Steamed Buns (Baozi/Pau) 包子

Supreme big Baozi/Pau, anyone? 大包？ 

Bread is the main staple food to Western Cuisine as in Baozi/Pau (steamed buns) is to Chinese cuisine.  Baozi is especially popular in the Chinese breakfast serving.  Baozi making shares similar process to bread making which requires  yeast dough, kneading and proofing with the only difference in its cooking method - steam instead of bake. Hence, baozi can also be regarded as stuffed steamed bread.

There are various types of baozi ranging from plain buns to stuffed baozi with various fillings. What filling can be used in baozi?  The classic fillings are meat (cha siu /BBQ pork/beef/chicken) or sweet fillings like red beans, lotus paste, kaya (coconut egg jam), peanut butter or even vegetables. I would say the list is too exhaustive to name and only imagination is the limit.

Having mastered the basic skill in Western bread making, I reckoned it was time to take up new challenges in learning up Chinese bread making J  I had two fun experience with my cooking members back in Auckland in making Shanghai pan fried baozi(上海生煎包). However, at that time I did not have the chance in making the yeast dough from scratch. The yeast dough was prepared and proof in advance and we were invited to go over to help in wrapping and pan fried.

Last Sunday, I decided to try out the steamed buns yeast dough recipe from Agnes Chang’s “Delightful Snacks and Dim Sum” cook book. With this yeast dough I had successfully made 4 big supreme big pao with shredded chicken breast, egg and yambean fillings and 6 small Kaya bao using my homemade kaya filling.    

Steamed Buns (Baozi/Pau) 包子

I was delighted that the texture of the steamed buns was very soft and springy. However, hubby commented that the taste of the meat fillings could have been improved with longer marinating time overnight in the fridge to further tenderize the chicken breast and the seasoning more thoroughly absorbed.   

Steamed Buns (Baozi/Pau) Basic Yeast Dough INGREDIENTS: A 500g pau flour,sifted   ½ tbsp instant yeast ½ tsp salt 100g sugar 3 tbsp shortening 240g water B 1 tbsp double action baking powder METHOD: 1.       Mix all the ingredients A together and knead into smooth and elastic dough. 2.       Cover with a piece of wet cloth and leave to prove until double its size.  3.       Sift B top of the dough and knead well to distribute the baking powder until the dough is smooth again. 4.       Cover and allow dough to rest for 15 minutes before shaping. Supreme Big Pau Fillings : A slice of chopped ginger 500g shredded chicken breast/pork 200g yambean sliced into small pieces   6 mushrooms (soaked and sliced) 6 Hard boiled eggs (shelled and cut into ½) Marinade for meat : （30 minutes） 2 tbsp oyster sauce 2 tbsp soya sauce 2 tbsp sugar 1 tsp chicken stock granules (optional) 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (optional) 1/2 tsp sesame oil ¼ tsp pepper, 1 tsp sugar 1 1/2 tsp corn flour   Filling: 1.       Heat oil in a pan and saute the ginger till fragrant. Add in marinated meat and mushrooms and stir fry till aromatic. 2.       Add in yambean (sengkuang) stir well and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Taste and dish up and leave to cool and chill in the fridge for 3 hours. Divide into 12 portions. Chicken/Kaya filing 3.       Divide dough 12 portions and shape balls. 4.       Flatten, roll into a round shape and add 1 tbsp of filling and pleat the top into a pau. 5.       Line pau with a piece of white paper and let it prove again for another 15 minutes. 6.       Steam pau with high heat for about 15 minutes or until the pau is cooked. 7.       Serve hot. 基本包子皮做法 材料： A)     500克包粉 （篩过），1/2 大匙速发酵母，1/2 小匙盐，100克细糖，3大匙白油， 240ml 水 B)      1大匙双倍发粉 包子皮做法: 1. 将所有材料(A) 混匀搓揉8-10分钟至光滑不黏手的面团。 2. 盖好发酵1小时或至两倍大。 3. 将发好的面团，加入(B)，再将面团揉至光滑，休息15分钟。 大包馅料： 一片切碎的生姜 500克鸡胸肉切丝/猪肉 200克沙葛切成丝 6香菇（泡软和切片） 6粒（去壳半切）煮鸡蛋 肉类腌料： 2汤匙蚝油 2汤匙酱油 2汤匙糖 1茶匙鸡精（可选） 1汤匙中国料酒（可选） 1 / 2茶匙麻油 ¼茶匙胡椒粉，1茶匙糖 1 1 / 2茶匙玉米粉馅料： 1。爆香姜。加入腌制肉类和蘑菇炒直到芳香。 2。加入沙葛丝搅匀，再煮5分钟至软。试味盛起。放入冰箱冷藏3小时。分成12份。 3。将包子面团分成12份和形状球。 4。将小面团压扁，杆圆，包入馅料，捏紧。 5。底部垫不沾纸，再次发酵15分钟。 6。排入蒸笼内中大火蒸15分钟至熟。 食后感: 这包子很有外面卖的那种软绵弹性的口感。然而，老公评论说，鸡胸肉馅料的肉可加以改善。应放入冰箱腌过夜，肉才更松软。