Xiâolóngbāo (小籠包)

Finally, vinegar plays an integral part of any Xiao long man tou recipe. Although, vinegar is made from fermenting rice and the antecedents of Xiao long man tou originated in the north of China, where rice is neither grown nor eaten, Xiao long man tou came about after cultural and culinary diffusion allowed for the breakdown of this grain barrier. In fact, the fertile Yangtze delta came to be a hotbed of rice growing and vinegar making in the years after the Han dynasty initiated culinary diffusion. Vinegar also introduces the pungency or hot flavor.