All language subtitles for S01E02 - The Shanghai Soup Dumpling

[upbeat music]

* *

[Mario] Ah, to the
beating heart of Babbo.

[Emeril] Yes.

I'm in New York to meet up

with my good friend
Mario Batali.

- This is where it happens.
- Right here.

- Are you excited?
- I'm excited to be back.

This is great.

In a few hours, we'll be
heading to Shanghai, China,

to discover the secrets
behind the popular

Shanghai-style soup dumpling.

But first, the dish
that inspired the trip,

Batali's own dumplings.

This is calves' brains.

The ravioli that
my grandma always made.

[Emeril] Oh, my God.

You know, this is
my favorite dish, brother.

At my house,
you could get eight of them.

"Grandma, why can't we
have nine?"

"Because you get eight."

- That's it. Eight.
- That's it.

[Emeril]
Chef Mario Batali has been

one of my closest friends
for over 30 years.

We're brothers in arms.

We've battled in the kitchen

and feasted together
in the dining room.

He's a restaurateur, author,
James Beard Award winner,

and one of the country's
most celebrated chefs.

[Mario]
Now, do you guys do

calves' brains
in your restaurant?

[Emeril] No,
I come here for this dish.

- Ah, I love to hear that.
- Yep.

[Mario] So, of course,
with a good ravioli filling,

you want it to be
relatively smooth.

What these beautiful brains
give us is a liquid viscosity.

[Emeril]
I love that.

It's almost like
it completely melts.

So what we do to add
a little action to it is,

we take a little
caramelized onion.

Yep.

Quite a bit
of black pepper.

A good amount
of black pepper.

Pinch of salt,

the undisputed
king of cheeses,

and about 20% ricotta
compared to the brains.

- Okay.
- Right?

It's really more
about the balance

between the filling
and the wall of the ravioli.

[Emeril] Uh-huh.

The balance of the filling
and the wall of the ravioli.

Right, because
if it's too wet,

it will cause it
to break apart.

Right.

[Mario] In all honesty,
my favorite thing to eat,

as I know it is yours,
is anything anyone else makes.

That's right.
That's right.

And particularly
if it's anything

relating to a ravioli
or a dumpling.

- Right, exactly.
- I'm with you.

But, you know, every culture
sort of has a dumpling,

when you really think
about it, right?

[Mario] Absolutely.

- I would say of my favorites...
- Yes?

In the dumpling world,
I think of

even something
like an empanada...

- Yes.
- Or the pierogi.

- The pierogi.
- Right?

But one of my favorite things
to eat

is a Shanghai-style
soup dumpling...

Oh, yeah, man.

Like they have
here in Chinatown,

which I'm sure
are pretty good.

Right.

But I would say
that there's probably

no better place in the world

to taste a Shanghai-style
soup dumpling than Shanghai.

Right.

That's what I love about Mario.

He's always up
for an adventure.

Neither of us
have ever been to Shanghai.

So we're off
to taste the real thing.

It looks simple,
but it's deceiving.

The Shanghai-style
soup dumpling

is actually a masterpiece
of food engineering.

Imagine a perfectly seasoned
bite of pork.

Add some flavorful soup,

and package it all up
inside a paper-thin skin.

It's a perfect single bite
of food.

Oh, my God.

Look at how beautiful that is.

* *

- Okay.
- Right.

Cheers, baby.

* *

Mmm.
So rich.

- Velvety.
- Velvety.

And so simple.

Right, that's the key,
I think.

It's balance.

That's what it has to
come down to is the balance.

So we're going to Shanghai

to discover the brethren
of ravioli,

and it'll be very interesting

to see what the balance
of another dumpling might be.

I agree.

We're gonna be led by

our inevitable, magnificent,
well-practiced palates.

And let us be the judge.

Right,
and as I am that guy,

I've been doing
a little research,

and here is the Shanghai
Soup Dumpling Index.

So they have all of the details
of what they perceive to be

the very best dumplings
in all of Shanghai,

which is the Vatican
of dumplings.

Exactly.

It turns out,
two food critics

ranked every soup dumpling
in Shanghai.

