Steam Buns Recipes

CHINESE STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Mix together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup warm water. Allow to stand for 30 minutes.
• Mix in 1/2 cup warm water, flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vegetable oil. Knead until dough surface is smooth and elastic. Roll over in a greased bowl, and let stand until triple in size, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Punch down dough, and spread out on a floured board. Sprinkle baking powder evenly on surface, and knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 2 parts, and place the piece you are not working with in a covered bowl. Divide each half into 12 parts. Shape each part into a ball with smooth surface up. Put each ball on a wax paper square. Let stand covered until double, about 30 minutes.
• Bring water to a boil in wok, and reduce heat to medium; the water should still be boiling. Place steam-plate on a small wire rack in the middle of the wok. Transfer as many buns on wax paper as will comfortably fit onto steam-plate leaving 1 to 2 inches between the buns. At least 2 inches space should be left between steam-plate and the wok. Cover wok with lid. Steam buns over boiling water for 15 minutes.
• REMOVE LID BEFORE you turn off heat, or else water will drip back onto bun surface and produce yellowish "blisters" on bun surfaces. Continue steaming batches of buns until all are cooked.

STEAMED BAO BUNS

Steps:

• Mix together the flour, caster sugar and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl (see tip). Dissolve the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1 tbsp warm water, then add it to the flour with the milk, sunflower oil, rice vinegar and 200ml water. Mix into a dough, adding a little extra water if needed.
• Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10-15 mins, or until smooth. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 2 hrs, or until doubled in size.
• Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface and punch it down. Flatten the dough with your hands, then sprinkle over the baking powder and knead for 5 mins.
• Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape, about 3cm thick, then cut into pieces that are about 3cm wide - you should have 18. In the palm of your hand, roll each piece of dough into a ball and leave to rest for 2-3 mins.
• Use a rolling pin to roll out each ball, one by one, into an oval shape about 3-4mm thick. Rub the surface of the dough ovals with oil and brush a little oil over a chopstick. Place the oiled chopstick in the centre of each oval. Fold the dough over the chopstick, then slowly pull out the chopstick.
• Cut 18 squares of baking parchment and put a bun on each. Transfer to a baking tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove in a warm place for 1 hr 30 mins, or until doubled in size.
• Heat a large steamer over a medium-high heat. Steam the buns for 8 mins until puffed up (you'll need to do this in batches). Prise open each bun and fill with our barbecue pork and pickled carrot & mooli. Eat while they're still warm.

STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and salt in the water, and then mix in the yeast. Let it rest for about 15 mins, or till the surface is covered in frothy yeast.
• Add the oil to the mixture and stir it in to combine.
• In a large bowl, add the flour and make a hole in the center. Add the liquid to the hole and gradually incorporate the flour till you have a sticky mass.
• Oil your bench top with a little olive or vegetable oil, them knead the dough on the oiled surface until it forms into an elastic and smooth ball, which takes about 15 minutes. The dough should be elastic and slightly tacky but not so that it sticks to your hands.
• Roll out the dough into a tube that's about 5cm in diameter.
• Slice the tube into 16 loafs. Lay each of the loafs on its cylindrical edge, not the face, on top of a square of parchment paper, and leave for about 20-30mins to rise (or till the surface has become slightly puffy).
• Shape your buns - if at this time you wish to make filled buns, roll them into a circle, add the filling to the middle then pinch the sides together and give it a slight twist so it doesn't come undone as it steams. Leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
• Arrange the loafs in a steamer. They will expand quite a fair bit so try and leave about 3-5cm around each bun. Cover the steamer and steam over high heat for 15 minutes.
• Immediately remove from the steamer and place on a plate to cool enough so they can be handled.

