The making technique of soup dumplings (making technique of Huai'an crab roe soup dumplings) is an extension project of traditional skills in the fourth batch of representative projects of Huai'an municipal intangible cultural heritage. Historical evolution Speaking of the origin of Huai'an crab roe soup dumplings, we have to mention a legend: It is said that a crab spirit was banished to the mortal world by the Jade Emperor for molesting a fairy and lived in Xiaohu Lake in Chuzhou City (now Huai'an District, Huai'an City). He did not repent and continued to do evil, causing the clear water of Xiaohu Lake to turn black, and the rolling turbid water continued to rise, and there was an ocean everywhere. As a result, the people were displaced and complained. One day, the crab spirit turned into a white-haired old man and threatened the owner of Hexia Town, saying that in order to prevent the people from suffering, he must select three beautiful girls to be thrown into the lake every year on the Double Ninth Festival for him to enjoy. In order to keep the area safe, the town owner had to swallow his anger and agree. The people were all glaring and hated the crab spirit. From then on, every Double Ninth Festival was a sad day for the people of Hexia to sacrifice the girls. One year, during the sacrifice, a strong man named Wenlou stepped forward. He was tall and strong, and he used a 800-jin Qinglong sword in his hand to save three girls who were about to jump into the lake. Wenlou's feat angered the crab spirit. For a time, dark clouds rolled and heavy rain poured down. The crab spirit came with the wind and clamped Wenlou's thigh with its big claws. The bright red blood flowed. Wenlou and the crab spirit fought for 30 rounds, and then cut off the crab spirit's head with a knife. Although the crab spirit was eliminated, Wenlou also died heroically due to excessive bleeding. In order to commemorate this warrior, people built a pavilion in the ancient town of Hexia and named it "Wenlou". Although the evil crab spirit died, people still felt unsatisfied. So people pried open the hard shell of the crab spirit, dug out the crab roe and white meat, made meat stuffing, and wrapped it with high-quality white flour skin to eat. Crab roe soup dumplings were born. In fact, the crab roe soup dumplings were created by Chen Haixian, the owner of Wenlou Shop in the 22nd year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1817). Chen's descendants inherited the ancestral crab roe soup dumpling making skills, which have been passed down to this day. Basic content and characteristics Huai'an crab roe soup dumplings are made by boiling crab roe, crab meat, grass-fed chicken, pork hind leg lean meat, pork skin, shrimp roe, white pepper powder, green onion, ginger, fine salt, and precious spices. After cooling into a fat paste as filling, it is wrapped in water-seasoned dough and steamed at high temperature. To make crab roe soup dumplings, first, the filling is prepared; second, the dough is rolled out. Put a little baking soda on the top-grade white flour, add an appropriate amount of water, and knead it repeatedly. When the dough has gluten, rub it into strips, pick it into small pieces, and roll it into a round thin dough skin about five inches in size; third, wrap it, put the filling into the skin, hold it with the left hand, push and fold it with the right hand to make the filling tight, then remove the head of the piece, wrap it into a waist-shaped shape, and the mouth of the bun is chrysanthemum-shaped; fourth, steam it, steam the soup dumplings in a pot; fifth, take it out of the cage, grab it into a dish with your hand, spread the five fingers of your right hand, hold the soup dumplings around, hold the dish with your left hand, quickly grab the buns with your right hand, and then hold the soup dumplings with your left hand on the dish. The movements should be fast and coordinated to prevent burns, and hard practice is required. The soup dumplings taken out of the cage are poured with balsamic vinegar, coriander, and diced ginger, and eaten. They are delicious and unique in flavor. They are traditional top-grade famous snacks. There are three unique features in making and eating crab roe soup dumplings: first, the dough is as thin as paper and can be lit on fire; second, when the dumplings are out of the steamer, they are grabbed by hand and put into a plate, which is not something that ordinary people can do; third, the unique way of eating, the so-called "open the window first, drink the soup later, and then eat it all up", that is, open the dumpling, suck the soup, and then eat it all up with the skin and stuffing. The unique production technique of crab roe soup dumplings is delicious. It enriches and develops traditional cooking techniques and has a high value of protection and inheritance. (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)