Shanghai-style Tangbao (湯包) -- Soup Dumplings

On any stretch of street in Shanghai, whether it is in a restaurant or a sidewalk stall, you can find someone selling soup dumplings. Locals call them “tang▪bao” (湯包), while American foodies are more familiar with the term “xiao▪long▪bao” (小籠包), or “XLB” for short. But XLB refers specifically to dumplings served in little steamer baskets (xiaolong means “little baskets”), whereas tangbao refers to the entire category of dumplings stuffed with meat and most importantly, soup (tang) on the inside. In Shanghai, birthplace of the tangbao, there is a different type for every kind of appetite.

Around the Chenghuang Temple (城隍廟), a touristy area filled with restaurants and snack shops, I came across these huge, and I mean huge! soup dumplings served with a straw sticking out of them. The idea is to sip the soup through the straw. It’s quite a novel idea, but I’m not sure about the wisdom in sucking hot soup from a straw. Then there is the fact that the soup is essentially a fat laden consommé, so basically, you are sipping lard.

At another location in the temple, tangbao are sold in the form of pan-fried dumplings. They call these sheng▪jian▪bao (生煎包), which literally means “dumplings pan-fried from the raw.” That is, without boiling or steaming first, the raw dumplings are placed directly in the frying pan and fried in oil until the outer dough is golden and crispy. For RMB 5 you get a little sachet of 8 shenjianbao—enough for a heartwarming snack.