Shortcut Plain Steamed Buns Recipes

SHORTCUT STEAMED BAO BUNS

Steps:

• Fill a 12-inch skillet with 1 inch of water. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat. Line a steamer basket or bamboo steamer with parchment paper. Poke four to six evenly spaced holes in paper. Press biscuits into 3-inch rounds; coat tops with cooking spray. Fold biscuits in half and place, 1 inch apart and away from edge, in prepared basket. Place basket in skillet. Steam, covered, 10 minutes or until puffed. Remove basket and transfer buns to a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine next five ingredients (through brown sugar). Stir in carrots and green onions.
• Carefully open buns and fill with chicken mixture. If desired, top with cilantro.

SIMPLE AND TASTY CHINESE STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over 1 cup of warm water in a large bowl. The water should be no more than 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam. Combine the flour, sugar, and baking soda in a small bowl. Stir half of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture until no dry spots remain. Stir in the remaining flour, a 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80 to 95 degrees F (27 to 35 degrees C)) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and form into rounds.
• Place a steamer insert into a saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the buns, recover, and steam for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

CHINESE STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Mix together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup warm water. Allow to stand for 30 minutes.
• Mix in 1/2 cup warm water, flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and vegetable oil. Knead until dough surface is smooth and elastic. Roll over in a greased bowl, and let stand until triple in size, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
• Punch down dough, and spread out on a floured board. Sprinkle baking powder evenly on surface, and knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 2 parts, and place the piece you are not working with in a covered bowl. Divide each half into 12 parts. Shape each part into a ball with smooth surface up. Put each ball on a wax paper square. Let stand covered until double, about 30 minutes.
• Bring water to a boil in wok, and reduce heat to medium; the water should still be boiling. Place steam-plate on a small wire rack in the middle of the wok. Transfer as many buns on wax paper as will comfortably fit onto steam-plate leaving 1 to 2 inches between the buns. At least 2 inches space should be left between steam-plate and the wok. Cover wok with lid. Steam buns over boiling water for 15 minutes.
• REMOVE LID BEFORE you turn off heat, or else water will drip back onto bun surface and produce yellowish "blisters" on bun surfaces. Continue steaming batches of buns until all are cooked.

PLAIN STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Sift together flower and baking powder.
• Stir in water.
• Knead 10 times and divide into 15 balls.
• Steam for 20 min until tender.

SHORTCUT PLAIN STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Fill the steamer pan halfway with water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Line the steamer tray with parchment paper, leaving a few holes uncovered for heat circulation.
• Unwrap the package of biscuit dough. Take 1 round of dough and use your fingers to stretch it gently until the center is about half of its original thickness. Fold the dough in half and place in the steamer tray. It will look like giant smiling lips. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds, spacing them a generous 1/2 inch apart and 1 inch away from the edge of the tray where condensation collects.
• Place the tray in the steamer, cover, and steam the buns for 10 minutes, or until they have nearly doubled in size and look dry. Turn off the heat and wait for the steam to subside before lifting the lid, and then lift it away from you carefully to avoid condensation dripping onto the buns. Remove the tray and use a metal spatula to transfer the buns to a wire rack. If the buns are left to cool completely, transfer them to a plate and cover with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. (The buns may be steamed up to 4 hours in advance of serving and kept at room temperature. To serve warm, reheat in the steamer or microwave oven.)
• Serve the buns warm or at room temperature. They are not served hot because the meats that they accompany are not served hot.

PLAIN BUNS

Steps:

• Dissolve 2 tablespoons yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup water.
• Let stand until yeast rises to the top.
• Sift the flour.
• Dissolve 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons salt in 4 cups lukewarm water.
• Add vinegar and oil.
• Add to flour.
• Add yeast mixture and mix well.
• Kneed dough until smooth.
• Let rise for 45 minutes in warm oven.
• Punch down and let rise for 30 minutes.
• Punch down and form buns.
• Let rise for 2 hours.
• Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes.
• **Buns may be stored in the freezer until ready to use**.

HOMEMADE STEAMED BUNS

Steps:

• Sift the flour. In a mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Mix well about 1 minute. Pour in olive oil and water. Mix well. Now clean your dry working surface and knead by hand about 10 minutes.
• Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. After that, punch the dough down and make 15 round lemon-sized balls.
• Now take out each ball and roll out with a rolling pin until you get a disk (2 1/2-inch diameter and 1/4-inch thick).
• To make the coconut filling, in a thick-bottomed pan, put coconut pani, cinnamon and sugar and bring to a boil (you need it to be around 100 C degrees so use a thermometer). Then add the pani mixture to the desiccated coconut and mix well. Let cool.
• Now place about 1 teaspoon of sweet coconut mixture in the middle of each disk. Roll into a ball. Next shape the dough into a oval shape. Using sharp scissors, snip the top of the dough to form prickles to shape it like a porcupine.
• Now put the porcupine on top of oil paper or baking paper. Place porcupine buns in a steamer and steam over a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes. When the porcupine buns are cooked, remove from the steamer and place on a dish
• After that, you can decorate the porcupine buns with eyes, a mouth and whiskers. I have done so in the photo using food coloring for the eyes and mouth and coconut husk for the whiskers.
• Serve warm.
• Enjoy.