They turned dumplings
into a science,

categorizing them
according to weight,

thickness of the wall,
and ratio of broth to meat.

All right, let's go to Shanghai
and eat a bunch of dumplings.

Cin cin, motherfucker.

Cin cin.
Shanghai.

- Let's go.
- You got it.

[Mario]
* Shanghai, here we come *

[ship horn blares]

[dramatic music]

* *

[Emeril] Shanghai, China.

One of the fastest-developing
cities in the world,

where 24 million people
live, work, and eat.

Here we are.

- Shanghai.
- Shanghai.

[Mario] Why have we
never been here?

[Emeril] That's
a good question.

It's a fascinating city.

[Mario] Mythical.

[Emeril] The food scene here
reflects old and new.

There's everything from
traditional foods

on the street carts

to modern cuisine
in fine dining restaurants.

Food culture.
Excitement. Passion.

Yes.
Dumplings.

Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo.

Whoo-hoo is right.

You know, there are hundreds

of soup dumpling joints
in Shanghai.

There's no way we're going
to be able to try them all,

so we're using
the Soup Dumpling Index

as a starting point.

So we're gonna evaluate
each one,

more significantly,
just on what we love,

what tastes good,
what we think is delicious.

That's right.

[Emeril] But when you think
about soup dumpling,

you think about the wall...

Compared to ravioli,
right. The wall.

- The filling.
- The filling.

- And the amount of soup.
- Correct.

[Emeril] So basically
the Soup Dumpling Index

is measuring the structure
of the dumpling,

not the flavor.

- So with that in mind...
- Yeah.

We'll go see the best,
the most popular...

[Mario] And then the original.
[Emeril] And then the original.

We're gonna watch them get made,
we're gonna eat a lot of them...

We're gonna eat
a lot of them.

And then we'll
compare our notes.

Maybe we'll start
our own index.

I love the
Lagasse-Batali Index.

Yeah. Maybe we'll make
some dumplings.

[Mario] Well,
let's eat 'em first.

[Emeril] Okay.

* *

Now, I'm not quite sure

where we are
on this regular map

because, in fact,
it's all in Chinese.

[Emeril] Fingers crossed,

we're on our way
to the first dumpling place.

[Mario] Now, this one, according
to our dumpling scorer,

- is the highest...
- Is the highest.

Right, the highest score,
right?

[Emeril] Right.
[Mario] This may be the one

that's technically
the most proficient,

and it'll be interesting
to see how that works

when we actually taste it.

* *

This is the one here?

Well, they don't put it
in English.

- I think this is the one.
- What do you think this says?

[Mario] I think it says,
"Welcome Emeril Lagasse."

[Emeril] And Mario Batali.
[Mario] Exactly.

[Emeril] For some dumplings.

[Mario] Let's see what we got.

Hello.
How are you?

[woman] How are you?

[speaking native language]

Um...

Let's see.

Xiaolongbao?

Okay,
xiaolongbao.

And...

And one.

With the chopped greens,
right?

That's veg...my friend's
a vegetarian.

[chuckles]

[Mario] Okay.

Now, when you talk
about the dumplings,

what we need to evaluate

is the thinness

of the actual wall,
the pasta.

The pasta's made
with rice flour,

uh, then the fillings.

Uh, the thinness and yet
its resilience to breaking.

The trick will be is,
it has to be thin,

but it has to hold
the soup well.

It can't tear.

All right, here's the...
here's the deal.

All right, let's get a picture
of that, Laga...hold on.

Give me a picture.
Look at me. Look at me.

[camera shutter clicks]

[dramatic music]

* *

Now looking carefully...

Yeah.

Do we see the broth?

Can I see...ooh, yeah,
look, look.

Yes.

See how you can see it
up against the wall?

Yes.

You take a little pinch
on the edge and sip it.

[slurps]

It's insanely hot.

Ooh, that broth is rich.

Little bit of sweetness,
though, right?

- Yeah, yeah.
- Are you shooting it?

I'm about to.
Ready?

It's pretty amazing.

Holy fucking shit.

Look at that.

We're gonna call that
the droop factor.

Super thin, right?

Mm-hmm.

When you have great pasta
in Italy, it's paper-thin.

And, I mean, in all honesty,
when you taste a great anything,

thinner, more delicate
means more refinement.

That's probably
where we're headed here.

* *

Mmm.

Look a little bit
like an old Chinese guy

when you ate that, Lagass.

[Emeril] This was very porky.
[Mario] Yes.

[Emeril] I like
the ratio of broth.

- Yes.
- I like the thickness of the...

Would I like more broth?

[both] Hmm.

I might like more broth.

More broth might be...

- I'm a broth-y guy, maybe.
- Okay.

[slurps]

Those are incredible.

Wow.

[Emeril] We have to meet
the chef behind these.

Here's the owner right there.

- Hello, ni hao.
- How are you?

- How are you?
- Hi, how are you?

[Mario] So how do you make
the skin so thin?

[speaking native language]

And it is the thinnest
in Shanghai?

Number one, fantastic,
fantastic.

So, can...
can we have a look?

Okay, all right, please.

[Emeril] Gu Dong Sheng
is a second-generation

dumpling master.

Inside that thin wall

is a special secret
pork filling

he created
almost 20 years ago.

He guards it with his life.

No, seriously.

Each day the filling is made
by only trusted family members

and delivered
to his three locations.

None of the employees here
know the recipe,

and he's not about
to share it with us,

but he will reveal how his
magic dumplings are assembled.

This I got to see for myself.

[Mario] Come on in, Lagass.

[Emeril] Okay,
so that's pretty thin.

The thinner the skin,

the more skill is required
to stretch the dough

without tearing it.

These expert dumpling makers

can assemble one
in just about five seconds...

- Every one is made to order.
- Holy moly.

Yeah.

[Emeril] ...churning out 16,000
of these dumplings a day.

- And there goes the filling.
- Where's the broth?

[Mario] Where's the broth?

[both] Ah.

- Ah.
- Ah.

[Emeril] The broth
is in the form of gelatin,

which is mixed in the meat

and melts when
the dumpling is steamed.

Steam is hotter
than boiling water,

so large steaming tables
keep the dumplings

to temperatures
above 212 degrees Fahrenheit

without rupturing the delicate
skin of the dumpling.

Look at his technique.

There's definitely an art
to this, for sure.

Did you say there's
an "aht" to this?

Yes.

[laughter]

Oh, you can't take
the Fall River out of the boy,

can you?

You're an...
oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

I could get a job here.

- That was fantastic.
- That was unbelievable.

All right, so that's technically
the best one there is.

Right.

Now we're going
to the people's favorite.

The people.

Jia Jia Tangbao.

"Jin Jin Ta Ba"?

- Okay.
- Gonna have to work on that.

We'll work on it.

* *

[ship horn blares]

[Mario] All right.

[Emeril] Yeah, I know,
I saw that.

I don't like monkeys.

So this next place that we're
going to is the most popular.

[Mario] Well, the most popular,
obviously,

means, probably, people
are willing to wait

a little time for it,
which feeds the fire.

In New Orleans, what are
people waiting for?

Hansen's snowball shop.

- Oh, really?
- Yes.

How come I've never been
to Hansen's snowball shop?

You haven't been to Hansen's?
They shave the ice.

You could have it flavored,
coconut, chocolate.

So people'll
wait in line for that?

Would you wait in line
for that?

[Emeril] I've waited in line
before.

[Mario] Why have I never even
heard of this place?

[Emeril] Okay, well,
I'm gonna take you there.

Here we are.

- Hey.
- Hi.

- Nice to meet you.
- How are you?

I know you before.

- Nice to see you.
- How are you?

Yeah, how are you?

This is
the most popular, yes?

Yeah, it's the most
popular in Shanghai.

Fantastic.

Can we order
classic soup dumpling?

- Yeah, yeah, classic dumpling.
- Beautiful.

- Have a seat. Please, please.
- Thank you.

[Mario] This is one
tight little setting.

[Emeril] Yeah.

Well, it's not nearly
as luxurious.

No.

[Mario] 24 seat.

[Emeril] Very tiny.

Ooh, wow.

Pre-used chopsticks.

