Sorry I missed the beginning of this thread. I'm American Born Chinese and learned to make Chinese dumplings from my mother many years ago. I am decent at it, but slow (really moderate speed, but slow compared to my mother and the various Chinese "aunties").

Some tips on the dough. To get started, you can cut the dough into quarters and then roll the dough out into a big sheet and use a wide-mouth jar, like a mayonaise jar or a medium peanut butter jar, to cut circles. Then use the rolling pin to roll the edges so they are thin. You want the center to be thicker (like about 1/4 ") and the edges to be thin. The thin edge helps to pull/gather the folds.

After you get a little more experienced, if you want to continue rolling, then you want to get a bamboo or wooden rolling pin that is one piece (not handled) and preferably one that has tapered ends. The tapered ends make it much easier to roll dumpling skins. Something like this one. You can find them in any Asian store like an H-Mart as they are very commonly used for Chinese cooking.
https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-French-Rolling-15-75-Inch-1-38-Inch/dp/B07FRCWT1C/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=13ABO1WHCF6LP&keywords=chinese%2Brolling%2Bpin&qid=1643594111&sprefix=chinese%2Brolling%2Bpin%2Caps%2C61&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyOUNDQUdXWkc2RE5EJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTk3Njg1MkY1NktORjVSNkpRVSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTQwNDc5T1AxUTBOWEhTSVAxJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

Good job!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it’s on!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXn52sJl38/?utm_medium=copy_link

Op, is this you? It looks delicious!! Great job!

Yep, I posted pictures from the starter broth through filling.
A pp mentioned that these weren’t worth the work and I’m starting to agree; I have a physical job and my shoulders are killing me from folding 40 of these little effers.
I need to master the dough and making consistent circles with the right thickness, we only have a big rolling pin and it wasn’t working so I switched to a smooth glass bottle but it’s not great. The videos I’ve watched show people using these 1 inch dowels and I think that’s what I need; either way I’m super happy that I pull it off my first time, they look awful but they taste so good.

Either way, they look so good and it’s an accomplishment!

Very nice, OP! Whether you become an expert or go back to just ordering them at restaurants it’s really cool you actually got all the way through making them!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it’s on!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXn52sJl38/?utm_medium=copy_link

Op, is this you? It looks delicious!! Great job!

Yep, I posted pictures from the starter broth through filling.
A pp mentioned that these weren’t worth the work and I’m starting to agree; I have a physical job and my shoulders are killing me from folding 40 of these little effers.
I need to master the dough and making consistent circles with the right thickness, we only have a big rolling pin and it wasn’t working so I switched to a smooth glass bottle but it’s not great. The videos I’ve watched show people using these 1 inch dowels and I think that’s what I need; either way I’m super happy that I pull it off my first time, they look awful but they taste so good.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, it’s on!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXn52sJl38/?utm_medium=copy_link

Op, is this you? It looks delicious!! Great job!

Ok, it’s on!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZXn52sJl38/?utm_medium=copy_link

I order these three bags at a time: https://thexcj.com/

Thanks!! Just ordered two bags and some sauces sent to DD for Valentine’s Day. She loves soup dumplings - Din Tai Fung on the west coast is her favorite, and the reviews for the ones you posted compare to those and say the frozen ones are phenomenal.

Anonymous wrote:^^ edited to add, the dough we made with Chef Li at CozyMeal was just flour, water and salt. And she encouraged us to make 20-24 pleats for each Bao. We aspired to that, but definitely didn't achieve it! We also over-stuffed. Nonetheless, it was a fun xmas present for my 14 year old XLB obsessed kid!

That sounds like a really cool kid!
Our company is gone and I’m gonna make some practice dough.

I practiced with the store bought wrappers on a few baby potatoes- no dice, it doesn’t stretch.

Anonymous wrote:
Why did I click on this thread?
I'm pregnant and now I'm craving one of these soup dumplings. Although, I'm not sure how to eat them properly.

How do you eat them so it doesn't spill all over?

The TJ soup dumplings are small enough to fit on one spoon so I just take a bite and slurp out the soup. Really, there's no wrong way to eat them in your home. At a restaurant I was given a straw! I watched the other patrons and copied them.

I'm not pregnant and now I want soup dumplings too.

^^ edited to add, the dough we made with Chef Li at CozyMeal was just flour, water and salt. And she encouraged us to make 20-24 pleats for each Bao. We aspired to that, but definitely didn't achieve it! We also over-stuffed. Nonetheless, it was a fun xmas present for my 14 year old XLB obsessed kid!

My son just last weekend took at CozyMeal online course on how to make them. He became obsessed after eating them at A and J Noodle in Rockville, and then buying them frozen all the time from HMart. They are a lot of work, but he said they were delicious. We have a bamboo steamer, and lined it with parchment paper. You have to make the chicken stock jelly first and cut it into cubes - it's like chicken flavored jello. That's the soup. Mix that with ground pork and ginger and scallions etc, and then wrap it in dough. I was surprised that you don't cook the pork first. Sorry I can't figure out how to share the recipes on this forum, but I would recommend Chef Li's online course through CozyMeal - it was fun and at the end you got to eat a bunch of XLB!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've made these before and usually get 16-18 folds before having to pinch off the top. Be mindful to not overs tuff the filling. The most flavorful soup dumplings I had were a mix of crab and pork.

Are you steaming them in bamboo trays?

I cut out some parchment discs and then punched a bunch of holes in them and I’ll load them into the bamboo steamer.

I used to do it that way too and then discovered silicone steam trays like these ones: https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Steamer-Liners-Steamed-Dumplings/dp/B07FPFBVBD

You can also use napa cabbage leaves, which I think is the traditional way to do it.

Good luck! I've made these many times and only once were they absolutely perfect (they're always tasty though!)

Anonymous wrote:
Why did I click on this thread?
I'm pregnant and now I'm craving one of these soup dumplings. Although, I'm not sure how to eat them properly.

How do you eat them so it doesn't spill all over?

I am looking forward to becoming an absolute expert at eating these without making a mess.

https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/xiao-long-bao-how-to-eat-soup-dumplings

Anonymous wrote:I've made these before and usually get 16-18 folds before having to pinch off the top. Be mindful to not overs tuff the filling. The most flavorful soup dumplings I had were a mix of crab and pork.

Are you steaming them in bamboo trays?

I cut out some parchment discs and then punched a bunch of holes in them and I’ll load them into the bamboo steamer.