Soup goes in a bowl or in a cup—unless, of course, you are a fan of Xiao Long Bao. Then, your soup goes in a dumpling. Trader Joe’s Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings are a wonder to behold, both for their display of Chinese food innovation, and for their incredibly comforting flavor profile.

This concept originates in the Jiangnan region of southeastern China, where Shanghai is situated. Xiao Long Bao are essentially soup dumplings, but instead of dumplings that go in the soup (though you can still certainly make this happen), the soup actually goes inside these dumplings. Our expert Chinese dumpling supplier forms their wheat flour dumpling dough with a specially formulated proprietary production method that seals each dumpling, allowing them to hold the maximum amount of savory broth—broth made from ingredients includ- ing chicken, onion, green onion, soy sauce, and ginger. Once the soup is wrapped in the dough and sealed (Bao means “wrapped” in Chinese), it is steamed until fully cooked (Xiao Long refers to a traditional Chinese bamboo steamer). Lastly, our dumplings are put into microwave-safe packages and frozen so we can deliver them to you.

To enjoy, you simply cut the corner of the bag and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Let your Dumplings sit for at least another minute before removing from microwave. The insides will be very hot, so be careful! We suggest placing a hot Soup Dumpling on a deep Chinese soup spoon and nibbling a little hole in the side to let the soup run out before enjoying soup and dumpling together.