Dumplings - handle with care
Sitting there in their bamboo basket they look innocuous enough, but there's more to eating Shanghai Dumplings than you might imagine! Get it wrong and it could all get messy. Here's the lowdown on chowing down properly...
Shanghai Dumplings, or Xiao Long Boa ("small basket dumplings" in Mandarin Chinese) are delicate little steamed dumplings filled with delicious fillings like pork, crab or vegetables. But here's the surprise; they're also full of hot soup or broth. If you don't want to end up with soup in your lap, handle with care.
The trick is to bring your soup spoon into play. Lift the dumpling up carefully to avoid piercing the delicate skin with your chopsticks and slip your spoon underneath. Keep your spoon safely below the dumpling (except when dipping in the shredded ginger and vinegar), bring it up to your mouth and you're ready to eat.
These things are hot, so bite a small hole in the top to let the steam out and the dumpling cool. When it's cool enough you can either eat it whole or bite a hole in the side and suck the soup out. Whatever you do, don't bite a Shanghai Dumpling in half; you'll end up with soup everywhere!
