Steamed Buns

  • 24
  • Average
  • 90 mins
  • 45 mins
  • 90 mins
  • Average budget

Ingredients

  • Leavened dough:
  • 1) 3 cups unsifted all purpose flour (480g), 3 tsp baking powder;
  • 2) 1&1/3 cups+4 tsp lukewarm water (340g), 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp fast rising yeast, 1 tbsp all purpose flour;
  • 3) 1 tsp corn oil;
  • Filling:
  • 4) 275g extra lean ground pork;
  • 5) 8 small dried Chinese mushrooms;
  • 6) 300g baby bok choy, rinsed;
  • 7) 2 tsp cooking wine, 3 tbsp finely chopped green onion, 1 tsp freshly minced ginger, 3/4 tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Yummy House soy sauce, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1/4 tsp chicken broth mix, 1/6 tsp thirteen-scented-spice powder or ground white pepper, 1.5 tbsp sesame oil.
  • Yield: 24 steamed buns.

Preparation

Step 1

Soak dried Chinese mushrooms in warm water for 4 hours, rinse then cut into small pieces.

Step 2

Dough: Measure flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and combine well. Mix all ingredients of Ingredient 2 in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour the yeast water mixture into the flour bowl, and combine to form dough. Add 1 tsp corn oil, and knead for a minute until elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until it doubles in volume.

Step 3

Filling: Cook bok choy in boiling water for a minute, then rinse under cold water. Dice up bok choy. Combine all ingredients of Ingredient 4 to 7 in a bowl and stir in one direction for 3 minutes with a wooden spoon until the mixture is sticky. Cover with food wrap and place in the fridge while waiting for the dough to rise.

Step 4

Gently knead a few times then divide into 3 equal portions. Shape each into a 2-cm diameter log and cut into 8 discs. Press down each disc and roll out into an 8-10 cm wrapper. Place 1.5 tbsp filling in the middle of a wrapper. Fold up along the edge to form pleats and pinch together to form a bun. Repeat to finish the rest of dough and filling.

Step 5

Place buns on a steamer rack or baking pan that is lined with parchment paper. Let them stand inside an oven for 45-75 minutes until volume increases by 50%.

Step 6

Fill the steamer with 4 cups of cold water and place the buns on the top rack. Cover the lid and bring to a boil on high heat. Continue to steam buns for 12 minutes over high heat. Then steam for 2 minutes over medium heat and another 2 minutes over low heat. Remove the steamer from heat, wait for 2 minutes then open the lid. Place steamed buns on a serving plate.

Steamed buns can be stored in an airtight container in freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat in microwave before serving.