Shanghai Pan-Fried Pork Buns (Shengjian Mantou, 上海生煎馒头)

Shanghai Pan-Fried Pork Buns, or shengjian bao (生煎包) / shengjian mantou (生煎馒头) in Chinese, are iconic. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, or snack, people love them as much as the celebrated four Shanghai breakfast warriors. The combination of umami filling dripping with juicy “soup” and the crunchy pan-fried bottoms are simply extraordinary. You really have to try it to know what I mean! Since she was old enough to eat solid food, Sarah has been obsessed with these juicy buns, perhaps more than soup dumplings. But here in the U.S., it can be very hard to find Shanghai-style pan-fried pork buns that taste comparable to what you can get on the streets of Shanghai. That is why I’ve made it my mission to get this recipe right!