They put them
in the dishwasher?

Do you think they have
a dishwasher?

I didn't even see a sink.

[laughter]

[Emeril] It may not
look like much,

but I've had
some of my best meals

at hole-in-the-wall spots,

and this little place
cranks out

12,000 soup dumplings
each day by hand.

So the index says that its skin
is a little thicker

and its size is
a little bit bigger.

That might explain
a lot of its popularity,

because at the end of the day,

the most popular thing is
the biggest, like value, right?

[Emeril] Yeah.

[Mario] I think what's really
gonna happen is,

the taste is gonna
tell us this all.

All right, here we go.

This is the first box.

The crab meat with pork.

- Fantastic.
- Crab meat?

[Zhou] Yeah,
crab meat with pork.

[Mario] Thank you.

[Zhou] You're welcome.

So hold on.

Now let's carefully
inspect this.

Oh, yeah, look at that.

Holy fucking shit,
that's hot.

Much hotter in temperature
than the first one.

Fold entirely different.

- Mm-hmm.
- Wall a little, uh, thicker.

Still nice in viscosity kind of
on the side there, right?

Try a sip, shall we?

[slurps]

- Mmm.
- Mmm.

- Nice broth.
- Mmm.

Different broth, right?

Does it look like my tongue
is burnt?

No, why?
Did you just burn it?

[laughter]

Not as gelatinous.

No, exactly,
not as rich in porky-ness.

Entirely different animal.

Less refined.

The wall of the dumpling
and also much less broth,

percentage-wise.

[Zhou] That's pure pork.

[Mario] Pure pork.

- Yeah, this is traditional one.
- All right.

- Thank you.
- You mind I sit with you?

Go ahead.

I'm the boss.

Fantastic.

I see...I see you eat this
xiaolongbao, and that is not...

- It's not the way it's done.
- Not the right way.

Yes.

- Bite a little bit.
- Right?

[Zhou] Bite a little bit.

No, no, no just
drink the soup.

- Oh.
- Because the soup is so hot.

Right.

[Zhou] And you can put the soup
on the spoon.

All right.
So bite from this side?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
bite a little.

Yeah, yeah.

All right, and then
leave the soup in it.

[Zhou] Yeah, a little soup
into the spoon.

Ah. Right.

Yeah.
Then drink the soup.

- Ah.
- Oh.

Much cooler.

It's fantastic.

That's definitely
the way to do it.

Wow.

- [Emeril] They're delicious.
-Thank you.

- Yeah.
- I can see why...

I can see why
they're the most popular.

They're delicious
and simple.

- Yeah.
- Fantastic.

Thank you.

- Thank you very much.
- Really nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.
- Thank you.

My problem is,
I like all dumplings.

Yeah, me too.

Here's to more
good food memories, my friend.

Oh, man.

[Mario] It's the best cold beer
out of a thin plastic cup

I've ever had in my life.

[energetic music]

* *

[Emeril] So, you know, I thought
that we can go shopping

and we can come up
with our own little dumpling.

[Mario] I think we should.

Right?

Are we setting up
a little friendly competition?

Yeah, well, you know.

Mario and I are
long-time travel buddies.

We've even taken
family vacations together.

So challenging each other
to cook-offs,

that's a pretty
regular activity.

Here we go.

* *

[Emeril] Wow.

[Mario] Fuckin' A,
we're in the right spot, baby.

Amazing.

* *

- [Mario] Clams.
- [Emeril] Mm-hmm.

Pig's feet.
Birds with feet and heads.

What do you make of this
blue chicken, Lagass?

This place is wild,
isn't it?

No shortage of freshness.

What do we got there?

Ooh, the live frog situation!

[frog croaks]

[Emeril] There's no way
not to be inspired here.

What are you
thinking about?

Well, we're making
a dumpling, right?

What are you thinking?

Personally, I'm thinking
a blend of some kind

of that porky goodness
in the back

and some kind of fishy something
in the front.

How about you?

I think I'm gonna go
with a mixture

of shrimp and pork...

Isn't that what I said
I was gonna do?

And...
and some of those greens.

All right, I'm gonna go
crazy different from that, then.

