What ingredients are inside soup dumplings?

soup dumplings are one of the most popular and beloved Chinese delicacies. These steamed dumplings are filled with a savory soup filling and sometimes add crab, pork, or vegetables inside. But what makes these tasty creations even better is the delectable ingredients that go in to making them.

The wrapper or dough for soup dumplings is usually made of simple ingredients such as wheat flour, cornstarch, and water. These ingredients combine to make a slightly viscous dough that's easy to wrap around its filling without breaking apart during steaming.

The filling for soup dumplings typically contains a mixture of ground pork, shrimp, garlic, ginger, green onion, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Although ingredients may vary by region or family recipe preferences, these are some of the most popular filler combinations found in soup dumplings across China. For example in Beijing they often add a spoonful of ground crab meat sauce to every filling.

The most important component of the soup dumpling is the savory starter liquid which will eventually turn into a perfectly proportioned soup inside each piece when steamed correctly. This is usually made from chicken broth which has typically been cooked with garlic, onions and sometimes even ginger for extra flavor. It's then combined with bamboo shoots or other vegetables and sesame oil before being added to the fillings in small portions when assembling the dumplings.