Xiao Long Bao (小籠包)

[ema]

Greetings; log time lurker, but I only spend two months a year near DC...

I just had a long engagement in LA end and I am craving Din Tai Fung big time. Due to time constraints, I'll be confined to the greater Northern Virginia region for the next few days. Any recs for a decent dumpling in the area? Thanks in advance.

I don't think there is any decent xlb in the DMV area and certainly not something close to the quality of Ding Tai Feng. I recently had Joe's Shanghai when I visited NYC and even those xlb didn't taste authentic since they used chicken gelatin broth rather than pork gelatin broth. The only way to satisfy my craving while living in VA is to get the Wei Chuan brand xlb from Asian store (its the one that said Nan Xiang pork http://www.weichuanusa.com/a_product_new.htm ) and gently steam it in a bamboo steamer over wet paper towel or cabbage leaves. Dip them in some black vinegar and shredded ginger concoction and they are the best frozen xlb I have ever had, not saying much, but I have to make do with whatever is available.

[Ericandblueboy]

At Great Wall they carry another brand (don't recall the name but it's in Vietnamese) with many more varieties than Wei Chuan but I agree with you that the Wei Chuan soup dumplings are the best. I was actuall thinking about start a thread with pictures of the packaging to help people shop.

[Sundae in the Park]

I was actuall thinking about start a thread with pictures of the packaging to help people shop.

YES, PLEASE!!!!

[Ericandblueboy]

I happen to have a bag of Wei Chuan Xiao Long Bao in my freezer so I took a pic. Next time I'm in Great Wall I'll see about taking a pic of the Vietnamese brand that you should avoid.

[DonRocks]

For Xiao Long Bao in restaurants, go to this thread in the Restaurants and Dining forum.

[Soup]

I happen to have a bag of Wei Chuan Xiao Long Bao in my freezer so I took a pic. Next time I'm in Great Wall I'll see about taking a pic of the Vietnamese brand that you should avoid.

Got this brand this past week. It was really good. The best version from the frozen isle. The skin was thin and had the right texture and the meat was very flavorful and had the right conistancy (soft but had some bite to it). The best was the soup. it really was good without just completely being salty. I would actually recommend this product highly.

Only issue was that many of the one I steamed, the soup ended up leaking out. I must be doing something wrong. Only about 30% of my dumplings didn't break. It was still good though. I think I must be steaming them too long or somehting.

Soup

[Ericandblueboy]

Only issue was that many of the one I steamed, the soup ended up leaking out. I must be doing something wrong. Only about 30% of my dumplings didn't break. It was still good though. I think I must be steaming them too long or somehting.

Soup

I kid my wife about getting the freshest frozen products but it's true. If you buy them and cook them right away at home, you're less likely to have busted baos. Also be sure to lube your steamer (if you're using a metal steamer) or use napa cabbage leaves. Also, pick them up with spoons so you don't lose the juice!

[DanielK]

Also be sure to lube your steamer

That's what she said.

[rockcreek]

That's what she said.

"HALLLLOOOOOOO!!!!!" (high five.)

If you're double tiering - because let's face it, those little guys have a brutishly short life expectancy - I like to switch the top and bottom tiers in the middle of the cooking time.

Seems to help. More importantly, that's what Mom used to do. That, and eat the cabbage.

[Night Owl]

For anyone with the interest and enough fortitude to try to make XLB, there's a fun/informative article with recipe in the Wall Street Journal from Fuschia Dunlop, whose new cookbook, Every Grain of Rice, is just out. (Oddly, the cover photo is a bowl of noodles, but I guess I'm being too literal. )

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324445904578283763081361802.html

I've only tried to make XLB once... much easier to go out and eat it. But I may gear up and do it again...

(Side note: If you're interested in Chinese food/cooking/culture and haven't read Fuschia Dunlop's book Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, which recounts her time in China both as an eater and cooking school student, it's a wonderful read.)

[zoramargolis]

For anyone with the interest and enough fortitude to try to make XLB, there's a fun/informative article with recipe in the Wall Street Journal from Fuschia Dunlop, whose new cookbook, Every Grain of Rice, is just out. (Oddly, the cover photo is a bowl of noodles, but I guess I'm being too literal. )

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324445904578283763081361802.html

I've only tried to make XLB once... much easier to go out and eat it. But I may gear up and do it again...

(Side note: If you're interested in Chinese food/cooking/culture and haven't read Fuschia Dunlop's book Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper, which recounts her time in China both as an eater and cooking school student, it's a wonderful read.)

I'm a Fuschia Dunlop fan as well, and I had the same reaction as you when I first saw a picture of the cover of her book and the incongruous title!

[ol_ironstomach]

"The Man Who Spent A Year Studying Xiao Long Bao"

http://www.smartshanghai.com/articles/dining/the-man-who-spent-a-year-studying-xiao-long-bao

[Bart]

Does anyone have any favorite recipes (or websites) for these dumplings?  (or should I stick with the WSJ article above)?

From doing some casual googling, there's seems to be a lot of variety out there (like using gelatin or not) and I have no idea what is a good recipe or a bad one.