Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) - The Recipe Critic (2024)

Chinese soup dumplings are delicious homemade wrappers filled with perfectly seasoned pork and soup. Yes, these dumplings are FILLED with soup! How do you get soup inside of a dumpling? It’s like magic! This recipe is simple, delicious, and something everyone will enjoy.

I love Chinese food. It’s definitely my takeout of choice. Luckily for me, the whole family loves it too! I really enjoy making simple Chinese food at home too, because it’s a great way to save a little money and get the best flavors. Some of my favorite homemade recipes are Wonton Soup, this delicious Moo Goo Gai Pan, and this Firecracker Chicken.

Soup Dumpling

If you have never had a Chinese soup dumpling, you are going to fall in love with this recipe! If you don’t know what a soup dumpling is, I think you are going to love the idea. It is a dumpling with a pork and broth filling. That’s right, there is soup INSIDE the dumpling! You bite into this delicious and soft wrapper and out pours this flavor packed chicken stock and soy sauce broth.

This soup dumpling, also called a Xiao Long Bao, is absolutely one of the best dishes I’ve eaten in my entire life! It’s full of Asian flavors that are so easy to keep eating and eating. This recipe keeps things simple by cooking them in a steamer just like chicken potstickers. These dumplings can also be cooked in a bamboo steamer or cooked in a wok. I love eating these with garlic edamame and dipping them in Chinese black vinegar. They are also delicious with white rice to make it a more filling meal!

Ingredients

The ingredients in these soup dumplings are actually so simple! Straightforward and easy to make, these dumplings are now at the top of my list of fun and creative meals. My whole family looks forward to these dumplings so much. You can find the measurements below in the recipe card.

Soup Gelatin

• Hot Water: To balance out the strong flavors in the broth.
• Hot Chicken Stock: You could also use pork broth or beef broth, or even vegetable stock.
• Soy Sauce: This adds a lot of flavor to the gelatin.
• Gelatin Powder: This helps the soup set up firm so that you can add it to the filling.

Soup Dumpling Wrapper

• All-Purpose Flour: Easy to work with and a simple dough.
• Warm Water: This helps the dough come together.
• Salt: To add a little extra flavor.

Filling

• Ground Pork: This is the traditional protein, but you could use ground chicken or ground beef if you want to.
• Sesame Oil: Sesame oil is really nutty and earthy and goes perfectly with Asian flavors and pork.
• Soy Sauce: I love adding soy sauce to the filling too
• Ginger: Fresh ginger is full of zingy flavor.
• Sugar: A little sugar helps to balance out the salty flavors.
• Salt and Pepper: For seasoning the meat. I often use white pepper instead of black.
• Rice Vinegar: Is made from fermented rice and has a mild and slightly sweet flavor. You could use rice wine vinegar too.
• Green Onion: This brightens up the filling and adds extra flavor.
• Chinese Black Vinegar: This is for dipping your dumpling in, it’s amazing!

Soup Dumplings Recipe

I really love this soup dumplings recipe because of how straightforward it is! I steam my buns in an instant pot because of how easy it is, but you can absolutely use a traditional pot and boil some water and do it the old-fashioned way! If you love dumplings from the freezer section at the grocery store, then you are going to fall in love with these fresh and delicious flavors.

Make Soup Gelatin

1. Mix Stock and Gelatin: In a medium bowl, add your water and chicken stock and then heat in the microwave for about 1 minute. Then add in your soy sauce and gelatin and then mix until all the gelatin has dissolved.
2. Cool: Pour your gelatin mixture into a shallow tray, about an 8X8 baking sheet, and then cool in the fridge until the gelatin has set, about an hour.
3. Fluff: When the gelatin has set, remove it from the fridge and then fluff/ break it up with a fork. Then set aside.

Soup Dumpling Wrapper

1. Make Dough: In a medium bowl, add your flour, water and salt. Mix well using a spoon. Once dough has begun to come together, then knead it with your hands until it is a smooth dough. Cover and then allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Soup Dumpling Filling

1. Mix Filling: In a large bowl, add in your ground pork, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, salt, pepper, rice vinegar, and green onion. Then mix until well combined.

Put It All Together

1. Roll Out Dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll your dough into a log and then cut into 30 even pieces. Then roll each piece of dough out into a thin round disk.
2. Add Filling: Take a prepared rolled-out disk and then fill it with about a tablespoon of your pork filling and 1 teaspoon of soup gelatin.
3. Fold Closed: To fold the dumpling, place it in the palm of your hand and fold the edges of the dumpling wrapper in on itself into pleats until it is all joined at the top of the dumpling. Then pinch tightly to secure the wrapper closed, you don’t want any of your soup to leak out while they are cooking.
4. Steam: In an instant pot with a steamer basket sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, set the instant pot to steam for 8 minutes. Allow the steaming time to finish and then do a quick steam release to take the dumplings out.
5. Dip and Enjoy: Enjoy fresh with Chinese black vinegar!