Xiao long bao are the famous Shanghai soup dumplings — delicate pleated parcels that hold a spoonful of hot, savoury broth alongside a tender pork filling. That first careful bite, sipping the soup before eating the dumpling, is one of the great pleasures of yum cha.
The soup trick is simple once you know it: a jellied stock is folded through the filling, and it melts back into liquid as the dumplings steam. Making the jelly ahead means the rest is just mixing, rolling and pleating.
They take a bit of patience, but it's a genuinely fun weekend project, and homemade xiao long bao straight from the steamer are hard to beat.
