I love
dumplings. Any
dumplings. Pierogis, kreplach, potstickers, shu mai, ravioli….. whatever. Name the culture, I love their
dumplings. But what I’ve always thought of as the duke of
dumplings is the great Shanghai delight,
xiao long bao(小笼包) pronounced Shou (rhymes with “now”)…. Long…. Ba’ow.
Xiao long bao literally means little basket bun, but is often seen on menus as soup
dumplings. Make no mistake, this is a BUN (bao), actually called a baozi (包子), not a dumpling, even though to an untrained eye, they resemble a jiaozi (餃子) or classic dumpling.
Xiao long bao is a steamed bun usually filled with pork, but can be made with any number of fillings such as crab, shrimp, chicken and sometimes even vegetables. In addition to the filling, it also contains a rich soup derived from a pork-based aspic. When you steam the bun, the aspic liquefies and creates the internal soup. The soup is further enhanced by fat coming from the pork filling. If constructed ideally, the soup will stay encased within the nearly transparent wrapper without leaking the soup. Unfortunately, many run-of the-mill places that attempt to make XLB fail miserably in this important aspect of construction. Traditionally, it should be close to a quarter in size so the soup won’t break out as well as being able to easily eat it in one bite. However, these days they are usually made closer to the size of a poker chip.
What amazes me most about
xiao long bao is the combination of the soup and meat filling inside. For me, eating them is almost like having a second Xmas. Well, really like having a first Xmas...I'm a Jew. Even the most average examples make me a very happy diner. Sipping the soup through the bun and having the filling/bun as a chaser is a unique type of eating experience of which I personally am unaware of in any comparable form anywhere else around the world.
Xiao long bao is a culinary marvel.
Proper technique for eating
xiao long bao is simple; grab it from the top of the bun and place it on a soup spoon. Bite off a little piece of the top or side of the bun, and carefully slurp the soup, since it should be extremely hot. Insert a few julienned pieces of ginger inside and maybe lightly dip the remainder in vinegar, then finish it off. After a few hundred or so, you generally catch on.
A good version of XLB literally sags when you hold it with your chopsticks and is so transparent that you can see the soup inside. In China, some say that when you lift a
xiao long bao with your chopsticks, it looks like a Chinese lantern: when you dip it in your plate of vinegar, it looks like a chrysanthemum.
Photo by YutaiXiao long bao’s origin can be traced to the town of Nanxiang, just 30 miles outside of Shanghai and is believed to have been invented around 100 years ago at a place called Mantou Dian (南翔饅頭店) in Old Town God's Temple (城隍廟). Mantou Dian is still in operation today and last I read, you can get a basket of 16
xiao long bao for just under a buck. From its inception,
xiao long bao was nothing more than a street vendor item in Nanxiang. Today,
xiao long bao can be found throughout all of Asia and other parts of the world usually where large Chinese populations reside.
When researching about XLB, the one thing that was repeated over and over again was the importance of an ultra thin wrapper. The most ardent lovers claim that if you can’t see the soup inside, the wrapper is too thick. Many claim that it is virtually impossible to find a REAL example anywhere outside Asia because almost everywhere dumpling wrappers are substituted for a proper XLB bun. Whether this is accurate or not, I cannot say since I have never eaten
xiao long bao anywhere in Asia. Unfortunately for us, most of the best examples of
xiao long bao exist in Shanghai and Taiwan. However, respectable efforts can be had in a few places around the world that have a sizable Chinese population such as California, Vancouver,Toronto, and New York as well as many places throughout Asia.
If you seek out commentary about who makes some of the best
xiao long bao, the name Din Tai Fung usually comes up. Originally founded in Taipei in 1972, they have expanded their operations to Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Vancouver, and Los Angeles. Some claim that the Taipei operation is clearly their best restaurant but whether this is just sentimental judgment or not is hard to say. Trix and I have tried the
xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung in Los Angeles and to my untrained palate, this was an amazing soup bun.
