Din Tai Fung has a few filling options: shrimp, pork, crab, chicken and squash. But the classic is pork, so we went with that. We mixed ground pork with spices and the broth before cooling it down into a jelly. Less than an hour later we were ready to start stuffing our dumplings.

The fillings for soup dumplings are typically made from seasoned pork, and the aspic or gelatin is made by cooking down broth and letting it cool and congeal. The dough must be kneaded to be extremely soft and smooth before it is rolled into a thin, flat circle.

The elegant pleated dumpling was made by adding aspic – or a jellified meat stock – to pork mince, so that once steamed the aspic would melt, thereby filling the inside of the dumpling with a flavoursome broth. The allure of the soup dumpling – then known as the Nanxiang da rou mantou – worked.

Refrigerate, uncovered, until completely set, about 1 hour. This can be made a day in advance; once set, cover and keep refrigerated. Prepare the scallion-ginger water: In a kettle or small saucepan, bring ¼ cup water to a boil.