Chinese · bread

Xiaolongbao (小笼包)

Name: Xiaolongbao (小笼包)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup boiling water; 1 cup pork gelatin aspic, diced; 8 oz ground pork; 1 tbsp ginger, minced; 2 scallions, minced; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 1 tsp sesame oil; 1/2 tsp sugar; 1/4 tsp white pepper

Xiaolongbao (小笼包) reads umami 5.9, richness 5.6 and salinity 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese bread, about 50 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 6.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 3.5 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 0.9 / 10
Rich & Fat — 6.6 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.9 · Richness 5.6 · Salinity 4.6 · Sweetness 3.5 · Allium 3.3 · Nutty 3.2 · Funk & Ferment 3.2 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Warm Spice 2.3 · Floral 1.4 · Earthy 0.8 · Heat 0.7 · Sourness 0.6 · Bitterness 0.6

What's in it (11)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup pork gelatin aspic, diced
8 oz ground pork
1 tbsp ginger, minced
2 scallions, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper

Time & effort: about 50 min (25 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 305.3 kcal, 6.3 g protein, 23.5 g fat, 17.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Prepare a pork and gelatin filling that will melt into soup during cooking.
Roll thin rounds of dough and pleat each bun with 12 to 18 folds before sealing.
Steam in bamboo baskets for 8 minutes and serve with ginger and black vinegar for dipping.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg (Ham Daan Zing Yuk Beng) — Chinese · Cantonese
Vegetable Fried Rice — Chinese-American
One-Pan Vegetable Fried Rice with Egg — Chinese-American
Potstickers (锅贴) — Chinese
Ground Turkey Fried Rice with Peas and Carrots — Chinese-American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.