Shanghai Hairy Crab Xiaolongbao 大閘蟹小籠包

Delicate wheat flour dumplings filled with pork, crab meat, and rich crab roe, wrapped with precision pleats and steamed in bamboo baskets. Each dumpling contains savory aspic that melts into soup when bitten. A luxury dim sum dish combining tender pork, sweet crab roe, and umami-rich broth.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ingredients

• 200g all-purpose flour
• 100ml boiling water
• 300g pork belly, finely minced
• 150g hairy crab meat
• 100g hairy crab roe
• 400ml pork or chicken aspic stock
• 30g fresh ginger, minced
• 15g scallion, minced
• 15ml soy sauce
• 10ml sesame oil
• 5g sugar
• 2g white pepper powder
• 10g cornstarch
• 30ml black vinegar, for dipping
• 15g pickled ginger, for serving

Steps

1. Prepare dumpling dough by mixing flour with boiling water, stirring until cool enough to handle, then knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Cover with damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare filling by combining pork belly, crab meat, and cornstarch in a bowl. Add ginger, scallion, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. Mix gently until well combined.
3. Cut aspic stock into small cubes (approximately 5mm each) and freeze separately on a tray.
4. Roll dough into a long cylinder and divide into 12-16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin round wrapper approximately 7cm in diameter, keeping edges slightly thicker than center.
5. Place approximately 1 teaspoon of pork-crab filling in center of each wrapper. Top filling with 2-3 pieces of crab roe and 1-2 cubes of aspic. Gather wrapper edges and pleat carefully, twisting top to seal.
6. Fill bamboo steamer with water and bring to rolling boil. Arrange dumplings seam-side up on parchment paper-lined steamer tray, leaving space between each. Place in steamer basket.
7. Steam dumplings for 5-6 minutes until wrapper becomes translucent and filling is cooked through. Check that meat is no longer pink.
8. Carefully remove steamer basket and allow dumplings to cool for 1-2 minutes before serving. Transfer to serving plate.
9. Serve hot with black vinegar and pickled ginger on the side. Eat immediately by carefully biting a small opening and sipping the hot soup inside first.

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