Shanghai Dumplings

As one of the most important business centers in China, Shanghai always enjoys an image of modern, flourishing as well as internationalized. However, there can be something else to surprise you in such a multivariate city. For example, food in Shanghai is so inviting that it has already won a high reputation from all over the world just in recent years. Here it is Shanghai dumplings that I’m now going to tell you about.

Shanghainese traditional dumplings are easily found whether you are just roaming a street or having a meal in the restaurant in Shanghai. Even various kinds of frozen-packaged dumplings are available in supermarkets such as Tesco, Carrefour and so forth. These dumplings are often eaten as breakfast, snacks or sometimes the last dish of a meal in the restaurant. So it is obvious that Shanghai dumplings is such a highlight in local people’s daily life, and it still plays an important role till today in this new era.

Actually there are several species of dumplings which are popular in Shanghai. To begin with, I’d like to introduce the most Shanghainese one first.

Xiaolongbao, which emanated from Shanghai and Wuxi, is nearly as big as a table tennis ball and is basically made of flour and meat. It is traditionally steamed in small bamboo baskets, hence the interesting name (“Xiaolong” in Chinese means “small baskets”). It is sold per basket, and there are often 6, that is, half dozen in each basket.

Xiaolongbao, also known as soup dumpling in foreign countries, actually is not totally the same thing as what is called ”soup dumpling” in China. A soup dumpling is generally several times larger than one Xiaolongbao, and there is almost no stuffing or filling such as meat in it. We just drink the soup in the soup dumpling and leave the flour skin while we eat the whole Xiaolongbao including the meat and seafood inside. The most famous flavor of Xiaolongbao is the one with crab meat and crab cream in it, and it is most delicious in autumn and winter especially in Nanxiang Mantou Dian (a top-grade restaurant specializing in Xiaolongbao located in Yu Garden) in Shanghai.

Shengjian and Guotie are two other kinds of Shanghainese style dumplings. Some say they seem similar in a lot of respects, but at least they are entirely different in their shapes. Shengjian is kind of roundish, and Guotie is just fried Jiaozi (a most common dumpling). Even though maybe they were not originated from Shanghai, they are more popular than Xiaolongbao in some way. These two kinds of food are also mainly made of flour and meat just like Xiaolongbao, but they are fried in big pans instead of being steamed in baskets. The flour skin of Shengjian or Guotie is obviously thicker than that of Xiaolongbao and there isn’t so much soup in it, so it is easier and also takes less time for a worker to make Shengjian and Guotie in comparison with the demanding Xiaolongbao. Perhaps that’s why so many booths around the street sell Shengjian and Guotie but not Xiaolongbao.

In a nutshell, none of these wonderful Shanghai dumplings can be replaced by any other items. As a unique part of the city’s history and the native culture in Shanghai, these remarkable dumplings will be further developed and will certainly help Shanghai to attract more global attention in the near future. .