One thing I have enjoyed while living in Shanghai is trying foods that are popular with local people. Pan-fried soup dumplings stood out to me because I got to see them being made by hand and cooked fresh right in front of me.
I tried shengjianbao, which are Shanghai-style pan-fried soup dumplings. They are small buns filled with pork and hot, flavorful soup. The bottom is fried until it is golden and crispy, while the top stays soft and fluffy.
You take the first bite into it you get a mix of textures because the bottom was crispy, the top was soft, and the inside was warm and juicy. I had to be careful not to burn myself because the soup inside was very hot!
I watched local cooks make each bun by hand. They put pork filling inside pieces of dough and folded the dough closed at the top. Then they placed the buns together in a large hot pan with oil. The bottoms fried until they became crispy and golden while the rest of the bun cooked. I could hear the buns sizzling as they cooked!
