Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao with easy gelatin soup)

Step 1

Add 2½ envelopes (17g) of knox gelatin powder and ⅓ cup of cold water to a small bowl, stir to mix well. Set aside to bloom for 3 minutes.

Step 2

Add chicken stock, cooking wine, soy sauce, ginger, green onion, bay leaf, Szechuan red peppercorns, and salt to a pot. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat.

Step 3

Add bloomed gelatin to the pot, stir until it's fully dissolved. Turn off the heat.

Step 4

Set a fine mesh strainer over a heat resistant food storage container, strain the soup through the strainer and discard the solids.

Step 5

Let the soup cool to room temperature, cover with lid or food wrap, keep in the refrigerator until it's fully set.

Step 6

In a small bowl, add chopped green onions, ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, and hot water. Set aside on your countertop for 15 to 30 minutes, allowing it to cool naturally to room temperature.

Step 7

Add all the ingredients listed under "Pork filling" to a large mixing bowl. Use a fine mesh strainer to strain all the scallion ginger water that you prepared in the previous step into the bowl, and discard the solids.

Step 8

Use a pair of chopsticks to stir the filling in one direction for at least 5 minutes until the scallion ginger water is fully absorbed by the pork and the filling turns into a sticky mass.

Step 9

Unmold the soup gelatin you've prepared in previous step to a large cutting board, casually chop it into small fingernail-size pieces.

Step 10

Add the chopped soup gelatin to the large mixing bowl, evenly mix all the filling ingredients together with a spatula.

Step 11

Take a dumpling wrapper and place it on one hand, using your other hand to dip a finger into a small bowl of cold water, and run it along the edge of the dumpling wrapper. Apply water to the edges of the wrapper on both sides.

Step 12

Spoon about 1 tbsp of filling to the center of the wrapper. Use your dominant hand to crimp the edges of the wrapper together, working from one end to the other. Pleat the edges by folding and pinching them together. You can leave a small opening at the top like what I did. Or pinch the top of the dumpling to seal it closed. Repeat this process until all the filling has been used.

Step 13

Fill a large pot with about an inch of water and place a steaming rack inside. The water should be below the level of the rack. Place the soup dumplings on a plate lined with parchment paper. Place the plate on the steaming rack. Cover the pot with a lid.

Step 14

Set a 15 minutes timer, turn on the stove to medium high. Once the water in the pot is boiling, reduce the heat to medium low. When the timer goes off, turn off the heat and open the lid. In this way, we can make sure that the filling is fully cooked and the dumpling wrappers won't break during the steaming process.

Step 15

Serve the soup dumplings hot with your favorite dipping sauce. For example, you can mix 2 tbsps of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp of soy sauce, ¼ tsp of sesame oil or chili oil, and ¼ tsp of sugar.