Baozi: including all tastes

Baozi is a type of steamed, fi lled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines. As there are many variations as to what the fi llings may be and the way it is prepared, it is typically fi lled with meat or vegetables. The name “baozi” was fi rst mentioned in the Song Dynasty, in reference to the food that the emperor awarded to his vassals in a historical book titled “Yan Yi Yi Mou Lu”, with the added explanation of it being “another name for mantou”, which is a type of cloud-like steamed bread or bun popular in Northern China. Thanks to the Grand Canal, baozi has been spread widely across China and presented in unique styles with each of them featuring their own local characteristics.

開(kāi)封灌湯包子吃法講究，輕輕提、滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)移、先“開(kāi)窗”（咬一小口）、一口吃、后喝湯、滿(mǎn)嘴香。

“包”容百味

包子一詞最早始于宋代都城汴梁（今開(kāi)封），《燕翼詒謀錄》載：“仁宗誕日，賜羣臣包子?！卑雍笞⒃唬骸凹答z頭別名”。饅頭之有餡者，北人謂之包子。早在千年前，包子已隨著大運(yùn)河的連通傳便大江南北，又融入當(dāng)?shù)氐娘嬍沉?xí)慣，風(fēng)味各有不同。

Guantangbao in Kaifeng

Kaifeng has a long history regarding its famous night market where a wide range of speciality food such as beef seasoned with soy sauce, Tangbao, fi ve-spice bread, steamed pies and dumplings are all on sale. ln the evening, Kaifeng's streets turn into restaurants while hundreds of vendors open their stands and begin selling food for people from nearby cities, as the atmosphere is both casual and very appealing. The primary night fairs in Kaifeng are near the Drum Tower, Xisi, Millennium City Park and so on.

Among all of their food specialities, Guantangbao, or the soup-fi lled bun, is a special one with a history that's thousands of years old. They are a large, soupfi lled type of steamed buns (baozi) that are famous in Chinese cuisine. All of these buns are made by wrapping a gelatinous fi lling in dough, which is then steamed in order to melt the fi lling into soup.

開(kāi)封灌湯包

少有人知曉，中國(guó)流傳千年的夜市發(fā)源于開(kāi)封，至今開(kāi)封夜市總體的數(shù)量和單體規(guī)模都堪稱(chēng)全國(guó)城市之最。人聲鼎沸，商家和游客云集的主要夜市有鼓樓、西司、學(xué)院門(mén)、清明上河園、小宋城等。醬牛肉、灌湯包子、杏仁茶、涮牛肚、炒涼粉、黃燜魚(yú)、五香羊蹄……整個(gè)鼓樓廣場(chǎng)的上空充盈著各種食物的香氣。當(dāng)然，最具風(fēng)味特色的當(dāng)屬“中州第一膳食”開(kāi)封灌湯小籠包，至今已有近千年的歷史。

開(kāi)封灌湯包皮餡分明，色白筋柔，灌湯流油，鮮香有味，比普通包子略小，“提起象燈籠，放下似菊花”的優(yōu)美形狀令人喜愛(ài)。吃法亦是奇特講究，輕輕提、慢慢移、先“開(kāi)窗”（咬一小口）、一口吃、后喝湯、滿(mǎn)嘴香。最具代表的要屬開(kāi)封“第一樓小籠灌湯包子”，據(jù)《東京夢(mèng)華錄》載，時(shí)名為“王樓山洞梅花包子”，號(hào)稱(chēng)“在京第一”。后經(jīng)歷代名廚師承和發(fā)展，演變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)在的“第一樓小籠灌湯包子”。

The traditional Tangbao in Kaifeng is a large bun, with its shape being similar to other baozi. Different from baozi, if you want to enjoy a Tangbao, fi rstly it should be bitten open to release the soup fi lling, which as the old saying goes, is called “opening the window”. Only after this can you eat the Tangbao, and drink the soup within.

ln the olden days, these Tangbao in Kaifeng gained fame for being “No. 1 in the world”. Now you are still able to try these old fashioned buns that inherited this famous “No.1 in the world” praise in Kaifeng.