- You are?
- I am. Gonna go different.

- Okay, I'll see you in a bit.
- You got it.

* *

Hello.

Hello.

Mmm.
Yes. Perfect. Beautiful.

[Emeril] Mario
is the ravioli master,

so I got to bring my A-game.

Spicy?

So I'm thinking outside
the box, doing a version

of my shrimp consommé
with dumplings.

Hey, Batali,
how you doing over there?

Kicking your ass.

Oh.
[chuckles]

One piece.

Yes.

[Mario] Xiexie.

Good.

[Mario] That is my blood board
right there, baby.

Oh, fantastic.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'm done.

Hey, you need any money?

Well, I just broke my bank
down at the eel shop.

[Emeril]
You need a bigger bank?

[Mario] No, no, I'm good.

You didn't get a lot
of groceries, my bro.

* *

[Emeril] I'm ready to rock,

and we found an historic host
for our cook-off,

Guyi Garden Restaurant.

According to the index,
it's the home

of the original
soup dumpling.

[children giggle]

We'll finish our quest
for Shanghai's best

with a final tasting,

and then it's on
to the showdown.

[Mario] What do you make
of this, Lagass?

[Emeril] This is old-school
here, buddy.

[Mario] Shanghai is kind of
the new thing arisen from this.

But this is the OG.

Well, here we are, baby.

Yep.

Old school,
original gangsta.

Old school,
here we come.

[Mario]
The dumpling inventors.

* *

Ni hao, ni hao,
ni hao, ni hao.

- An honor to meet you.
- Hey, how are you?

Nice to meet you.

The owner, Chef Li Giangang,

is a sixth-generation
dumpling maker.

Thank you.

And he continues to preserve
his family's history

within his famous
soup dumpling.

This looks
like the right place.

- Yes.
- It's kind of crowded.

[Emeril] Before we cook,
we get to eat.

So what, uh, what dumplings
you think we should have?

[speaking native language]

How old is that recipe?

[Mario] And it has not changed?

Wow.

[Emeril] Biting into this
dumpling is tasting history.

The dumpling I'm eating today
tastes the same

as the one created
in 1870.

How many cooks
work in one day?

[Mario] Twenty cooks?

How many dumplings
do they make a day?

Wow.

[Mario] Wow.

[female translator
speaking native language]

[translator]
And there's 18 pleats.

[Mario] Eighteen pleats.
[Emeril] Eighteen.

The classic original dumpling
has a pork meatball filling

and a rich broth.

Fourteen freshly-steamed,
hand-rolled dumplings

arrive piping hot
in a bamboo basket

accompanied
by aromatic rice vinegar.

Ah.

[Mario] Ready?

I'm ready, brother.

After you, bud.

For the pork broth,

do you use bones
of pork and chicken?

[Mario] Wow.

Can't I teach you anything?

Lagass.
Dip, spoon.

Oh, no, I had a different
strategy here for a second.

You were tearing,
weren't you?

Yep.

Mmm.

Mmm.

Wow.

Mmm, that's fucking good.

[Emeril] You ready?

[Mario] I'm ready.

Okay, that's a good amount
of broth.

[Emeril] Nice amount of broth.
Look at that.

For me,
broth is everything.

That's where
all the flavor is.

And this broth
is off the charts.

And these may be
my favorites.

[Emeril] Fantastic.
My colleague and I,

chef, chef, chef,

we've been going around Shanghai
tasting soup dumplings.

There's a lot of modern places
that have been inspired by you

for so many generations,

but Mario and I think

that the original
is still the best.

We're old-school.
Excellent.

Number one.

[gong resounds]

[Emeril] Now it's time
for us to cook,

and we have
a dumpling master

to show us how it's done.

[speaks native language]

[chuckles]

I believe this side
is yours, Chef Lagasse.

Yeah, let me be on
this end here.

- Hello. [laughs]
- Hello.

[Mario] Are you ready to cook?
[Emeril] I am, you?

This is a friendly
little competition.

- Right?
- Yes, it is.

[Mario] So what are you doing?
Tell me what you've got.

Okay, so look.
Shrimp, pork.

I'm gonna add
a little egg white here.

