Hello hi everyone! This is a recipe for a Chinese steamed bun (AKA Baozi or Bao) that I tweaked mainly in an effort to reproduce the steamed buns at the restaurant Shan Dong here in Oakland (do they even make them anymore? I haven't had them in years). I DEFINITELY don't consider myself an expert baker, but It's also one that a lot of folks have been requesting, so thought I'd take my best shot at it. Hopefully it comes close!
yields 12
INGREDIENTS (filling)
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp ginger (about 1 inch)
1/2 medium onion
2 small carrots
1/2 lb ground meat (beef or pork, ideally)
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce (or 2 tbsp full sodium soy sauce)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp water
1/4 cup chicken stock
Sichuan pepper
kosher salt
vegetable oil
INGREDIENTS (dough)
300g AP flour
1 tsp yeast (instant or dry active)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1tbsp sesame oil
150g water
PREP (filling)
crush and mince the garlic, set aside
peel and mince the ginger, set aside
dice onions, set aside
peel and dice carrots, set aside
combine corn starch and water to a slurry, set aside
season ground meat with soy sauce, oyster sauce, kosher salt, and Sichuan pepper, and mix to combine
add corn starch slurry and chicken stock to ground meat, and mix to combine
PREP (dough)
COMBINE flour, yeast, sugar, and sesame oil
STREAM water into dough slowly, while constantly agitating until a shaggy dough forms
REST the dough under a damp cloth for 1-2 hours until roughly doubled in size
ON THE STOVE (filling)
HEAT 2 tbsp vegetable oil on a wok as hot as possible
ADD carrots, garlic, and ginger, and saute until fragrant
ADD onions and season with a pinch of kosher salt, saute 1-2 minutes until translucent
ASSEMBLY
ADD cooked vegetables to the ground meat, mix to combine, and set aside
ROLL out the dough into a log, and divide into twelve even pieces (cut in half, then in half again, then into three even pieces)
ROLL out each piece of dough into a coin shape, rotating 1/4 turn after each roll
FILL each bao with 2-3 tbsp of of filling, then pinch closed with folds
REST the finished bao an additional 30 minutes
ON THE STOVE (bao)
HEAT water in a large pot with a steamer basket lined with parchment paper until boiling
ADD baos to the basket, being careful not to overfill the basket (the baos should ideally not touch each other)
STEAM for 15 minutes, and serve immediately