Siu Long Bao — Soup Dumplings Advanced (小笼包精进)

Ingredients

• For the aspic
• 500 g pork skin, cleaned, excess fat scraped away
• 100 g chicken feet, optional; increases gelatin yield
• 60 ml Shaoxing wine
• 30 g fresh ginger, sliced
• For the filling
• 300 g ground pork, fatty cut preferred
• 150–200 g pork skin aspic, cut into small dice once firmly set; 40–50% of total filling weight
• For the wrapper dough
• 300 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 170 ml boiling water, for the scald; allow to cool before kneading
• To line the steamer
• 8 napa cabbage leaves, or parchment cut to fit bamboo steamer basket

Method

1. 1
   Make the aspic. Place the pork skin and chicken feet in a pot with the Shaoxing wine and ginger. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Drain and rinse the solids. Return to the pot, cover generously with fresh cold water, and simmer uncovered for a minimum of 3 hours. Strain the liquid, discard the solids, and refrigerate until fully set. The aspic is ready when it is very firm and holds a clean cut at refrigerator temperature.
2. 2
   Make the wrapper dough. Pour boiling water over the flour and stir immediately. Allow the scalded dough to cool to hand temperature before kneading until smooth and non-sticky. Rest the dough, covered, for at least 30 minutes. Properly rested dough yields to gentle pressure and does not spring back sharply.
3. 3
   Prepare the filling. Dice the set aspic into small pieces. Combine the ground pork with the diced aspic; the aspic must constitute 40–50% of the combined filling weight. Mix until cohesive but do not overwork. The filling should hold together when pressed and show visible pieces of aspic throughout.
4. 4
   Roll the wrappers. Divide the dough into portions of approximately 21 g each. Roll each portion into a round 8–9 cm in diameter, 0.8–1 mm thick — slightly thicker at the centre than at the edge. A wrapper that is uniform throughout will not support the weight of the filling; the thicker base is the structural foundation. The skin should be translucent at its thinnest point when held to light.
5. 5
   Fill and pleat. This is where the dumpling lives or dies. Place a portion of filling at the centre of each wrapper. Working around the edge, fold and pinch a minimum of 16 pleats, drawing each pleat toward the centre. The final pleat must close and seal the central button — the ding zi — completely. Any gap at the crown will allow the soup to escape during steaming. Press the sealed top firmly; it should feel taut and show no open seams.
6. 6
   Steam precisely. Line the bamboo steamer baskets with napa cabbage leaves or parchment. Arrange the dumplings with sufficient space between them. Steam over vigorously boiling water for exactly 5 minutes — never more. At 5 minutes the wrappers will be set and translucent, the skin tender but intact. Steaming beyond this point causes the skin to thicken and the soup to begin migrating through the wrapper.
7. 7
   Serve and eat in sequence. Transfer the steamer directly to the table. The eating ritual is integral: nibble a small hole in the side of the wrapper to release steam, drink the soup from within, then eat the remainder. The soup should be abundant, fragrant, and clear — a collapsed or dry dumpling interior indicates insufficient aspic or a failed seal.