higgins wrote:
> I'd like to experiment making Chinese soup dumplings, the kind you get
> in dim sum. But I'm am coming up pretty short when it comes to finding
> recipes. Can I use conventional dumpling wrappers from a chiness market
> , or do I need something different that I have to roll on my own? Do I
> have to use agar or can I just freeze the soup and scoop it out a
> little at a time? And any guidance on how to crimp these shut? Any
> other tips?? Thx.

You've set yourself quite a challenge here. Xiao long bao are as
difficult to make successfully as any dim sum I can think of. You need
a wrapper that will contain the soup liquid without leaking or bursting
while it's steaming. That's why recipes include the wrapper dough. I
don't know if a regular wonton wrapper works. You need a tasty soup as
well as the filling. Some recipes call for agar agar to gelatinize the
soup so you can fill the wrapper and then it will liquefy when you
steam it. Others just add the soup to the filling to make a quite
liquid filling, which is harder to deal with and produces a little less
soup in the dumpling. Steaming time is more critical than normal.
Learning to crimp 18 folds into the dumpling takes practice. (The only
tip for that is to hold with one hand and crimp with the other--don't
try to do it two-handed, if that makes any sense.) Et cetera.

If you're just beginning to experiment with dim sum there are much
easier varieties to learn first. But if you're enamored of the idea,
the recipe and procedure that Steve's link takes you to looks good to
me.

Personally, I think most dim sum are best enjoyed at a specialty
restaurant because they are so much work to make. When we lived in
places that didn't have such places I would make a few tidbits at home
that were within the scope of my kitchen -- cha siu, har gow, scallion
pancakes, spareribs in black bean sauce -- and then just dream about
all the rest until we could get back to a city. -aem