SMALL BREADS - BAKED PORK BUNS - BÁNH BAO NƯỚNG

Sauce Ingredients

2 teaspoons oyster sauce

¾ teaspoon dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons ketchup

1 ½ teaspoon sugar

Pinch of white pepper

3 tablespoons chicken broth

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Combine the sauce ingredients.  Reserve.

 

2 teaspoons peanut oil

1/3 cup onions, cut into ¼-inch dice

½ cup roast pork or purchased red barbecued pork/char siu

1 Baked Bun Dough recipe below 

1 small egg, beaten

2 tablespoons Scallion Oil 

Prepare Filling:  Heat wok for 30 seconds over high heat.  Add peanut oil and coat wok with spatula.  When a wisp of white smoke appears, add onions, lower heat to low, and cook, turning occasionally, until onions turn light brown, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add roast pork, raise heat, and stir-fry to combine the pork with the onions, about 1 minute.  Add Shao-Hsing wine and mix well. 

Lower heat, stir sauce mixture, and add to pork and onions.  Stir until well mixed and sauce thickens and bubbles.  Turn heat off.  Remove mixture from wok and transfer to a shallow dish.  Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 4 hours, uncovered, or overnight, covered.

Prepare Buns:  Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut 8 squares of waxed paper, 3 ½ inch on a side.

Remove dough from bowl, knead several times, then roll it out with your hands into a sausage shape 8 inches long.  Divide into 8 one-inch pieces.  Work with one piece at a time, keeping others under a damp cloth.

Roll each piece into a ball, then with your fingers, press to create a dome and a well.

Place 2 teaspoons of pork filling into well.  Hold bun in one hand and with the other turn the bun, pinching it closed.  Pressh firmly to seal.  Place completed bun, sealed side down, on a square of waxed paper.  Repeat until all buns are made.

Place all buns on a cookie sheet, at least 2 inches apart, to allow for expansion.  Put buns in a warm place for about 1 hour to permit them to rise.    Using an atomizer, spray each bun lightly with warm water.  With a pastry brush, brush each bun with beaten egg. 

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.  Halfway through the baking time reverse the tray in oven.  When buns are golden brown, remove them from the oven, and while still warm brush them with Scallion Oil.  (As the buns cool, the crust tends to slightly harden.  The brushing with Scallion Oil prevents hardening, as well as adding piquancy.)  Serve immediately. 

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  I prefer these not be frozen.  They will keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days.  When reheating, allow to come to room temperature, sprinkle lightly with water and heat in a 350F oven for 5 minutes.

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This Baked Bun Dough recipe is great for a variety of fillings and it bakes up beautifully. 

I have changed a few minor things from this recipe. 

(1)   I use active dry yeast, I would let the yeast foams up and use within 10 minutes.  

(2)   I have used King Arthur Bread Flour or regular unbleached flour and it works great.

(3)   I doubled the recipe to make 16 buns and used only one large egg.

(4)   Knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes and that would be plenty.

(5)   Cover the dough with plastic wrap.

(6)   This dough takes a few hours to rise and the chef/author said that it can be left overnight but I have only left it for 4 hours maximum so far.

1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast

5 tablespoons sugar

1/3 cup hot water

1 1/3 cups high-gluten flour (Pillsbury Best Bread flour, enriched, bromide preferred)

1 small egg, beaten

3 ¾ tablespoons peanut oil

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in hot water.  Set in a warm place for 30 to 60 minutes, depending upon the outside temperature.  (In winter the longer time will be required).

When yeast rises and a brownish foam forms on top, add flour, egg, and peanut oil, stirring continuously with your hand.  Begin kneading.  When the mass becomes cohesive, sprinkle a work surface with flour, place dough on it, and continue kneading.  Knead for about 15 minutes, picking up dough with a scraper and sprinkling the work surface with flour to prevent sticking.

When smooth and elastic, place dough in a large bowl.  Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and put it in a warm place to rise.  Dough will take from 2 to 4 hours to rise, depending upon temperature (it will take longer in cold weather).   

SCALLION OIL

3 bunches of scallions, washed, dried, ends cut off, each scallion cut into 4 pieces

3 cups of peanut oil

Heat wok over medium heat.  Add peanut oil, then add scallions.  When the scallions turn brown, the oil is done.  Strain the oil through a fine strainer into a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. 

Pour the scallion oil into a glass jar and refrigerate until needed.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Do not discard the scallions.  When strained out of oil, place them in a plastic container and refrigerate.  They keep indefinitely and are a fine addition to any soup you might make.

CHAR SIU – CHINESE BARBECUED PORK

2 ¼ pounds lean pork butt

1 ½ tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons light soy sauce

1 ½ tablespoons honey

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons blended whiskey

3 ½ tablespoons hoisin sauce

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

½ teaspoon five-spice powder

Cut pork into strips 1 inch thick and 7 inches long.  Using a small knife, pierce the meat repeatedly at 1/2 –inch intervals to help tenderize it.

Line a roasting pan with foil.  Place the strips of meat in a single layer at the bottom of the roasting pan.  Pour all the remaining ingredients, which have been mixed in a bowl, over the meat, and allow to marinate for 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to broil.  Place the roasting pan in the oven and roast for 30 to 50 minutes.  To test the meat, remove one strip of pork after 30 minutes and slice it to see if it is cooked through.  During the cooking period, meat should be basted 3 or 6 times and turned 4 times.  If the sauce dries add water to the pan.

When the meat is cooked, allow it to cool, then refrigerate it until ready for use.

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  Char Siu can be made ahead.  It can be refrigerated 4 or 5 days, and it can be frozen for 1 month.  Allow it to defrost before using. 

From The Dim Sum Dumplings Book by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo.