this has been a long time coming…
recently, we had the honour to be taught by a Chinese master chef (shi fu) to make our personal favourite dim sum item - Xiao Long Bao or soup dumplings.
it’s tough finding halal or non-pork versions of XLB in Singapore, with only a handful of food establishments serving them - partly due to how laborious it takes to prepare. however, we were lucky that Master Pang, a chef instructor who has been a chef instructor and cookbook author for more than 30 years, was as excited as we are to share her knowledge of making these juicy and delectable dumplings.
while originally made with pork and pig derivatives - Master Pang tried and tested this particular recipe using chicken parts, which form the aspic (jelly) and the minced meat filling.
the signature of Xiao Long Bao, in essence, lies in the ‘soup’ element interspersed within the filling, which comes form the aspic which eventually melts into this flavourful soup. conventional XLB includes cooking collagen-rich pork bones for hours, causing the extraction of gelatine which then forms the jelly structure of the aspic. as a substitute, Master Pang uses chicken bones, feet and skin along with powdered halal gelatin to fortify it.
she also uses shortening for create a chewy yet soft dumpling skin, in place of pork lard.
while the steps might be daunting, the work put into making these morsels of goodness pays off with every single juicy bite. we recommend setting aside 2 days for the whole process and also taking some time to practice on rolling and crimping the dumplings.
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