by Steven Doyle
Few things rock my world as much as xiao long bao. The mighty dumpling power-packed with a meatball, (beef, pork, crab, the usual round up) supplied with a generous amount of broth and pleated into a package of steamed love.
Most agree that the xiao long bao’s story begins in the Shanghai suburb of Nanxiang over nearly 150 years ago. It is believed that Huang Mingxian wanted to create a dumpling that would surprise and delight the guests of his restaurant, Ri Hua Xuan. The elegant pleated dumpling was made by adding aspic – or a jellified meat stock – to pork mince, so that once steamed the aspic would melt, thereby filling the inside of the dumpling with a flavorsome broth. Continue reading
