Special Xiao Long Bao

Xiaolongbao is a breakfast snack available in many places. It can be said that it is a very popular breakfast. Everyone likes to eat it, and it is suitable for men, women, young and old. Although xiaolongbao is available in many regions, not all of them are uniquely made. What are the special dumplings? Let’s give people a detailed introduction below so that people can eat truly delicious dumplings.

There are two types of xiaolongbao : one is a "soup dumpling" with unfermented dough and soup inside, called "xiaolongbao"; the other is an ordinary small meat dumpling with fermented flour as the dough and no soup. The Xiaolongbao mentioned in this article is mainly Xiaolong soup dumplings, which are characterized by small size, large fillings, rich juice, delicious taste, thin skin and beautiful shape.

When eating soup dumplings, you should "lift them gently, move them slowly, open the window (mouth) first, and drink the soup later". This will not only prevent you from being scalded by the soup, but also add to the fun of enjoying the food.

Nanxiang Steamed Buns

The filling is made from hand-chopped lean pork leg meat without MSG, and the pork skin is cooked in soup stewed with an old hen to enhance its freshness, and a small amount of finely ground sesame seeds is sprinkled in to enhance its fragrance. Depending on the season, crab roe, spring bamboo shoots or shrimp are added to the meat filling without adding soy sauce. After steaming, the filling will be white or light pink and have a salty and fresh taste.

Changzhou Xiaolongbao

Changzhou Xiaolongbao was once famous for the Wanhua Teahouse on the south bank of the floating bridge along the Changzhou Xiaohe River. Around the Mid-Autumn Festival every year, osmanthus flowers are in full bloom, which is a good time for people to eat crab dumplings. Similar to Shanghai Xiaolongbao, it is characterized by thin and transparent skin, rich marinade, fragrant crab aroma, fat but not greasy, rich juice, and tender meat filling. It is steamed and eaten immediately, hence the saying "It is better to have people wait for the dumplings than for the dumplings to wait for people".

Changzhou xiaolongbao is divided into three types: random, paired, and with crab. "Suihao" does not contain crab oil; "Duixiang" means that there are six buns with crab and six without crab in a basket; "Jiaxie" means that all buns are added with crab oil. One basket of steamed buns is considered one serving, while old Changzhou people often eat two servings of xiaolongbao. Because if you eat one with the crab and the other with crab meat, you can fully appreciate the deliciousness of the crab. If you always eat it with crab meat, your taste buds will become dull. Hence the commonly accepted name of "dui inlay" came into being.

Suzhou style soup dumplings

Compared with Shanghai dumplings, Suzhou-style soup dumplings are slightly larger, have thicker skin, and contain soy sauce, giving them the characteristics of red meat and red soup. The most important difference is that they taste sweeter. Wuxi Xiaolongbao was once loved by Emperor Qianlong, who visited the south of the Yangtze River six times. In the traditional Wuxi Xiaolongbao making method, the dough is tightly fermented (semi-fermented), and after being steamed, the skin is thin but not broken, and very chewy. It has the characteristics of "the skin does not break when picked up, the bottom does not leak when turned over, and the sauce is full of mouthfuls when sucked, and it tastes delicious and not greasy". Nowadays, Suzhou-style soup dumplings can be found in many chain snack shops in Shanghai, such as Lao Shengxing, Lao Hongxing and Lao Changsheng.