Cooking

Bao Zi

My friends and I made steamed buns from scratch. It was quite a “whoa we actually made these?!” moments. Pleating is hard though.

Working from recipes from food52 and oandoeats.

Bao Zi (steamed pork buns)

unsteamed buns. some of us were better at pleating than others
  • Soak 1 packet dry yeast to 1 cup warm milk + 1 tbsp oil for 10 minutes. Slowly pour slurry into 3 cups AP flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tbsp sugar, mixing until dough starts to come together.
  • Knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 4-5 minutes. In a covered oiled bowl in a warm place, let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
  • For filling, combine 1 lb ground pork, 1 egg, 1 cup chopped cabbage, 3 scallions sliced, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1/2″ ginger minced, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp cornstarch.
  • Punch down dough. Cut off a ping-pong ball-sized piece, and roll out into 4-inch round with very thin edges.
  • Spoon ~1.5 tbsp filling in center. Fold up sides into a bun, pleating as you work around the edge. Repeat (dough should make 15-18 buns).
  • Ideally, let each proof for 30 minutes. In batches, steam on squares of parchment paper for 15 minutes, until expanded and fluffy. Or, to fry: place buns directly on a lightly oiled large flat pan. Pour around 1/4 cup water, and cover tightly. Steam for 12-15 minutes. Uncover, and let water boil off and the bottom surface brown.

Or, for vegetable (non-vegetarian) filling, combine 1.5 oz dried vermicelli reconstituted, 1.5 cups chopped cabbage, 4 oz fresh shiitake mushrooms chopped, 1/2 carrot grated, 4 scallions sliced, 1 egg, 1/2″ ginger minced, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp salt.