This is a delightful and authentic recipe. I have a Shanghainese partner, and ate these by the layer in shanghai and hongzhou, and have been to Din Tai Fung in Singapore (highly recommended place for good XLB!). I've always wanted to make XLB, and this recipe was easy and worked the first time. Much better than most restaurant XLBs!<br/><br/>The ultimate test was with my 92 year old father in law (pictured), who loved them! He is a very discerning taster of Shanghainese food.<br/><br/>I made the following modifications:I was able to get premade shanghainese dumpling wrappers. I wasn't able to get the black vinegar, so I used half balsamic vinegar and half red wine vinegar. And I substituted a can of low sodium chicken stock as a base to add the green onions, ginger, etc. I then cut back the salt n the rest of the recipe. I prefer steaming a bit longer, as the recommended time gives an al dante wrapper. With our store bought wrappers, 15 minutes and they nearly burst in your mouth. (And I didn't make this over several days, I made it in 1 day). My family suggests adding shopped baby bok choy, so I'll try that next time.<br/><br/>Don't be intimidated by the length of the recipe. If you love good XLB, make this recipe!
