P
Chinese · Shanghai
Shanghainese Shengjian Bao
Shengjian mantou: pan-fried pork soup dumplings — larger than xiao long bao, with a thicker dough, cooked in a flat pan with oil and water. The bottoms become crispy golden while the tops stay soft and are garnished with sesame and spring onion. The interior contains a pork filling and gelatinised soup that liquefies when eaten.
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I
The Market List
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For the leavened dough
300 g
plain flour
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
dried yeast
dissolved in warm water
Your own market
170 ml
warm water
Your own market
For the pork filling
300 g
pork mince
fatty cut preferred
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
gelatinised pork stock (aspic)
cold-set, cut into small cubes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
soy sauce
1 tbsp
Shaoxing rice wine
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
sesame oil
Your own market
5 g
For cooking
3 tbsp
neutral cooking oil
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 ml
water
per batch
Your own market
For garnish
1 tsp
black sesame seeds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 tsp
white sesame seeds
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
spring onions
thinly sliced
Your own market
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II
The Method
1
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and leave for five minutes until it begins to foam. Add to the flour and bring together into a dough. Knead until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place until the dough has risen noticeably and feels airy and slightly springy to the touch — it should not double fully, as only a slight leavening is sought.
2
Combine the pork mince with the soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, sesame oil, and grated ginger. Mix thoroughly. Fold in the cold aspic cubes, keeping them as intact as possible. Refrigerate the filling until the aspic is firm once more — the mixture should hold its shape when pressed.
From the canon — Shaoxing huangjiu (绍兴黄酒, Shaoxing yellow wine) is the premier Chinese rice wine — a fermented rice wine made in Shaoxing city in Zhejiang province for at lea… Shaoxing Rice Wine (绍兴黄酒) — Production, Grades, and Culinary Use →
3
Divide the proved dough into portions of approximately 20–25 g each. Roll each into a round roughly 8 cm in diameter, thicker at the centre than at the edge. Place a generous spoonful of chilled filling in the centre and pleat the dough closed, gathering the pleats to seal firmly at the top.
4
This is where the dish lives or dies: heat the oil in a flat-bottomed pan over medium heat. Arrange the dumplings sealed-side up in the pan without crowding. Fry for two minutes until the bases begin to colour, then pour in the water and immediately cover with a tight lid. Allow to steam undisturbed — lifting the lid early releases the steam and leaves the tops underdone. Cook until nearly all water has evaporated, then remove the lid. Listen for the crackling sound — it signals the water is gone and the bottoms are crisping. Continue over medium heat until the bases are a deep, even golden brown and the dough at the top is fully cooked through and feels set.
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5
Scatter black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, and thinly sliced spring onion directly over the dumplings in the pan immediately before serving. Serve without delay — the bottoms should crackle audibly when pressed lightly with a spatula.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Home-rendered pork aspic made from trotters or skin — deeply gelatinous and intensely flavoured — wrapped in a hand-milled flour dough proved at cool room temperature for a long, slow rise.
02
Estate — Good-quality pork stock reduced and cold-set overnight; mince from a named fatty cut such as shoulder; strong bread flour blended with plain flour for added chew.
03
Market — Store-bought gelatinised pork stock or a firm commercial pork broth set with a small amount of leaf gelatine; supermarket pork mince with reasonable fat content; standard plain flour.
04
House — Any pork mince available; commercial aspic or pork stock firmly gelled with gelatine sheets; plain flour — the technique and the leavened dough remain the non-negotiable constants at every rung.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. The proved dough feels airy and slightly springy — not doubled but noticeably lighter than when it went in.
◇Touch. The sealed pleats hold without gaping and the chilled filling feels firm inside the wrapper.
◇Sound. A dry crackling sound from the pan signals that the water has fully evaporated and bottom crisping is underway — the decisive cue to remove the lid.
◇Sight. The bases are a deep, even golden brown; the dough above is fully set and opaque, not translucent or raw-looking.
◇Where it lives or dies. The oil-then-water pan technique — frying then steaming under a sealed lid, and holding the lid until the crackling sound declares the water gone — is the line the dish cannot cross: lift the lid too soon and the tops remain raw; add too much water and the bottom never crisps.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Baijiu
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance