Sitting in our fridge the past few days is a packet of boneless pork shoulders. Boneless pork shoulders/country rib boneless is the cut of meat that we use instead of pork belly, which we haven't been able to find except in bacon, or sliced thinly for shabu in Asian supermarkets. Due to the higher fat content than loin meat, they are great for braising.
If we don't cook those meat today, they'll go into the freezer and we have been trying to avoid that so that we get to eat very fresh food as far as possible So we made braised pork today...without any plans to cook rice for dinner. On the spur of the moment, I thought maybe, let's see if I can learn to make steamed pork buns. This used to be one of my breakfast items in Singapore and a version made with char siu/sweet BBQ pork is one of Leon's favorite dim sum (small Cantonese style snack, amuse-bouche-like thingies) items.
Making bao, or bun, the traditional way takes effort, special ingredients, time and patience. Some quick research online led to a recipe that I could attempt using whatever we have in the larder. It has excellent instructions as well. Also, bao comes with different types of fillings, both savory - e.g. braised pork or char siu - and sweet - e.g. red bean/azuki paste, which Leon will make tomorrow and we'll steam another batch of bao.
Bao Filling: Braised Pork
Ingredients
2 pieces of boneless country ribs
1 cup of light soy sauce
3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons of sugar (if your dark soy sauce is kechap manis type, use less sugar e.g. 2tablespoons only)
1 clove of garlic, skin removed
1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Enough water to almost cover the pork in a pot.
Put all the ingredients into a slow cooker with enough water to almost cover the pork. Cook on high for 4 hours or until soft. Super easy right? Again, each family has its own secret braise meat recipe. Linda's recipe is dumbed down and not complex.
Bao Dough (Makes 12)
Ingredients
1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast (I used Red Star Brand, which is what Leon uses for baking bread. Remember to refrigerate after opening.)
0.5 cup warm water
0.25 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour (if you have bao flour, use bao flour. All purpose flour makes yellowish buns instead of nice white ones)
0.5 cup self-raising flour
3 teaspoons of unsalted melted butter
1. Add yeast, 2 tablespoons of warm water, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of all purpose flour into a small white bowl.
2. Mix well until there are no lumps.
3. Cover with damp kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place, i.e. normal room temperature, for 15 minutes.
4. 15 minutes later, the yeast should look frothy.
5. While the yeast is developing, take the time to cut 12 pieces of parchment paper 3inches by 3 inches.
6. Then in a large bowl, sift the remaining All Purpose flour (i.e. 1 cup minus 1 teaspoon you used in the yeast) and self-raising flour. I did this thrice (Leon says he usually does this thrice so I had to do it thrice *roll eyes*)
7. Add the rest of the sugar, the yeast mixture, rest of the warm water, and melted butter into this large bowl.
8. Use a wooden spoon/spatula to mix well into a soft sticky dough.
9. Get another large container and lightly oil it. Set aside. This will be used for setting aside the dough for it to rise.
10. Turn the soft dough mixture onto a lightly floured surface. Knead with your hands until elastic and no longer as sticky. This part is really icky because everything just sticks to your fingers and everywhere. Remember to remove your rings first before kneading. Keep dusting the dough and work surface with flour so you can get to the desired stage.
11. Place dough in the oiled container and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
12. Set it aside for an hour or so to let it rise.
13. This is fun - give the dough a punch to push out some air, and then turn it out onto a floured surface again.
14. Knead for a couple of minutes, and then divide the dough into 12 pieces. You could roll it out into a log then cut, or just use your eyes to estimate. I did a combination of the two.
Making Bao - putting it together
15. Make four hard-boiled egg and quarter them neatly. Using a string works best.
16. Get your steamer started before you begin stuffing the buns. These buns need to be steamed at high heat over rolling boiling water.
17. Roll each dough portion into a ball, pressed it flat and flatten into a small round disc, like pizza.
18. Pick it up into your hand and place an egg quarter and about a tablespoon of meat into the center.
19. Pinch the edges together to seal them, then place it sealed side down on a piece of those square parchment paper that you cut earlier.
