白菜肉包子Steamed Buns

【Steamed Buns】
by MaomaoMom

Steamed buns with ground pork and Chinese cabbage filling are my family’s favorite buns. I usually make a couple of dozens over the weekend and store them in a freezer. They can be taken out from freezer and thaw in fridge, and warm them in a microwave oven for breakfast.

Meal type: appetizer, breakfast, dinner
Prepare time: 1.5 hours
Cook time: 60 minutes
Stand time: 1.5 hours
Level: Medium
Serves: 32 servings

Ingredients:

Leavened dough:
1) 4 cups unsifted all purpose flour (640g), 3 tsp baking powder;
2) 1.75 cups lukewarm water (400-420g), 1 tsp sugar, 3 tsp fast rising yeast, 1 tbsp all purpose flour;
3) 1 tsp avocado oil oil;

Filling:
4) 450g extra lean ground pork;
5) 2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked;
6) 600g Chinese cabbage, washed;
7) 3 tbsp fresh finely chopped green onion, 1 tsp freshly minced ginger, 1.25 tsp salt, 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp Yummy House soy sauce, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1/4 tsp chicken broth mix, 1/6 tsp thirteen-scented-spice powder or ground white pepper, 1.5 tbsp sesame oil.

Yield: 32 steamed buns.

Directions:

1. Dough: Measure flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and combine well (Picture 1, right). Mix all ingredients of Ingredient 2) in a bowl and let stand for 10 minutes (Picture 1, left). Pour the yeast water mixture into the flour bowl, and combine to form dough. Add 1 tsp corn oil (Picture 2), and knead for a minute (Picture 3) until elastic. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place until it doubles in volume.

2: Filling: Soak dried shrimps in warm water ahead of time until soft, rinse then cut into small pieces (Picture 4). Cook Chinese cabbage in boiling water for 2 minutes (Picture 5), then rinse under cold water, dice up and remove excess water. Combine all ingredients of Ingredient 4) to 7) in a bowl (Picture 6) and stir in one direction for 3 minutes with a wooden spoon until the mixture is sticky (Picture 7). Cover with food wrap and place in the fridge while waiting for the dough to rise.
3. Gently knead a few times then divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a 2-cm diameter log and cut into 8 discs. Press down each disc and roll out into an 8-10 cm wrapper (Picture 8). Place 1.5 tbsp filling in the middle of a wrapper (Picture 9). Fold up along the edge to form pleats and pinch together to form a bun (Picture 10). Repeat to finish the rest of dough and filling.
Check the following video for how to make Bao Zi:

5: Place buns on a steamer rack or baking pan that is lined with parchment paper. Let them stand inside an oven for 45-75 minutes until volume increases by 50%.

6: Fill the steamer with 4 cups of cold water and place the buns on the top rack (Picture 11). Cover the lid and bring to a boil on high heat (Picture 12). Continue to steam buns for 12 minutes over high heat. Then steam for 2 minutes over medium heat and another 2 minutes over low heat. Remove the steamer from heat, wait for 2 minutes then open the lid. Place steamed buns on a serving plate. Yummy!!

Tips: Steamed buns can be stored in an airtight container in freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat in microwave before serving.

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