Xiao Long Bao

Ingredients

• 2 lb pork skin and bones
• 6 cups water
• 3 slices ginger
• 2 scallions
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup hot water
• Julienned ginger, for serving
• Black vinegar, for serving

Before you cook

• Rinse the pork skin and bones under cold water.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the pork skin and bones for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse.
• Combine the blanched bones and skin with the 6 cups of water, ginger slices, and scallions in a pot.

Steps

1. Simmer the stock pot gently, partially covered, for 3 hours, topping up water as needed.
2. Strain the stock and discard the solids.
3. Refrigerate the strained stock until it sets into a firm, wobbly aspic, at least 4 hours.
4. Dice the chilled aspic into small cubes.
5. Mix the ground pork with the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and salt.
6. Fold the diced aspic cubes into the pork filling and keep it cold.
7. Mix the flour with the hot water to form a dough.
8. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, until smooth, then cover and rest for 20 minutes.
9. Roll the dough into a long log and cut it into 24 equal pieces.
10. Roll each piece into a thin round, thicker in the center than at the edges.
11. Spoon a tablespoon of the cold filling into the center of each wrapper.
12. Pleat the edges of each wrapper around the filling, twisting to seal at the top.
13. Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper or cabbage leaves.
14. Arrange the dumplings in the steamer, leaving space between each.
15. Steam the dumplings over boiling water for 8 minutes, until the wrappers turn translucent.
16. Serve immediately with julienned ginger and black vinegar for dipping.