Eileen Yin Fei Los Steamed Pork Buns Recipes

EILEEN YIN-FEI LO'S STEAMED PORK BUNS

Steps:

• Making the filling: In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, oyster sauce, sugar, tapioca starch, ketchup, soy sauce, and white pepper; set aside.
• Heat a wok over high heat for 40 seconds and add oil. Coat wok with oil using a spatula. When a wisp of white smoke appears, add onion. Lower heat to medium, and cook until onion turns light brown, about 2 minutes. Raise heat to high, add pork, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add wine, and stir to combine.
• Stir the reserved stock mixture and add it to the wok. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and turns brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add sesame oil, and stir to combine. Transfer to a shallow dish. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate uncovered, for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
• Making the dough: On a clean work surface, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center, add milk gradually, and combine flour mixture with fingers. When milk is absorbed, add 3 tablespoons water, and work dough with fingers. Add lard, and continue to work dough with fingers. Using a dough scraper, gather dough in one hand and knead it with the other. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 12 to 15 minutes. (If dough is dry, add 1 teaspoon water at a time and continue to knead. If dough is wet, sprinkle a bit of flour on work surface and on hands and continue working it.) When dough is elastic (it will bounce back if you poke it lightly), cover with plastic wrap and let rest 1 hour.
• Prepare the buns: Cut sixteen 2 1/2-inch squares of parchment or waxed paper. Bring a pan of water to a boil. Roll dough into a cylinder 16 inches long. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Work with one piece at a time; cover those not being used with a piece of plastic wrap. Press down lightly on a ball of dough; then, with fingers, press a well into the center. Place 1 tablespoon filling into the well, and pleat the dough with fingers until filling is completely enclosed. Repeat for all 16.
• Place buns on parchment squares, and place in steamer at least 2 inches apart to permit expansion. Cover steamer. Place over boiling water, and steam until dough is fluffy and dry and filling is hot, 12 to 20 minutes. Remove buns from steamer, and repeat with remaining buns. Serve warm.

PORK STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• For the filling:
• Put the rack of spareribs into a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in the hoisin sauce, close the bag and toss gently to coat. Put the bag into a bowl and marinate the ribs in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up to overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Put the ribs into a sheet pan along with all the marinade. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, slide it into the oven and bake until the meat easily separates from the bone, about 2 hours. Baste them every 30 minutes during the cooking process. Remove the ribs from the oven and let them rest.
• When cool enough to handle, pull the rib meat from the bones and coarsely chop. Then, in a large bowl, toss the pork together with the cabbage and scallions. If the mixture seems too dry, add in a bit more hoisin sauce.
• For the dough:
• Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl. After a few minutes, the yeast will begin to foam and bubble.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the warm milk, canola oil, and the activated yeast. Work the dough to produce a shaggy mass. Turn it out onto a floured board or countertop and knead until the dough becomes smooth, soft, and pliable, about 5 to 10 minutes. Put it into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it over once to coat. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise undisturbed for 40 minutes to 1 hour. The mass should double in volume.
• For the assembly:
• To form the buns, remove the dough from the bowl and roll it into 1 long rope. Cut the rope into 12 equal portions. Roll each piece and set them aside in a bowl. Using a rolling pin, flatten each ball into 4-inch circles, leaving the center slightly thicker then its edges. Put a heaping tablespoon of the filling into the center of each disk and pinch the tops closed to seal.
• Arrange the buns on a parchment lined sheet tray and cover them with a clean kitchen towel. Alternatively, place the buns into a large 3-level bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper, 4 buns per level. Allow the buns to rest for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, fill a bamboo or stainless steel steamer with water and bring it to a boil. Cut 12 (4-inch) rounds from some parchment paper. When ready to cook, place the buns on the parchment rounds and into the steamer.

STEAMED PORK BUNS WITH HOISIN DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Special equipment: 1 (2 1/2 or 2 3/4-inch) biscuit cutter; steamer, steamer basket or bamboo steamer
• For the pork buns: Bring 2 cups water to a simmer in a pot that will fit a steamer basket or a bamboo steamer.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the pork, ginger and scallions. Set aside
• Working with 1 dough canister (10 biscuits) at a time, roll out the biscuits with a rolling pin until they are about 3 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Place 1 heaping tablespoon pork mixture in the center of 5 of the biscuits. Cover each with a remaining rolled-out biscuits. Gently press the biscuits together all the way around the filling and to the edges. Place a (2 1/2 or 2 3/4-inch) biscuit cutter on top so that it is centered on the bun. Press down on the cutter to form a clean, sealed edge and remove the excess dough from around the outside of the biscuit cutter. (If you do not have a biscuit cutter then just pinch together the edges of the buns with your fingers.) Place the sealed buns onto a sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
• Place the buns into the steamer basket. Depending on the size of your steamer, you may have to cook the buns in batches of 5. Place the steamer basket over the pot of simmering water, cover and steam, about 10 minutes. The buns will be puffed and the tops will look somewhat dry and shiny. Let cool 1 to 2 minutes.
• While the buns are steaming, make the hoisin dipping sauce: In a small bowl, stir together the hoisin, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons water and the vinegar. Serve with the buns.

STEAMED PORK BUNS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together salt and sugar. Rub salt mixture all over pork belly, cover, and refrigerate up to 10 hours.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Rinse brined pork to remove salt mixture and pat dry; transfer to a roasting pan. Roast pork until very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Increase temperature to 450 degrees. Continue roasting pork until fat is golden, about 20 minutes more. Let cool for 30 minutes before transferring to a refrigerator until cold, about 1 hour.
• Slice pork across the grain and return to baking dish with its juices. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 3 days.
• To serve, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking dish with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil; transfer to oven until warmed, 15 to 20 minutes. Brush hoisin sauce on the bottom half of each bun. Top with 2 to 3 slices of pork, cucumbers, and scallions. Serve immediately.

STEAMED PORK BUNS

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water water in a bowl. Add milk, followed by butter and sugar; mix to combine. Add flour and mix to form a dough.
• Knead dough until a uniform ball emerges. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground pork with garlic, ginger, paste, salt, and pepper in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard grease. Set aside.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Bring water to a boil. Do not allow boiling water to boil through steamer surface.
• While water comes to a boil, divide dough into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten into a thin, wide circle with your hands and fingers.
• Place 1 tablespoon of prepared filling in the center of each circle of dough. Pull the sides of the dough together around the filling, gently pinching the top of the dough together to make a flower blossom gather at the top.
• Place about 8 buns onto the steamer surface and cover with lid. Cook until buns rise and expand, and are spongy to the touch, about 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining buns. Watch the hot steam! Remove buns from steamer surface with tongs carefully to avoid ripping; allow to cool slightly before eating.