I'm chopping mushrooms,
Lagasse.

Notice I'm not adding
an egg white.

Yes.
I have one if you'd like.

I don't need one.
I think that's a mistake.

You'll see.

Molto Mario is molto cocky.

But I've got a few tricks
up my sleeve.

Instead of putting the soup
inside the dumpling,

I'm putting the dumpling
inside the soup,

and not just any soup.

I'm making
my famous shrimp consommé.

Take that, Batali.

I'm ready to start
rolling dumplings.

- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
- Oh, no, no, no, no.

I believe, in Chinese,
she just said,

"You silly monkey,
what are you doing?"

[Emeril] This takes
a lot of practice.

One every five seconds.
Yeah, well...[scoffs]

[laughs]

Good, right?

Okay, that was my first one.
First one.

- First one, first one.
- We're both wrong, Batali.

- Like...oh, pull.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Ah, pull.

[Emeril] You got to
pull it, Batali.

I've heard you say that
before, Lagass.

[Emeril] Yeah.

[translator] Oh, she says
you look very cool.

She likes your ponytail.

- I think you're cute too.
- [laughs]

[Emeril] Batali always loves
to be the center of attention.

- Very good.
- Thank you.

- [laughs]
- Practice, practice, practice.

[Emeril] But slow and steady
wins the race.

All right, my tray's done.
What are you doing, Lagass?

I'm getting private lessons
here, Batali.

Ready?

Beautiful.
I'm gonna go steam mine.

Okay, I'm coming
right behind you.

We're steaming.
After you, baby.

- Come on. Let's go.
- Let's go. [laughs]

Oh, eat your heart out,
Batali.

I'm working on my broth
in the kitchen,

adding a Creole spin.

It's like pork feet,
shrimp shells, and herbs.

Oh, yeah.

[Mario] You're putting all this
stuff on the outside?

[Emeril] You like that?

Mine are done, you see?

And I don't want 'em
to get cold.

[Mario] You don't?

'Cause these
are hard as a rock.

Yeah. Are they?

Yeah, they are.

It always happens;

our friendly cook-offs
get too competitive.

[Emeril] Either way,
I think the judges

should give me bonus points
for my creativity.

After you.

[Mario] All right.

[Mario] Try these.
These are better.

[all speaking
in native language]

[Mario] Well,
I went to the store.

I liked seeing
all of the herbs,

and I went for the eels

just because they were alive,
and for me,

the best thing about eating
Chinese food in China

is that almost everything is
alive right before you cook it,

which gives it a certain flavor
that you can't match

when you go
to the grocery store.

[translator]
She really likes that one.

[all speaking native language,
laughter]

Oh, she says, yeah,

it's a little
under-seasoned, yours.

And then this one is...

[Mario] They're being polite.

It's radically under-seasoned.

So my inspiration
for my dumpling

was basically pork,
which seemed to be

in every dumpling that we had.

I wanted to use shrimp
because I use a lot of shrimp

at home in New Orleans,

and I wanted to have the broth
elevated

instead of trying to put it
inside the dumpling,

to serve it outside
more like a soup.

It could use
a little refining and...

He appeals to the jury.

- Oh, thank you.
- Great broth, chef.

She says it's...
it's very, very good.

Your insipid little dumpling
soaking in your very salty broth

come out to be
a perfect balance.

[laughter]

[Emeril] I told you
we're competitive.

Maybe they weren't perfect,

but we got to serve
our dumplings

to these great chefs,

and this is how chefs
make friends,

by eating great food

and sharing these moments
together.

All right, all right.

* *

[dramatic music]

[Mario] Wow.

[Emeril]
What a fascinating city.

[Mario] Fantastic.

We came, we ate, we studied.

And I must say, I may not bring
home a soup dumpling recipe,

but I may modify my ravioli
a bit.

- Wouldn't you say?
- Yes, no question about it.

[Emeril] What an
incredible experience.

I got so much
out of being here.

- Shanghai, baby.
- Shanghai, baby.

And, hey, you never know,
one day, you might find

a Creole dumpling
on one of my menus.

Pick up the pace, Lagasse.

[chuckles]