Xiao long bao dumplings should have a delicate skin that seals in juicy pork and a hot, flavoursome broth – this is the ‘soup’ in the dumpling. As this broth is often burning hot, there is a technique required to eat them.
How to eat soup dumplings
To begin, pour vinegar into a dipping bowl. In Shanghai the dumplings would be served with Chinese black vinegar.
The next step is to pick up the dumpling with your chopsticks. It is important you do this gently so as not to puncture the skin. Be careful doing this, because if you accidentally break the skin, the hot broth will escape and can squirt on yourself or others!
Now dip the dumpling into the vinegar sauce, before placing the dumpling onto the spoon provided. From here, you can pierce the dumpling skin by either nibbling a hole in the side, or making a hole with a chopstick. Blow gently on the dumpling several times to cool down the broth.
Now tip the dumpling and suck the soup from inside. Avoid biting into the dumpling as the juice can squirt out!
Once the broth has been drained, you can add more vinegar as you like, and finish eating the dumpling.
Now you know how to eat Xiao long bao dumplings, you can find a recipe for Soup Dumplings here, Little Basket Buns Dumplings
