Din Tai Fung Restaurant is a Taiwanese restaurant with 16 locations in the United States (but not in Hawaii). That is only a fraction of its 165 locations around the world, which include Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
At its Hong Kong location, it has won the Michelin Star five times.
In North America, the restaurant has locations in Scottsdale Ariz., Vancouver B.C., Anaheim at Disney, Arcadia at The Shops at Santa Anita, Brea at Brea Mall, Costa Mesa at South Coast Plaza, Glendale at Glendale Galleria, Irvine at Irvine Spectrum, Los Angeles at Westfield Century City, San Diego at Westfield UTC, Santa Clara at Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Monica at Santa Monica Place, Torrance at Del Amo Fashion Center, New York at Midtown, Portland at Pioneer Place, Tigard at Washington Square, Bellevue at Lincoln Square, Seattle at Pacific Place, Seattle at University Village, and Tukwila at Westfield Southcenter.
Din Tai Fung is a family-owned restaurant chain that started in Taiwan in 1958 as a cooking oil retailer, started by Yang Bing-yi and his wife Pen-Mei Lai.
In the 1970s, the cooking oil business declined due to the rise of tinned cooking oil. A friend suggested that Yan convert half of the store into a restaurant to sell steamed soup dumplings, which were popular in Shanghai, but very rare to see in Taiwan. This venture became so popular that in 1972, the store stopped selling oil and became a full-fledged restaurant.
If you like ‘xiao long bao’ or soup dumplings, Din Tai Fung is a must for lunch or dinner.
On my recent trip to Los Angeles, we drove 1-1/2 hours from Santa Clarita to Topanga Westfield Century City just for soup dumplings. But that is not the only item that is so delicious! Their preparation of string beans is excellent, their wood ear mushrooms in vinegar is great, the cucumber salad is refreshing, and their seaweed tofu salad is yummy!
Making 48 soup dumplings is a seven-hour process. Going to Din Tai Fung is easier, if you are able to drive to one of its locations.
Have 7 hours? Here’s the recipe:
Soup Dumplings
Jellied Stock
One 2-pound chicken, quartered
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, sliced 1 inch thick
Eight 1/4-inch slices of fresh ginger
2 scallions, halved
1 large onion, halved
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1 quart water
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
In a large deep pot, combine the chicken, pork, ginger, scallions, carrot, broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 30 minutes.
Remove the chicken and when it is cool enough, pull the meat from the bones. Return the bones to the pot and simmer until the broth is very flavorful and reduced to 6 cups, 1-1/2 hours longer; strain and skim the fat from the surface. Reserve the chicken meat and pork for another use.
In a small bowl, combine the gelatin with 1/3 cup of cold water and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the softened gelatin into 3 cups of the hot stock until melted. (Reserve the remaining stock for another use.) Pour the gelatinized stock into a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.
Wrappers
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1-1/2 cups bread flour
Boiling water
Large pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
1 tablespoon sea salt
In a medium bowl, stir 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup of the bread flour and 1/2 cup of the boiling water until combined. Turn the hot water dough out onto a work surface and knead until fairly smooth, about 5 minutes.
In a glass measuring cup, combine 2 cups of room temperature water with the saffron and let stand for 5 minutes. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook, blend the remaining 4 cups of all purpose flour and 1 cup of the bread flour with the salt. Add the saffron water and beat at medium speed until smooth dough forms, about 5 minutes. Add the hot-water dough and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead it into a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and let it stand for 30 minutes or refrigerate overnight.
Filling
Make a filling of your choice with 1 pound ground pork or chicken, 2 tablespoons potato starch, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and 3 cups of jellied stock that has been run through a meat grinder to have the same texture as the ground meat.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Working with one piece at a time and keeping the rest covered, roll the piece of dough into a 1-inch thick rope. Pinch or cut the rope into 3/4-inch pieces and roll them into balls. Then, using a small dowel, glass bottle or Chinese-style rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a thin 3-1/2 inch round, dusting with flour as necessary. Lightly dust the rounds with flour, transfer them to a floured baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Repeat to make 4 dozen rounds.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, dust with flour. Spoon a well-rounded tablespoon of filling onto the center of the round. Using your fingers, pinch and pleat the dough around the filling, leaving a tiny steam vent at the top; transfer to the baking sheet.
Fill a pot with 2 inches water and bring to boil. Arrange dumplings in a bamboo steamer in batches, leaving 1 inch between them, cover and steam until dough is shiny, 5 minutes.
Email Audrey Wilson at audreywilson808@gmail.com.
