Soup 10 cups plus 3 tablespoons (or more) water 2 3/4 to 3 pounds chicken wings, backs, and necks 2 1/2

1/2 ounces Chinese-style cured smoked ham or Smithfield ham, cut into 4 slices 3/4 cup coarsely chopped green onions (white parts only) 2 (1-inch-diameter 1/2-inch-thick) slices peeled fresh ginger 1 whole dried shiitake mushroom 1 large garlic clove, flattened 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (from 2 envelopes) Sauce 1 cup black vinegar 6 tablespoons soy sauce 2 tablespoons very thin matchstick-size strips peeled fresh ginger Filling 1 pound ground pork 1/4 pound peeled deveined uncooked shrimp, finely chopped 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions (white parts only) 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 large garlic clove, minced 3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger 1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine) 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil Dumplings 75 (about) 3-inch square or round dumpling wrappers (from two 14-ounce packages) 1 large head of Napa cabbage, leaves separated

Stock your pantry

Look for the ingredients and supplies featured here at an Asian market or online at adrianascaravan.com: Chinese-style cured smoked ham (or use Smithfield ham), dried shiitake mushrooms, Shaoxing (also spelled Shao Hsing) wine, black vinegar, dumpling wrappers (don't use wonton wrappers; they are too thin), and bamboo steamer sets.
Make the soup

Combine 10 cups water and all remaining soup ingredients except gelatin in large pot. Bring to boil, spooning off any foam that rises to surface. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until chicken pieces are very soft and beginning to fall apart, adding more water by cupfuls if necessary to keep chicken submerged, about 2 hours 30 minutes.
Strain and chill

Strain soup; discard solids. Return broth to same pot. Boil until reduced to 2 cups, about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour 3 tablespoons water into small bowl; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens. Add to hot broth; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Transfer to 13x9x2-inch glass dish. Cover; refrigerate aspic overnight.
Make the sauce

Mix 1 cup black vinegar, 6 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 tablespoons fresh ginger strips in small bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Make the filling

Combine all filling ingredients in large bowl and mix with fork just until blended. Cut aspic into 1/3-inch cubes. Add aspic to pork mixture; stir gently with wooden spoon just until incorporated. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Assemble the dumplings

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 1 dumpling wrapper on work surface. Spoon 1 very generous teaspoon filling onto center of wrapper, including at least 2 or 3 aspic cubes.
Pleat the wrapper

Lightly brush edges of dumpling wrapper with water. Bring 1 corner of wrapper up around filling, then pleat remaining edges of wrapper at regular intervals all around filling until filling is enclosed and wrapper forms bundle-like shape with small opening at top.
Twist the top

Gather top edges of wrapper together and twist at top to enclose filling. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling. DO AHEAD Can be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day, or frozen in single layer in covered containers for 2 weeks.
Prepare the steamer

Line each layer of bamboo steamer basket with cabbage leaves; place over wok filled with enough water to reach just below bottom of bamboo steamer basket. (Or line metal steamer rack with cabbage leaves and set over water in large pot.) Place dumplings atop cabbage, spacing apart.
Steam the dumplings

Bring water to boil. Cover; steam until cooked through, adding more water to wok if

evaporating too quickly, about 12 minutes for fresh dumplings and 15 minutes for frozen. Serve dumplings immediately, passing sauce alongside for dipping.
add your own note

Shanghai Soup Dumplings

Photo: Steve Giralt (Xiao Long Bao) MAKES 16 There's an art to eating these dumplings. Resist the temptation to pop one whole into your mouth; you'll almost certainly burn your lip. Instead, set a dumpling on a deep-bowled soup spoon, nibble a small hole near the top of the wrapper, and carefully slurp out the hot soup. Then finish off the dumpling, dunking it into the dipping sauce, if you like. Look for pork skin at Asian meat markets or at butcher counters. 3" piece ginger, peeled 2 scallions, trimmed 4 oz. pork skin, rinsed and finely diced 8 large napa cabbage leaves, trimmed 4 tbsp. chinkiang (Chinese black vinegar) 5 oz. pork belly, cubed

1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. fermented soybean paste 1 tsp. dark soy sauce 1 tsp. Asian sesame oil 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. freshly ground white pepper 1/2 cup flour 1. Thinly slice one-third of the ginger crosswise and put into a small pot. Cut 1 of the scallions in half crosswise and add to pot. Add pork skin and 1 1/2 cups cold water. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and continue to simmer until most of the gelatin from the pork skin has leached out and broth has reduced to 1/2 cup, about 1 hour. Strain broth through a sieve into a shallow bowl, discarding solids, and refrigerate until firmly jelled, 11 1/2 hours. 2. Blanch cabbage leaves in a wide medium pot of boiling water over high heat until pliable, about 15 seconds, then dip leaves into a bowl of ice water to prevent them from cooking further. Drain leaves and pat dry with paper towels. Line bottoms of 2 medium (about 9" in diameter) bamboo steamer baskets with 3 of the cabbage leaves each and set aside. 3. Slice half of the remaining ginger lengthwise into very thin matchsticks and divide between 2 small dipping bowls. Add 2 tbsp. of the vinegar to each bowl and set sauce aside. 4. Chop the remaining scallion and put into a medium bowl. Thinly slice the remaining ginger crosswise and add to bowl with scallions. Add pork belly and mix well. Pass pork mixture through a meat grinder fitted with the fine-hole disk into a medium bowl. Add sugar, bean paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, and salt and pepper and mix well. Finely dice pork jelly from step 1 and, using chopsticks or a fork, gently but thoroughly stir into ground pork mixture. Cover and set filling aside in the refrigerator to let rest. 5. Put flour into a medium bowl, add 5 tbsp. warm water (115120), and stir with chopsticks or a fork until a dough begins to form. Press dough together into a rough ball, transfer to a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth, 810 minutes. Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to let rest for 30 minutes. Roll dough into a 6"-long rope on a lightly floured surface with your hands, cut into 16 equal pieces, roll into balls, and cover with plastic wrap to keep from drying out. 6. To form the dumplings (See Photo Gallery for step-by-step guide to making dumplings), lightly dust 1 of the dough balls with flour, then flatten it with your fingertips into a disk. Set disk on a lightly floured surface. Roll out edge of disk closest to you (avoiding center 1" of disk) with a small dowel with one hand while holding opposite edge of disk with the other hand, rotating disk as you roll out edge, until disk is about 3" in diameter; the outer edge of dough will be thin all around, and the center portion will be slightly thicker. Put 1 tbsp. of the filling on the thick center of dough. Pleat dough at 1/4" intervals to encase filling. Hold dumpling in one hand, put tip of index finger of your other hand in center of pleated dough, then gently twist pleats shut, removing index finger as you twist, to completely encase filling. Repeat rolling, filling, pleating, and twisting with remaining dough to make 16 filled dumplings in all. Put 8 dumplings into each steamer basket, adding them as they are formed; cover dumplings with remaining cabbage leaves to keep them from drying out as you work.

7. Remove and discard cabbage leaves from tops of dumplings (not the leaves lining the baskets), stack baskets, and put lid on top basket. Steam dumplings over a wok of boiling water over high heat until pork is cooked through and jelly has melted into soup, 810 minutes. 8. Take steamer baskets to the table and serve dumplings immediately, with dipping sauce on the side.