The Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings have a history of nearly two hundred years. With continuous improvements in their production techniques and recipes, these dumplings are renowned for their paper-thin skin that can be easily punctured, their delicious taste, and their health benefits. They are widely favored by food connoisseurs across the country. The dumplings already enjoyed a high reputation during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
- Name: Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings
- Category: Special Cuisine
- Origin: Jiangsu Province – Taizhou City – Jingjiang City
The Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings have a history of nearly two hundred years. With continuous improvements in their production techniques and recipes, these dumplings are renowned for their paper-thin skin that can be easily punctured, their delicious taste, and their health benefits. They are widely favored by food connoisseurs across the country. The dumplings already enjoyed a high reputation during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Their distinctive features include paper-thin skin that can be easily punctured, exquisite production, beautiful appearance, and unique way of eating. The ingredients for making the dumplings are carefully selected, with crab roe and meat as the filling and original-flavored chicken broth as the soup. The production technique is superb. Foreign friends who have tasted the Jingjiang soup dumplings have praised them as “Jingjiang Soup Dumplings – China's magical buns!”. The CCTV Wealth Channel has also introduced the “Jingjiang Soup Dumplings” several times. The dumplings have thin skins and an extraordinary amount of filling, possessing unique characteristics. Not only is the production process exceptional, but the way they are eaten is also unique. The soup is enclosed within the skin, and the production process involves more than thirty steps. Not only can ordinary households not make them, but even general pastry chefs cannot do so; only professional soup dumpling chefs can complete the task.
The soup in the Jingjiang dumplings is enclosed within. The production process consists of over a dozen steps. Firstly, the thick skin from pig trotters is finely chopped and simmered over a low heat overnight until the pig skin completely dissolves into the soup, which is then cooled to form a transparent jelly-like substance. Fresh and firm crabs are selected for their roe and minced pork leg meat, which are mixed with well-prepared chicken broth, diced ginger, and minced garlic in the gelatin made from pig skin. After steaming, the rich gelatin melts into soup. The skin of the dumpling must not be taken lightly, requiring top-quality refined flour kneaded vigorously to form extremely thin and perfectly round wrappers. This is different from making steamed buns, as it requires the wrapper to be very evenly thickened, neither too wet nor too dry, because any unevenness will inevitably lead to the dumpling leaking soup. As for the final step – wrapping the dumplings – only a skilled master chef can handle this. Every movement must be as gentle and uniform as “entering silently with the wind, moistening things without making a sound.” Only in this way can one ensure that each dumpling remains intact after steaming and before being eaten.
The steamed dumplings are snowy white and translucent, with fine, evenly pleated folds. They resemble full and round chrysanthemums tightly wrapped and about to bloom. The skin is as thin as paper and almost transparent. Even the slightest movement reveals the soup gently swaying inside, giving one the feeling that the skin could break at any moment, showcasing its delicate tenderness. Even just looking at them is a visual treat, let alone tasting them.
Dish Characteristics
The steamed dumplings are snowy white and translucent, with paper-thin skin and abundant, flavorful soup. They are almost transparent, and even the slightest movement reveals the soup gently swaying inside, giving one the feeling that the skin could break at any moment, showcasing its delicate tenderness. Those unfamiliar with the production method might think that the soup was injected with a syringe. The ingredients for making the dumpling filling are carefully selected, requiring top-quality fresh pork skin, free-range chickens raised in rural areas, and pig knuckle bones. The broth is prepared using traditional techniques combined with new scientific methods for six hours to achieve a “clear but not greasy, thick but not oily, and deliciously flavored” dumpling filling that satisfies modern tastes. The dumpling skin is as thin as paper, and when rolling out the wrappers, the edges must be thinner than the center. Each dumpling should have over 30 finely and uniformly pleated folds, almost translucent, and even the slightest movement reveals the soup gently swaying inside, giving one the feeling that the skin could break at any moment, showcasing its delicate tenderness. Even just looking at them is a visual treat. Steaming the dumplings must not exceed a ten-second margin of error, so the chef must be fully focused. These complex processes can only be completed by professional pastry chefs, which is truly remarkable.
The Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings have “two unique features”: one is the unique production process, and the other is the unique way of eating. The filling is made from carefully selected large river crabs in autumn, fresh pork skin, and authentic free-range chickens, with thin skin, clear but not greasy broth, and thick but not oily texture. To enjoy the dumplings, one must remember a twelve-word guideline: lift gently, move quickly, open a window first, then sip the soup.
The Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings are so exquisite that even gourmets find it hard to fully describe their charm.
Compared to other dumplings across the country, the Jingjiang Crab Roe Soup Dumplings have unique “personalities,” including unique production and a unique way of eating.
Related Legend
It is said that the Jingjiang “Crab Roe Soup Dumplings” were passed down from the Three Kingdoms period. After Liu Bei entrusted his orphaned son to Zhuge Liang at Baidi City and subsequently died, Sun Shangxiang, his wife in Eastern Wu, was devastated. Devoted to her love, Lady Sun climbed up Beigushan, overlooking the Yangtze River, filled with grief and despair, and threw herself into the river. In memory of Lady Sun's loyalty and virtue, people used flour to wrap minced pork and crab meat, offering sacrifices to Lady Sun. These meat-filled buns were delicious and attracted the attention of many gourmets, quickly becoming popular on restaurant menus. From the Three Kingdoms era, they have been passed down generation after generation, gradually evolving into today's Crab Roe Soup Dumplings. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the production techniques had reached their peak, and their reputation spread far and wide.
As for eating the soup dumplings, some skill is required. It is said that Emperor Qianlong made a blooper while eating them. When he came to Jingjiang incognito to try the crab roe soup dumplings, perhaps due to hunger, he grabbed one and bit into it, only to see a jet of hot soup shoot out, scalding him and causing him to drop the dumpling behind him, splashing soup all over himself. Normally, he would have been furious, but at that moment, he did not lose his temper but instead hurriedly licked the soup off his fingers, because even that tiny bit of soup was incredibly delicious. Seeing his predicament, the shopkeeper realized that he was eating the dumplings for the first time and promptly instructed him on how to eat them. Following the shopkeeper's advice, Emperor Qianlong found it worked wonderfully. Before leaving, despite his usual habit of inscribing poetry, he felt embarrassed about his earlier gaffe and refrained from doing so. Perhaps this is why, although the Jingjiang Soup Dumplings are famous, there are no records of them in historical texts.
Tasting Process
Facing these translucent soup dumplings, you must not rush to take a bite, or you may end up making a fool of yourself. Legend has it that when Emperor Qianlong came to Jingjiang incognito to taste the soup dumplings, as soon as they were placed on the table, he grabbed one and bit into it. A jet of hot soup shot out, scalding him and splashing onto his sleeve. The hot soup burned his mouth, but since the flavor was so exquisite, he did not want to discard the dumpling. He hurriedly sucked the soup off his sleeve. At this point, his hand had reached his shoulder, and the soup from the dumpling splashed onto his back. However, he did not get angry because the dumpling was so delicious. This incident gave rise to the saying “Emperor Qianlong splashed soup dumpling broth onto his back.” Later, the shopkeeper taught him a twelve-word mantra, which proved effective. So, what did the shopkeeper instruct? The twelve-word rule for eating soup dumplings is: lift gently, move quickly, open a window first, then drink the soup. Generally, you use three fingertips to pinch the pleats on top of the