making xiaolongbao

making baozi by kattebelletje.

A scene from Shanghai: making xiaolongbao - small steamed buns with a meat filling. From the window, one could look into a room full of girls in white aprons and white hats in Shanghai's old town, busy making xiaolongbao in a production line.

A mountain of dough on the left hand side on a large table in front of the window, from which the girls pinched small balls. Also on the table a bowl with oil for oiling the dough chunks, and to the far right a large bowl with minced meat filling. The girl in the center scoops up a basketful of balls for her part of the production line: stuffing some meat filling inside a round of dough and pinching the sides until you get a beatiful shaped round xiaolongbao.

She placed them in a bamboo basket and when full, they were steamed until risen and done in about 10 minutes. They didn't look happy doing this, and looked even more annoyed when I took pictures. Perhaps I would too, if people stared at me all day cooking. (I found a video on YouTube with exactly the same girls! Check it out!) But I was impressed with their swift technique and obviously so were the customers, who were queueing outside to buy them.