How To Eat Xiao Long Bao
Nov 27th, 2007 by admin
Xiao Long Bao or Shanghai Dumplings are delicate little steamed dumplings with not only a lovely filling inside (pork, crab, vegetables etc) but also a light soup or broth. It’s therefore really important not to pierce or tear the skin of the dumpling with your chopsticks when transferring it from the bamboo steamer to your bowl, as the precious soup will spill out. The base of the dumpling may also stick to the steamer when you try to lift it up, unless you’re dining at Lung King Heen, where each dumpling sits on its own ‘basket’ (see above) or Din Tai Fung, where the steamer is lined with muslin.
So use your Chinese porcelain spoon together with the chopsticks. The spoon provides crucial support at all times. Lift the dumpling up carefully with the chopsticks, holding the spoon underneath. Dip it into the dish of shredded ginger and vinegar, then place the dumpling into the spoon. To make the most of the dipping sauce, if there isn’t already a small hole at the top of the dumpling, I sometimes use one of my chopsticks to make one, then with a teaspoon, spoon a little sauce over the dumpling (still in my spoon). What I want to avoid is leaving a mess in the dipping dish, particularly if it’s a shared one.
Then I eat the dumpling, using the chopsticks to lift it from the spoon to my mouth. This is much easier than holding the dumpling (it’s quite weighty and the skin tears so easily) with chopsticks and dipping it into the sauce, then transferring it into my mouth. Anything could happen during this process!
The filling and soupy sauce are both extremely hot, so be very careful when you take your first bite. I always find it hard to avoid a squirt of soup, even after so much practice, but it is a sign of a very good dumpling! You could eat the whole dumpling in one mouthful, in the sense that it’s small enough, but you could well burn yourself, and I wouldn’t do this. Poking a small hole near the top helps cool the dumpling down a little. There are plenty of different ways to eat xiao long bao, but this is my tried and tested way. With a bit of practice, you’ll look like an expert!
Let me know if you have other tips or suggestions! I’d love to hear them.
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OH, you are bringing back fond memories of Taiwan!! I love those. We called them bao tsu. My wife taught me how to make them. But I can’t find the flower mix to make them anymore.
And you can’t find these in restaurants in my area, only fried dumplings. I would love to find some place that I could buy these frozen and steam at home.
Hi Jerame
I’ve found a recipe to make them, although I never dreamed I would want to try something quite as complicated. I’ll post on this in the near future. I’m sure my husband will work out the correct flour mix to use!
Have you seen my other post on What are Xiao Long Bao or Shanghai Dumplings?
Thanks for visiting!
Helen Yuet Ling
My tip is patience, moving too quickly to get the yummy morsel in your mouth could result in a nasty burn on the top of your mouth!! I love the steamer basket, I haven’t seen those here in Hawaii.
I tried Ding Tai Fung branches in Singapore before. Yes, Xiao Long Bao is their signature dish. Somehow, I was fairly disspointed at the first serving of it, because the wrapping was undercook. All the friends at the table agreed to it. Probably it was due to high traffic and weekend night. Just bad luck I suppose.But, I am sure the ones in Taiwan are much better.
Holly – I agree, patience is key! No, I think this steamer basket is probably quite unique to Lung King Heen, as I haven’t seen it anywhere else (not that I’ve been to every single Chinese restaurant around the world, mind you!).
adel – I’ve heard mixed reviews about DTF and some people think it’s over-rated. I loved the xiao long bao in Taipei, but not so much in Beijing recently. In general though, I’m always on the lookout for a perfect xiao long bao!
Helen Yuet Ling
Mind blowing. I’d really like to learn more about Chinese food from you Helen.
But there is not enough veggie dim sum
MsMarmitelover – the husband would agree that there aren’t enough vegetarian dim sum options. And when they exist, they’re invariably rather bland. We’ve been around London trying dim sum regularly and he’s always stuck for choices.
Helen Yuet Ling
Ohhh, Din Tai Fong in Taipei! You have me drooling all over again! My dad loved them, and was very unhappy that he discovered the Singapore branch AFTER eating at Takashimaya. I’ll let him know that there’s one in Beijing too, but I suspect the Taiwan originals are the best
admin Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Maya – there seem to be branches everywhere now. There are two in Beijing that I know of. The one I went to wasn’t as good as the ones in Taipei though!
Helen Yuet Ling