PORK STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• For the filling:
• Put the rack of spareribs into a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in the hoisin sauce, close the bag and toss gently to coat. Put the bag into a bowl and marinate the ribs in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put the ribs into a sheet pan along with all the marinade. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, slide it into the oven and bake until the meat easily separates from the bone, about 2 hours. Baste them every 30 minutes during the cooking process. Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest.
• When cool enough to handle, pull the rib meat from the bones and coarsely chop. Then, in a large bowl, toss the pork together with the cabbage and scallions. If the mixture seems too dry, add in a bit more hoisin sauce.
• For the dough:
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl. After a few minutes, the yeast will begin to foam and bubble.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm milk, canola oil, and the activated yeast. Work the dough to produce a shaggy mass. Turn it out onto a floured board or countertop and knead until the dough becomes smooth, soft, and pliable, about 5 to 10 minutes. Put it into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise undisturbed for 40 minutes to 1 hour. The mass should double in volume.
• For the assembly:
• To form the buns, remove the dough from the bowl and roll it into 1 long rope. Cut the rope into 12 equal portions. Roll each piece and set them aside in a bowl. Using a rolling pin, flatten each ball into 4-inch circles, leaving the center slightly thicker then its edges. Put a heaping tablespoon of the filling into the center of each disk and pinch the tops closed to seal.
• Arrange the buns on a parchment lined sheet tray and cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Alternatively, place the buns into a large 3-level bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper, 4 buns per level. Allow the buns to rest for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, fill a bamboo or stainless steel steamer with water and bring it to a boil. Cut 12 (4-inch) rounds from some parchment paper. When ready to cook, place the buns on the parchment rounds and into the steamer.

STEAK BUNS WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Steps:

• For the meat and marinade: Combine the sambal, honey, curry powder, salt, black pepper, garlic and approximately two-thirds of the coconut milk (make sure you SHAKE WELL before opening the can) in a bowl and whisk together (reserve the remaining coconut milk for the peanut sauce). Submerge the flank steak in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• For the bun dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, yeast and salt and whisk to combine. Add the water and shortening and mix for 10 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl and let sit until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Cut eight 3-inch squares of parchment paper. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a flat oval, about 6 inches by 3 inches. Brush with sesame oil, fold in half and place on a parchment square. Set the buns in a bamboo steamer 1 inch apart, cover and allow the buns to proof in the steamer in a warm place (or just on the countertop), until doubled in size, 30 to 40 minutes.
• For the peanut sauce: Meanwhile, combine the reserved coconut milk, peanut butter, sambal, jalapeno and soy sauce and whisk until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water. Reserve at room temperature until serving. (If you make it ahead of time, refrigerate the sauce but take out in time for it to come to room temperature before serving, or it will be very thick.)
• Heat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
• Remove the meat from the marinade and brush off any excess. When the grill is very hot, grill the meat to desired doneness, 4 to 8 minutes on each side is good for medium rare, depending on thickness. Let rest for at least 10 minutes so the juices can settle.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Steam the buns over the boiling water until puffy and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Slice the meat thinly against the grain. Serve the buns right out of the steamer with the sliced meat, peanut sauce, pickles, extra sambal, cilantro and salt to taste.

CHINESE STEAMED BUNS WITH MEAT FILLING

Steps:

• Cook chopped pork in a wok over medium heat. After 3 minutes of cooking add chopped shrimp if desired. Cook until pork is no longer pink. Drain, season with salt and set aside to cool.
• Mix together green onions, ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, oil, sugar, and pepper. Stir in minced meat. Stir in water and mix thoroughly. Chill in freezer for 2 hours, or in refrigerator overnight to firm up and blend flavors.
• Prepare dough for Chinese Steamed Buns.
• Shape dough into balls. Roll each out into a circle, (like Won-Ton wrappers). Put 1 tablespoonful of prepared meat mixture in the center of each circle, and wrap dough around filling. Place seams down onto wax paper squares. Let stand until doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Bring water to a boil in wok, and reduce heat to medium; the water should still be boiling. Place steam-plate on a small wire rack in the middle of the wok. Transfer as many buns on wax paper as will comfortably fit onto steam-plate leaving 1 to 2 inches between the buns. At least 2 inches space should be left between steam-plate and the wok. Cover wok with lid. Steam buns over boiling water for 15 to 20 minutes.
• REMOVE LID BEFORE you turn off heat, or else water will drip back onto bun surface and produce yellowish "blisters" on bun surfaces. Continue steaming batches of buns until all are cooked.