Best Steam Buns Recipes

SALAPOW, STEAM BUNS, DIA BAO, OR DIM SUM

Steps:

• Mix filling ingredients in a large bowl.
• Transfer to covered container and refrigerate while making the buns.
• Cut wax paper into 24 - 3" squares.
• Put bottom of water filled steamer over high heat and cover.
• Put 2 packages of mix in bowl and add sugar.
• Mix,.
• Add flour and oil, and mix with hands in bowl, adding any additional flour as needed to keep from being too sticky.
• Knead in bowl 10 minutes.
• Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
• Knead again for 5 minutes.
• Pinch off golf ball sized pieces of dough, and flatten into 4" rounds.
• Put generous spoonful of filling in center and pinch to close.
• Place on wax paper squares and put in steamer trays.
• Put trays on top of steamer bottom, adjust heat, cover, and steam for 15-20 minutes.
• Serve in individual steamer baskets (if you are so fortunate to have them) or on platter.

STEAM BUNS

Steps:

• Prep time does not include rising times.
• In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in milk. Stir in eggs, oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat 2 minutes. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Knead 10-12 minutes with a dough hook or by hand. Place in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease the surface. Cover, let rise until doubled.
• Punch down. Cover, let rest 10 minutes. Divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a bun. Place on a greased cookie sheet, cover and let rise 15 - 20 minutes.
• In large non-stick electric skillet or frying pan, with lid add 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon shortening and dash of salt. Bring ingredients to a boil on high setting. Place four buns in boiling mixture, cover with lid and reduce heat to 250 degrees.
• Cook for 10-15 minutes without removing the lid. Listen and you will hear them frying. At this point, most of water should be evaporated. Remove lid and increase temperature to 375 degrees. Brown both sides of buns in skillet.
• Cook other four buns the same way. Serve warm.

STEAM BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and salt in the water, and then mix in the yeast. Let it rest for a while and it should smell active.
• Add the oil to the mixture.
• In a large bowl, add the flour and scoup out a hole in the centre. Add the liquids to the hole and gradually incorporate the flour.
• Knead the dough until it forms into an elastic and smooth ball, which takes about 15 minutes. The dough should not stick to your hands, and be quite stretchy.
• 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.
• Wait 20 minutes for the loaves to rise. They won't rise much, but you just want the surface of the loaves to be puffy.
• Arrange the loafs in one or more bamboo steamers. They will expand more on their faces, so don't put loafs face-to-face, or they will stick together.
• Place the bamboo steamers on top of hot boiling water. Cover, and steam over high heat for 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid and remove the loaves to a plate, before turning off the heat. You do not want water to condense on the buns.

STEAM-FRIED BAO BUNS (SHENG JIAN BAO)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and 1/ 4 tsp salt with 180ml lukewarm water. Knead the mixture for 10 mins or until elastic. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place to prove until it has doubled in size, about 1 1/ 2 hrs.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix the seasoning ingredients and 1/ 4 tsp salt. In a separate small bowl, mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp cold water and set aside.
• In a wok over a medium heat, fry the ginger with 1 tbsp rapeseed oil for 30 secs. Add the mushrooms and the seasoning mixture and stir-fry for 1 min. Pour the cornflour paste into the wok and stir-fry for 1 min more, or until the sauce thickens.
• Add the Chinese cabbage and fry briefly, then remove the wok from the heat. Add the noodles, tofu, spring onions, sweetcorn and sesame oil. Gently fold everything together so that the filling is evenly mixed, then leave to cool.
• Punch the air out of the dough and divide into 20 small balls about the size of a golf ball, each weighing roughly 25g. Put them in a roasting tin and re-cover with the tea towel. Leave in a warm place to prove for a further 20 mins.
• Flatten the dough balls with your hands. Use the tip of a rolling pin to roll around the edge of the dough ball a few times to flatten it, then gently work around the edges using your fingertips. The aim is to achieve a round sheet of dough with a thicker bump in the middle on which you can place the filling. Repeat until all of the balls have been rolled. Cover them again with the damp tea towel as you go so they don't dry out.
• Taking a dough sheet in the palm of your hand, put 2 tsp of the filling in the middle. Cup your palm so the filling remains in the middle, then gently gather up the edges into the middle and twist to seal. Continue until all the buns are filled. Put them back in the roasting tin and re-cover with the tea towel again
• Add 1 tbsp rapeseed oil to a frying pan over a medium heat. Arrange half the buns in the pan, leaving 1/ 2 cm between them so they have enough room to rise during cooking. Fry for 1-2 mins, sprinkling with a little water, then pour 100ml water into the pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
• Cook for 2-3 mins until all the water has evaporated and the buns have doubled in size. They should become very white and the bottom should be crispy and golden brown. Repeat the process with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and the rest of the buns. Mix the sriracha and oyster sauce together in a small dish and serve with the buns.