Definitive and Doable: Andrew Wong's Shanghai Dumplings

Definitive and Doable is a Fine Dining Lovers series sharing classic dishes and recipes from top chefs and iconic restaurants that can be easily re-created at home. Here we share the recipe for Shanghai dumplings, a signature dish served by chef Andrew Wong at his eponymous two-Michelin-star restaurant in London. 

What is Definitive and Doable?

Throughout the series we will teach you how to re-create your own culinary masterpieces, tapping into the brilliance of the world's culinary greats and the dishes that define them, by breaking each recipe down into simple repeatable parts, allowing you to capture those iconic flavours on the plate at home. From Andrew Wong's Shanghai dumplings to Heston Blumental's snail porridge, you'll find all the best signature recipes here.

These Shanghai dumplings or xiaolongbao are larger than other dumplings, are usually made with ground pork and contain a pork aspic, a jelly made by boiling pork fat, skin and trotters for hours. Cooked with a xiaolong, a small bamboo steaming basket, they are traditionally eaten with a clear soup on the side, or on their own for breakfast. They are dipped in Chinese black vinegar and julienned ginger. Purists argue that they must be stuffed with pork but modern versions often contain alternative fillings like seafood, crab, or vegetarian options.