| Soup Dumpling | |
|---|---|
 ' | |
|
Traditional Chinese |
小籠包 |
|
Pinyin |
xiǎo lóng bāo |
|
Cantonese Jyutping |
siu2 lung4 baau1 |
Soup dumplings, similar to its cousin, “xiao long bao", is not traditionally a dim sum dish. However, due to its recent popularity, it is now commonly served as part of dim sum. This type of dumpling was first invented in the area around Shanghai, China. It consists of a flour wrapper with a pork and meat aspic mixture stuffing. When steamed, the gelatin in the aspic will melt into a pork flavored liquid, which leads to the dumpling's name. Contrary to most beliefs, soup dumplings and Xiao Long Bao are not the same. Soup dumplings are usually known for their thin skins and rich soup, while Xiao Long Bao typically have thicker fermented skins, more meat and less soup than soup dumplings. The two are also folded differently. However, today it is quite rare to find authentic Xiao Long Bao, with most soup dumplings being mislabeled as Xiao Long Bao.
Variety[]
Tangbao (soup dumpling) - Refer to above.
Xiao Long Bao - Refer to above.
Other stuffing may also use minced crab meat, other seafood and other meats. One dessert variation uses red bean paste instead of a savory stuffing.
Guantang bao
A related soup dumpling is called "guantang bao", or "soup-filled dumpling". This dumpling has similar ingredients but one dumpling takes up the size of one small bamboo steamer and is often served with a straw to drink the soup that has accumulated inside the dumpling.
Other names[]
- Xiao long bao
- XLB
- Pork soup dumpling