Soup Dumpling

With a thin wrapping and succulent filling, the Soup Dumpling is a Chinese delicacy popular all over the world. What is more, it is such a pleasant surprise to take a bite of the delicious soup-like filling. It was originally a Soup Dumpling in Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. The wrapping is made of unfermented flour and the filling the meat of pork legs mixed together with a gelatinized lump of broth stock made from chicken bones and pig skin. When steamed in high heat, the lump melts into a rich tasty broth. After the Jingkang Disaster, the royal court relocated to the south and brought the food culture of the Central Plains to the Southern Provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang where the Soup Dumpling later developed into their regional dish.
In the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Soup Dumpling had gone through a slight improvement to appear in its modern form, being served in a bamboo basket, in Changzhou and Wuxi. It was prepared with fermented flour instead to produce a softer texture to the bite. As the preparation had changed to emphasize more on the freshness of the meaty filling, the gelatinized broth stock was given up. This modern form of the Soup Dumpling gradually became more popularized in other regions and evolved into different styles such as those of the neighboring cities like Shanghai, Wuxi, Shaoxing, using crab meat and shrimp in the filling instead. However, speaking of the promotion of its international popularity, Taiwan’s renowned specialized chain restaurants, Din Tai Fung, would deserve the credit. Established in 1958 on Xinyi Road in Taipei City, it managed to break through the Japanese catering industry and soon set off a wave of popularity for the Soup Dumpling in 1996, then successively establishing over a hundred restaurants in the United States, Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, United Kingdom and other countries. Din Tai Fung received the Michelin1-star Restaurant Award in 2010, which not only honor its quality internationally, but also help further promote the Soup Dumpling as an international delicacy.

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