Xiâolóngbāo (小籠包)

The method of cooking Xiao long man tou is steam cooking in a bamboo steamer placed in a wok with boiling water for between seven and ten minutes. Steam cooking is perhaps the oldest method of cooking in China and it has huge cultural importance. Cooking with steam is utilized to ensure that the ingredient’s natural tastes and juices are preserved throughout the cooking process. Again this goes back to the importance of insuring the ‘natural essence’ of each ingredient comes through in the final product. The origins of the bamboo steam cooker can be traced back to the Neolithic period. The first Chinese steam cooker was called the zeng and it was made out of earthen-ware. During the Shang dynasty (1700-1000bc), the zeng transitioned to being made out of Bronze. The zeng was made up of two components - as is the cooking vessel for Xiao long man tou – the zeng and the li. The Zeng held the water and food, while the li was a tripod to suspend the zeng above the heat source. The bamboo cookers arose sometime after the Zeng, and are the primary vessel used to cook Xiao long man tou today. Before discussing the bamboo steamers it is important to understand why and how bamboo came about as the building material of the steamers. Bamboo is applied to various genres of the grass family that provide long woody canes suitable for construction purposes. There is a legend in China that describes bamboo as a gift from god to the Chinese people. The story resembles the tale of Moses. A child is found floating in a bamboo crib and years later becomes king and is adoringly referred to as the “Bamboo king”. Bamboo in China (chu or chu-tzu) is cultivated primarily in the regions around the Yangtze River because of its wet, mild climate. Bamboo was the natural choice for mass-producing Xiao long man tou on the streets and in the restaurants of Shanghai. Bamboo is plentiful in the areas surrounding Shanghai, fast growing and gives the dumplings a fresh woody taste. Bamboo wood is absorptive and wicks away condensation, preventing it from falling on the dumplings. This is crucial because the water used in Shanghai is practically brackish due to its high population and close proximity to the ocean. If the salt water were to fall on the dumplings it would taint the natural essence of the ingredients. The bamboo steamers are also inexpensive enough that the dumplings can be taken directly off of the wok and delivered to the table. Expediency from kitchen to table is extremely important in Chinese food culture because it ensures the ‘freshness of a dish’. Xiao long man tou must also be served as hot as possible to ensure that the pork fat does not solidify inside the dumpling skin.