This recipe from celebrity chef Mark Southon from Auckland's O'Connell Street Bistro and Three's The Cafe, was inspired by his recent trip to Taiwan.
Xiao long bao is a type of Chinese steamed dumpling from the Jiangnan region, especially associated with Shanghai and Wuxi.
Mark spent a whirlwind 48 hours in Taipei, dining at Michelin Star Mume restaurant (one of Asia’s top 50 restaurants), at the Takao Hotpot restaurant in Wanhua District and Din Tai Fung at the base of the 101 Observatory Tower - a must for lovers of steamed dumplings (or xiao long bao).
He also experienced the famous night markets, and got up at the crack of dawn to pick up breakfast at a produce market, where he saw local fish varieties that he’d never come across before.
PORK STOCK JELLY
- 500g pork bones
- 2 stalks spring onion
- 4 slices ginger
- 1.5l chicken stock
- 2 Tsp chicken/pork concentrate powder
- 4 Tsp shaoxing wine
- 10g gelatin
- 60ml ice cold water
To serve
- Black vinegar
- Julienne of ginger
Blanch pork bones in boiling water to remove impurities. Discard water, then add spring onion, ginger, chicken stock concentrate, shaoxing wine and water.
Bring the stock to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes for the flavour of the pork bones to infuse into the stock. After boiling, I ended up with about 750ml of stock.
Add bloomed gelatin and whisk until gelatin fully dissolves.
Pour the stock into a container and chill for at least 6 hours or until fully set
DUMPLING FILLING
- 500g fatty minced pork
- 3 stalks spring onion
- 20g ginger, minced
- 1 Tsp light soya sauce
- 1⁄2 Tsp dark soya sauce
- 2 Tsp sesame oil
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄2 tsp sugar
- 1⁄2 tsp white pepper
- 2 Tsp corn flour
- Chopped coriander
- Pork stock jelly
In a mixing bowl, add minced pork, spring onion, ginger, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, sesame oil, salt, sugar, pepper and cornstarch, coriander and mix well.
Remove the pork stock jelly from the chiller and cut into small pieces. Add the pork stock jelly to the pork filling and mix well.
DUMPLING WRAPPER
- 180g plain flour
- 100g hot water
In a mixing bowl, combine plain flour & hot water (just boiled) together, and knead to form a dough.
Knead for at least 5 minutes, then cling wrap the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax.
After resting, cut the dough into half and roll both halves into a long log. Cut the log into small pieces weighing 5g each. Use a rolling pin to roll out the ball into a flat, thin wrapper. It should be around 6.5cm in diameter.
METHOD
Fill each wrapper with 16g of filling.
Fold the xiao long bao by pleating & lightly pulling the edges repeatedly. When the xiao long bao is almost
completely pleated, pinch the edges together and twist slightly to seal it. Your xiao long bao should have about 18 folds.
STEAMING
Line a bamboo steamer with a parchment paper (with holes), and place the xiao long baos into the steamer and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Remove bamboo steamer from the pot, and make a small bite in the xiao long bao to release the soup onto a spoon. Dip the xiao long bao in a saucer of black vinegar and julienned ginger, and enjoy!
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