20. Steam the buns on high heat at a rolling boil for 15 minutes.
21. Once they're out, best to serve them hot but if you must, cool them on a rack so that the bottoms of the buns won't get mushy.
22. Once fully cooled, you can put them into containers and into the fridge to be re-steamed the next day when you want to eat them. I think you probably need to steam for only 5 or 10 minutes the next time around but I won't know until tomorrow morning, when we steam them for breakfast!
If we don't cook those meat today, they'll go into the freezer and we have been trying to avoid that so that we get to eat very fresh food as far as possible So we made braised pork today...without any plans to cook rice for dinner. On the spur of the moment, I thought maybe, let's see if I can learn to make steamed pork buns. This used to be one of my breakfast items in Singapore and a version made with char siu/sweet BBQ pork is one of Leon's favorite dim sum (small Cantonese style snack, amuse-bouche-like thingies) items.
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| Cooked buns resting on an oven rack so that the bottoms won't get mushy. |
Bao Filling: Braised Pork
Ingredients
2 pieces of boneless country ribs
1 cup of light soy sauce
3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons of sugar (if your dark soy sauce is kechap manis type, use less sugar e.g. 2tablespoons only)
1 clove of garlic, skin removed
1 teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
Enough water to almost cover the pork in a pot.
Put all the ingredients into a slow cooker with enough water to almost cover the pork. Cook on high for 4 hours or until soft. Super easy right? Again, each family has its own secret braise meat recipe. Linda's recipe is dumbed down and not complex.
 |
| The slow cooker is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. Everything you throw inside seems to taste great after a few hours. |
Ingredients
1.5 teaspoons active dry yeast (I used Red Star Brand, which is what Leon uses for baking bread. Remember to refrigerate after opening.)
0.5 cup warm water
0.25 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour (if you have bao flour, use bao flour. All purpose flour makes yellowish buns instead of nice white ones)
0.5 cup self-raising flour
3 teaspoons of unsalted melted butter
1. Add yeast, 2 tablespoons of warm water, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of all purpose flour into a small white bowl.
2. Mix well until there are no lumps.
3. Cover with damp kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place, i.e. normal room temperature, for 15 minutes.
6. Then in a large bowl, sift the remaining All Purpose flour (i.e. 1 cup minus 1 teaspoon you used in the yeast) and self-raising flour. I did this thrice (Leon says he usually does this thrice so I had to do it thrice *roll eyes*)
7. Add the rest of the sugar, the yeast mixture, rest of the warm water, and melted butter into this large bowl.
8. Use a wooden spoon/spatula to mix well into a soft sticky dough.
9. Get another large container and lightly oil it. Set aside. This will be used for setting aside the dough for it to rise.
10. Turn the soft dough mixture onto a lightly floured surface. Knead with your hands until elastic and no longer as sticky. This part is really icky because everything just sticks to your fingers and everywhere. Remember to remove your rings first before kneading. Keep dusting the dough and work surface with flour so you can get to the desired stage.
11. Place dough in the oiled container and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
 |
| You can see from the line in my bowl how much it's risen! |
14. Knead for a couple of minutes, and then divide the dough into 12 pieces. You could roll it out into a log then cut, or just use your eyes to estimate. I did a combination of the two.
Making Bao - putting it together
15. Make four hard-boiled egg and quarter them neatly. Using a string works best.
16. Get your steamer started before you begin stuffing the buns. These buns need to be steamed at high heat over rolling boiling water.
17. Roll each dough portion into a ball, pressed it flat and flatten into a small round disc, like pizza.
18. Pick it up into your hand and place an egg quarter and about a tablespoon of meat into the center.
19. Pinch the edges together to seal them, then place it sealed side down on a piece of those square parchment paper that you cut earlier.
 |
| There's something morbid about buns queueing up to be cooked, isn't it? |
22. Once fully cooled, you can put them into containers and into the fridge to be re-steamed the next day when you want to eat them. I think you probably need to steam for only 5 or 10 minutes the next time around but I won't know until tomorrow morning, when we steam them for breakfast!
 |
| Parchment paper must be removed before eating! |
Yummy!!!
ReplyDeleteYummy!!!
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