Dumpling · Steamed

Guantangbao (Kaifeng Soup-Filled Buns)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

Food historians consider it the direct ancestor of Shanghai's famous xiaolongbao — traced back nearly a thousand years to Kaifeng.

A thin dough wrapper is filled with pork and a gelatinous broth that liquefies during steaming, pleated into a distinctive chrysanthemum-like swirl at the top.

Why it's made this way: The dish originated in Bianjing (old Kaifeng) during the Northern Song dynasty, later spreading south and evolving into xiaolongbao.