Respectable versions can be found in New York as well although many Chinese ex-pats there complain vociferously about them.
Din Tai Fung in Taipei is considered by many to be the best example of
xiao long bao in the world (the New York Times said that Din Tai Fung was “among the ten best international restaurants” in 1993). I asked my Taiwanese friend, Ming-Mei, to check it out and give me her impressions on her recent visit home to Taipei.
photos by Ming-Mei Lampe
Ming Mei describes the XLB there as simply “fantastic”. Din Tai Fung claims to make exactly 18 folds for every bun.
Assembly line of
xiao long bao makers at Din Tai Fung in Taipei.
Constructing a proper
xiao long bao is an art. In the best places, a uniform number of pleats or folds are attempted by the bun maker for each and every one. trixie-pea attempted to make some the other day.
Her exploits are recalled here.The thing that struck me at their Los Angeles location was the beauty of the small bun itself; thin enough to see the wonderful soup inside without the sense that it was about to break open at any moment. It acted as an enhancer instead of overwhelming doughiness that so often detracts from the filling inside when incorrect dumpling wrappers (for jiaozi) are used.
My culinary foreign bureau chief and best friend, Senator James Mariano Marzo was kind enough to do a
xiao long bao tour for me in his hometown of Singapore. Singapore has many branches of well-known dumpling houses that serve
xiao long bao. (He’s not really a senator; it’s just a nickname. In our youth, we would call him the “senior senator from Morton Grove” because he was always so damn formal.)
These are some excerpts from his findings there:
Qun Zhong Eating HouseHard to believe that such a mediocre dumpling can have a following. One of the weirdest I have had and probably one of the worst. The wrapper was thin and high quality, but maybe too thin as it fell apart easily. Sizing was perfect. The soup was weak and the meat quality was ok, nothing else. Again, strange how this place could actually have a following.
Crystal Jade Soup excellent and more meat in the dumpling. The problem is that the wrapper is thicker and the sizing was a bit large and difficult to ingest. Nonetheless, a decent choice if you are not in a picky mood, and a good value.
(note:This operation is one of the largest and most popular
xiao long bao places in Asia.)
Nanxiang Steamed Bun RestaurantThis place has a lot of history and is a direct outlet form the store in Shanghai. The
dumplings looked the best when they came out, having a silky gloss (and created high expectations). The soup was the best thus far and they were full of meat flavor. However, I continue to have a "top heavy" problem. The wrapper was thicker than I was lead to believe, and they dried out rather quickly. Probably because the air-conditioning was blasting air all over the place.
Imperial Treasure Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner! Thin wrapper that does not fall apart when you pick it up. Flavorful soup. Excellent meat flavor, but not overpowering. Most importantly, not top heavy at all! This was the best all around XLB that I have tried. I think the best way to describe them is that they are harmonious. They have mastered the balancing act of flavor and texture. Let's take this up a level...what wine would you serve...Grace Vineyards from China?
(Note: The people who started Imperial Treasure in Singapore broke off from Crystal Jade. This is a highly-touted restaurant there.)
photos by Sen. J.M. Marzo XIV
Locally, here in Chicago, I have found relatively few places that offer
xiao long bao. But if you are interested in sampling some traditional versions, they can be found at:
- House of Fortune - 2407 S Wentworth Ave
-
Moon Palace - 216 W Cermak
- Mandarin Kitchen - 2143 S Archer Ave
- Phoenix (weekends only) -2131 S Archer Ave # 2
- Yu-Tan Dumpling House (Westmont)
- Ed’s Potsticker house - 3139 S. Halsted
Unfortunately, I don’t believe any of these places make a true bao. Most use a yeastless wrapper (as is used for jiaozi or gyoza). Some don’t even offer the standard condiment of sliced ginger in black vinegar (not a good sign). Others offer poorly constructed
dumplings that leak soup (Yutang in Westmont). Although they are not of the highest quality, even a mediocre version is still a treat.