Should we carry our own, or trust in our skill foraging in the wild? Just make some Pork buns and enjoy the ride!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Chinese, Dairy free, Sugar free recipe
Prep Time 2 hourshours
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Ingredients
Buns
2½cupsFlour
1cupCorn starch
¼cupCooking oil
1teaspoonSalt
1teaspoonFresh yeast
⅞cupWater
Filling Beginner - Ground pork
1green onion / scallionfinely sliced green and white
7ozCabbagediced ½" / 1cm or smaller
1"pieceGingerpeeled, grated
1lbGround pork
1teaspoonSalt
1tablespoonSoy sauce
1tablespoonSesame oil
Filling Advanced - Ground prepared pork
½cupCooking oil
1green onion / scallionfinely sliced green and white
1"pieceGingerpeeled, grated
7ozCabbagediced ½" / 1cm or smaller
1lbGround pork
1teaspoonSalt
1tablespoonSoy sauce
1tablespoonSesame oil
1pieceGingerpeeled, grated
Filling Overkill - Chinese BBQ pork
Make BBQ pork
¼cupHoisin sauce
3tablespoonsSoy sauce
1teaspoonChinese five spice powder
1tablespoon Cooking oil
2teaspoonRed food coloring
¼cupHoneyoptional for sweet dish
1lbPork shoulder
Make Filling
1tablespoonCooking oil
2piecesShallotfinely cut
½cupWater
1tablespoonSoy sauce
1tablespoonHoisin suaceoyster sauce
1tablespoonSesame oil
1tablespoonCorn starchoptional
Instructions
Buns
Knead flour, corn starch, cooking oil, salt, fresh yeast and water together. A stand mixer or any mixer with a kneading hook will be a great help here. We are after an elastic, a bit sticky dough. We use corn starch to mimic the low protein flour that are used to make pork buns. Feel free to replace the amount of flour and corn starch with cake flour.
Cover the dough and put it to a 68°F – 81°F /20°C – 27°C corner until it doubles in size for about 45 - 90 minutes. Meanwhile make the filling.
Filling Beginner - Ground pork
Mix all the ingredients together.
Filling Advanced - Prepared ground pork
In a skillet, heat oil to high then add the onion / scallion then sauté until glassy / translucent look, for 3 - 5 minutes.
Add cabbage. Sauté until the cabbage reduced in size, for about 5 - 10 minutes.
Add the meat, salt, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil.
Stir-fry until the meat is browned. Take it off heat and let it cool off.
Filling Overkill - BBQ pork
Make the marinade by mixing Hoisin sauce, Soy sauce, Chinese five spices powder, cooking oil, red food coloring and the optional honey or sweetener together.
Rub the pork shoulder with the marinade.
Roast the marinated pork shoulder in a 320°F / 160°C preheated oven for 90 - 120 minutes. Dab it with the remaining marinade in every 20 - 30 minutes.
Let it cool down before slicing it up.
In a skillet, heat oil to medium then fry the finely sliced shallot or onion until a glassy / translucent look, 3 - 5 minutes.
Add Soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, sesame oil and the BBQ pork slices.
Add some water and a bit of corn starch to thicken up the sauce.
Assembly
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and cut it into 4 equal pieces.
Gently make 4 rolls.
Cut each roll into 3 equal pieces.
Gently roll them into a ball.
On a floured surface roll one out to a 4" / 10cm disk shape.
Make the edges thinner than the rest of the disk.
Fill it up with about two tablespoons of filling.
Close it up by pinching 8 - 12 pleats around the edges. Check out the video
When all pleats are up and the bun is closed, twist the top around so it closes tightly. Cover them and let them rest and the yeast to work its wonders for 15 - 30 minutes. Get the steamer ready.
Pork buns are made in bamboo bun steamer but any steam will do, given that we put some purpose made parchment paper under the buns. Cut out a circle as big as the steamer. Fold it in half, quarter then eighth or even sixteenth if it is possible. Along the edges cut small triangles out.
Open it and place it onto the steamer. It's ready to roll off the buns.
With the lid on, steam the buns for about 10 - 15 minutes. Make sure the steaming water doesn't run low nor reaches the buns. The buns are ready when the dough bounces back when touched and skin formed.
Notes
Enjoy!Nutrition facts calculated for the Advanced Pork Buns