Suzhou Xiaolongbao蘇州的小籠包口味偏甜，正是這股“甜”味，方顯其獨(dú)特的蘇州小籠味道。

Xiaolongbao in Suzhou

lt is a tradition for Suzhouers to refer to mantou as baozi. Thus, in their mouth, “small mantou” means small Baozi or Xiaolongbao.

Xiaolongbao is a type of Baozi from the Jiangnan region of China. lt is traditionally prepared in xiaolong, small bamboo steaming baskets, which gives them their name. The buns are served hot in these bamboo baskets in which they were steamed, usually on a bed of dried leaves or a paper mat. The buns are usually dipped in Zhenjiang vinegar with ginger slivers and are traditionally served with a clear soup on the side.

Xiaolongbao in Suzhou has quite a sweet taste, which makes it different from those in other places, and are traditionally fi lled with pork. One popular and common variant is pork with minced crab meat and roe. More modern innovations include other meats, seafood and vegetarian fi llings, as well as other possibilities including mashed taro.

蘇州小籠包

蘇州人喜歡將包子叫饅頭，肉饅頭、菜饅頭……同時(shí)他們更喜歡將蘇州小籠包叫小饅頭。蘇州的小籠包與別地不同，口味偏甜，但正是這股“甜”味，方顯其獨(dú)特的蘇州小籠味道。餡料多以鮮肉、原味、蟹黃、蟹肉、蝦仁等為主，一些時(shí)尚小資的小吃店則推出芋泥小籠，真心滿(mǎn)足你的味蕾。

Yangzhou Caibao鮮美的菜包與湯包一樣受揚(yáng)州人的喜愛(ài)。

Yangzhou Tangbao現(xiàn)在的揚(yáng)州人品嘗揚(yáng)州湯包多喜歡用吸管吸湯。

Tangbao in Yangzhou

lf you want to experience the typical Yangzhou-style way of life, you can wander in the morning to a teahouse to enjoy tangbao while drinking green tea, and then make use of the public baths in the evening. This would be a regular day for many Yangzhouers.

Tangbao from Yangzhou is often served in its own individual steaming basket since the large steamed bun contains a soup fi lling made with pork gelatin and sometimes crab roe. The soup inside is consumed through a straw, with the rest of the bun eaten afterwards. lt is often served with ginger slices and vinegar. Some foreigners even joke it's similar to “drinking hot cola packed with bread”.

揚(yáng)州湯包

走在揚(yáng)州大街上，總會(huì)看到“早上皮包水，晚上水包皮”幾個(gè)字，講的正是揚(yáng)州人早上到茶館里吃揚(yáng)州湯包，晚上到澡堂里泡澡的生活。清早，在依著古運(yùn)河或小湖畔的茶樓里，品著淡淡清香的綠茶，來(lái)一籠著名的揚(yáng)州湯包，美味、悠閑、愜意自在其中。揚(yáng)州湯包的最大特點(diǎn)就是用單只小籠或小碗分裝，自成一格。最有趣的是，有別于其他湯包“輕輕提、慢慢移、先開(kāi)窗、后喝湯”的品嘗習(xí)慣，現(xiàn)在人們吃揚(yáng)州湯包時(shí)多喜歡用吸管飲湯，老外更戲稱(chēng)這是“吸包在面皮里的熱可樂(lè)”。

揚(yáng)州湯包的外形和普通包子大體相仿，特點(diǎn)是皮薄湯濃、鮮而不膩、醇燙味美、余味悠長(zhǎng)。在眾多揚(yáng)州湯包中，尤以蟹黃湯包為最，餡料多選用活湖蟹、鮮豬腿肉和散養(yǎng)老母雞等上佳原料秘制。