Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Joy Howard.

Shengjian Bao (Shanghainese Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings)

Name: Shengjian Bao (Shanghainese Pan-Fried Soup Dumplings)
Total time: 3 h 20 min
Yield: Makes 16 dumplings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin; 1 cup water; 1 scallion, chopped coarse; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger; ¼ teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Premium Roasted Chicken Base; ¼ cup ice cubes; 2 cups (10 ounces/284 grams) all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon sugar; ¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast; ¼ teaspoon table salt; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; ¾ cup (6 ounces/170 grams) water, room temperature; 1 tablespoon water; ¼ teaspoon baking soda; 8 ounces ground pork; 2 tablespoons minced scallions; 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger; 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine; 2 teaspoons soy sauce; 1½ teaspoons minced garlic; 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil; 1 teaspoon sugar; ½ teaspoon table salt; ⅛ teaspoon white pepper; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; ⅓ cup water; 1 scallion, sliced thin; 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds; Chinese black vinegar (optional)

By Andrea Geary

Published on January 3, 2026

Time

2½ hours, plus 50 minutes chilling and rising

Yield

Makes 16 dumplings

Ingredients

Ingredient check listSoup

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin

1 cup water

1 scallion, chopped coarse

1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Premium Roasted Chicken Base

¼ cup ice cubes

Ingredient check listDough

2 cups (10 ounces/284 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

¾ teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

¼ teaspoon table salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

¾ cup (6 ounces/170 grams) water, room temperature

Ingredient check listFilling

1 tablespoon water

¼ teaspoon baking soda

8 ounces ground pork

2 tablespoons minced scallions

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1½ teaspoons minced garlic

1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon table salt

⅛ teaspoon white pepper

Ingredient check list

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

⅓ cup water

1 scallion, sliced thin

1 teaspoon black sesame seeds

Chinese black vinegar (optional)

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Shengjian bao, Shanghai’s pan-fried soup dumplings, are crisp on the bottom, fluffy and tender on the top, and filled with savory meat and soup. In order to enclose the soup in the dough wrapper, the soup must be solid when cold. To make it, we bypassed the pig skin or chicken scraps of traditional recipes and instead added unflavored gelatin to a stock made with bouillon concentrate, ginger, and scallions. Diluting the soup with ice and pouring it into a chilled baking pan helped it set quickly. We proofed our yeasted wrapper dough briefly—only until it was slightly puffy—to make the wrappers easier to roll and to minimize large air bubbles, which could end up as weak spots in our formed dumplings. For the filling, we treated the meat with a baking soda solution, which helped it remain succulent. Beating the pork mixture in a stand mixer caused its sticky proteins to link up into a strong network that trapped fat and moisture, resulting in a texture that was cohesive and slightly springy. The wrappers on the best shengjian bao are evenly thick all around; rolling out each wrapper so that the edges were tapered meant that the gathered pleats on one side of the dumpling weren’t thicker than the opposite side. Letting the bao proof briefly before cooking allowed the yeast to produce small air bubbles in the wrappers, which swelled with steam when the dumplings were cooked. Uncovering the skillet during the last stage of cooking allowed excess moisture to evaporate, which ensured that the bottoms of our dumplings were crisp.

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Before You Begin

You can substitute beef bouillon concentrate for the chicken bouillon. The dough should be firm but slightly tacky; to achieve the correct consistency, we recommend measuring the flour and the water by weight, preferably using the gram measurement. A small, slim dumpling rolling pin works well here, but a conventional pin will also work. Black sesame seeds are the traditional garnish, but white can be used. The soup and filling may be combined and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead of making the dough and shaping and cooking the bao.

Instructions

for the soup

Place 8-inch square baking pan in freezer. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin over 1 cup water in small saucepan and let sit 2 minutes to hydrate. Add 1 coarsely chopped scallion, 1 tablespoon chopped ginger, and ¼ teaspoon chicken base. Bring to boil; lower heat to gentle simmer and cook for 8 minutes. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into 2-cup liquid measuring cup. If liquid is more than ½ cup, return to saucepan and boil until reduced to ½ cup.

2. Add ¼ cup ice cubes until liquid measures ⅔ cup (you will not need all of ice). Stir until ice is melted. Pour into prepared pan and refrigerate until firm and bouncy, about 20 minutes. While soup sets, make dough.

for the dough

Whisk 2 cups (10 ounces/284 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¾ teaspoon instant yeast, and ¼ teaspoon table salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and ¾ cup (6 ounces/170 grams) room temperature water. Fit mixer with dough hook and mix on low speed, scraping down bowl if needed, until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough into ball and transfer to lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes. Remove any excess dough from mixer bowl but do not wash.

for the filling

Whisk 1 tablespoon water and ¼ teaspoon baking soda together in now-empty mixer bowl. Add 8 ounces ground pork and toss to combine. Add 2 tablespoons minced scallions, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1½ teaspoons minced garlic, 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon white pepper. Fit mixer with paddle and beat on medium speed until mixture is well combined and pork has slightly lightened in color and become stringy, about 90 seconds.

Spray large plate with vegetable oil spray. Using fork, mash soup into ⅛-inch pieces. Add to pork and mix on medium-low speed until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Divide filling into 16 portions (about 1 heaping tablespoon each) and arrange on prepared plate. Refrigerate until needed.

Press on dough to deflate. Transfer to counter and roll into 16-inch cylinder. Cut into 16 equal pieces (1 ounce/28 grams each). Roll each portion into ball. Place balls on lightly floured counter, dust with flour, and press each into 2-inch disk. Cover with damp dish towel.

Roll one disk into 3-inch round. Holding wrapper with your hand, continue rolling outer 1 inch of dough, rotating dough slightly after each roll to maintain uniform shape, until you have 4½-inch round with tapered edges. Re-cover wrapper and repeat with remaining disks. Do not overlap disks. Brush 12-inch nonstick skillet with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Place 1 wrapper on lightly floured counter and place 1 portion filling in center.

Pinch outer edge of dough together with your thumb and index finger and hold. Using other thumb and index finger, push edge of dough toward pinched portion to create first ¼-inch pleat. Pinch pleat to seal and continue pinching to secure dough while creating next pleat. Push dough toward pinched portion to begin forming second pleat. Repeat pleating motion, rotating dough with each pleat, until all of dough is pleated and dumpling has rounded shape. Pinch top of gathered dough edges together and twist to seal dumpling. Place dumpling pleated side down on counter. Press gently to secure seal and round sides. Transfer to prepared skillet, pleats side down. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. Cover skillet with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Discard plastic wrap and place skillet over medium heat. Cook until bottoms of dumplings are golden brown, about 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; carefully pour ⅓ cup water around edge of skillet (water and oil will spatter). Cover and continue to cook until water is absorbed, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until dumpling bottoms are deep golden brown and crispy, about 4 minutes longer. Sprinkle with 1 thinly sliced scallion and 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds. Serve immediately, passing Chinese black vinegar separately, if using.