whisk flour and salt in a bowl. Pour in boiling water while stirring with chopsticks or a fork — the flour will start to clump. Add cold water and knead 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface into a smooth ball. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 30 to 36 balls (each 12g). Cover with a damp cloth. Working one at a time: roll each ball into a thin round 8cm across, with the edges thinner than the middle (this is the classical dumpling roll — the middle needs to hold the filling, the edges need to fold well).
Hold a wrapper in your left palm. Place 1 heaped teaspoon of filling in the middle. Starting at one edge, make small pleats around the perimeter, pulling each pleat toward the centre with your right thumb and index finger. Aim for 15 to 18 pleats. Gather all pleats at the top and pinch to seal into a small twist. The finished dumpling should look like a small pouch with a spiral pleat pattern on top.
Line bamboo steamer baskets with baking paper (cut to fit, with small holes for steam) or oiled cabbage leaves. Arrange the pleated dumplings with 2cm between each — they'll expand.
Bring a large wok of water to a rolling boil. Place the steamer over the wok. Steam 8 minutes over medium-high heat — no more, no less. Steaming longer melts the aspic completely and dries the dumpling.
Bring the bamboo baskets directly to the table. Serve with small dishes of ginger julienne in black vinegar. Eat by biting a small hole in the top of each dumpling, sipping the hot broth (careful — it's molten), then eating the rest with a small spoon of the ginger-vinegar dip. 6 dumplings per person per basket.
Tips
- Aspic is essential. This is the soup. Do not skip. Pork skin is the classical gelatin source — any butcher will sell it cheap. If you can't find it, use a mix of pork skin + gelatin sheets to boost the set.
- 18 pleats is the Din Tai Fung standard. Practice on the first 5 dumplings — they'll be ugly. By the 15th you'll be pleating cleanly. It's a wrist-and-finger technique that clicks after 20 attempts.
- Steam exactly 8 minutes. Under-steamed and the pork isn't cooked; over-steamed and the aspic evaporates through the wrapper.
- Hot-water dough is the traditional wrapper. Boiling water partially cooks the flour, giving the wrapper its distinctive tender-elastic character. Cold-water dough won't do.
- Ginger-vinegar is the classical dip. Not chili oil (that's Shanghai style). Fine ginger julienne in black Chinkiang vinegar is the Taipei tradition.
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