Here are my steamed buns...

16 years ago

OK, I didn't have time to go to the grocery store this morning. I read the recipe and realized it would take hours before the buns even ready for steaming so I started nice and early.

The dough was not difficult to work with, just took forever to rise. Original recipe rose for 4 hours but I used instant dry yeast so only did 2.5 hours. Shaped dough, fill the already cooked and seasoned ground pork etc, then rose a second time - for only 30 minutes.

Steaming was the challenging part. I decided to go ahead to use the veggie steamer. Lined the buns with wax paper and steamed away, for 15 minutes. The steamer was not very big so managed to steam 5 buns at a time.

Right before the buns were done, I removed the top section of the steamer from the base while steamer was still on to prevent the buns from collapsing, quickly flipped the lid sideways to prevent any water from dripping onto the buns. By doing so, the buns did not collapse nor they were dimpled. They were still a bit yellowish because I used unbleached flour instead of AP flour. Overall, I was happy with the results.

Little man and hubby were very hungry by the time the buns were ready to come out at 1:30 p.m. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough so the pictures were taken while the last of the 3 batches was steaming. The buns were a bit flatter than the first 2 batches; over-proofed I guess. But taste was still good.

Steamer in action:

The last five buns standing:

Home ground pork fillings, BBQ & oyster flavor:

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (12)

caliloo
16 years ago
COngrats! :Looks like a great success :-)

Alexa
triciae
16 years ago
Al, those look really good! I saw your thread regarding improvising a steamer but I've missed the recipe. Would you mind posting again? DH would love those buns! :) Thanks.

/tricia
Related Discussions
Anyone here use a steam mop?
Q
Comments (63)
Hey, I finally pulled my Haan steam mop out of the box and took it for a trial run. It's pretty good. It did a good job of cleaning the bathroom floor and I tried it on the wood floors, too. I was surprised that there is no way to adjust the amount of steam for different types of floors. I'd rather have less for wood and more for tile. It also doesn't get down into the grout, dammit. You do have to vacuum or sweep the floor thoroughly first, of course. I think it will be handy and sure beats lugging the sponge mop and bucket around. I am please that it is so light.
...See More
Asian Steamed Buns Recipe As Promised!
Q
Comments (13)
Kathleen, those bamboo steamers have became popular in these past years. You can get them just about anywhere, ie: Target, Amazon.com, Bed Bath & Beyond, Cooking.com, etc.. I prefer the bamboo steamers over to those of aluminum/stainless steel. The bamboo steamers leave the steamed food dry and not soaking wet as the aluminum/stainless do. At another time, I will post how to do Coconut Sweet Rice using this same type of bamboo steamers. Airlinek, the BBQ filling steam buns are of Chinese style. We, Vietnamese, do not make them. I do like them though =) I do have a recipe in one of my Chinese cooking book collection. Let me find it and scan it for you. Please do me a favor. Go to my homepage and send me an e-mail so I can e-mail the scanned document back to you. On the subject line, please put Gardenweb or Cooking Forum so I don't delete it by mistake. Thanks. Dixie, chinese sausage are both sweet and savory and not salty as Italian or other western sausages are. They're mainly made of pork. Almost any Asian supermarkets carry them. Occasionally, you may find made of half chicken and half pork. For this recipe, this is a "must" ingredient. Here are some photos that I took. They've been frozen so the colors do not appear as red as they should.
...See More
Momofuku Pork Buns Recipe - with pics
Q
Comments (15)
Just so everyone knows. Almost Bourdain IS NOT my blog!! :-)) I am not really sure how the pork gets red but in the Asian Market where I shop for ingredients they have a package of seasoning for BBQ pork - the photo on the envelope shows red pork. I just use the Char Siu seasoning and it does not turn the pork red. One of these days (when I hit the lotto) I am going to pay someone to go Asian grocery shopping with me and translate those labels. A gal can dream, no? I found the steamed buns in the frozen section of Asian Market but the ones you make your self taste better - I used my bread machine to make the dough and then took it out to form the steamed buns. Cheers, DL
...See More
Look at My Buns!!!!
Q
Comments (24)
Oh Granlan, I remember with such fondness when my mother would be baking dinner rolls for the holidays. Start them the day before, about 3 or 4 PM as I recall and about 11 PM they'd be formed and rising. Then she'd be up about 3AM baking them. What a heavenly smell by which to be awakened! I'd often get up and keep her company (yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) while she'd be baking them and doing all the other things while everyone else was sleeping. I'd grab the jar of peanut butter and attack the hot rolls from the oven. The melted peanut butter dripping on me and it was just plain wonderful. Fresh bread is such a treat! Sadly her health diminished and I never really learned her recipe. I know it was given to her by one of my aunts. But I still think of those times and our talks in the mornings, her head bobbing, dozing off a bit from exhaustion. What she did for us was never truly appreciated by the rest of the family. A very special person and great memories. All from bread??? LOL I've made some a few times from different recipes, never quite capturing the same taste but memory could be different. But it's still good stuff. I think I should try making something today. If it weren't so warm and humid...
...See More
althetrainer
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you, Alexa!

Tricia, I got the recipe from a different forum. Click on the link below and you will see it. I did modify the recipe a bit. You can use just about any fillings for these buns. They are delicious!

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Gothicgirl's Char Siu Bao recipe
triciae
16 years ago
Thanks, Al. I have no idea if my store has Char Sui sauce, or not. Maybe, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. We're going to WW later this week...I'll look.

/tricia
althetrainer
Original Author
16 years ago
Tricia, you could use oyster sauce or Hoisen sauce. Even just soy sauce thickened with a bit of cornstarch will do. Next time I will try to make my own Char Siu (Chinese BBQ pork) for fillings. Traditional Char Siu Bao uses chunks of Char Siu instead of ground pork. Have fun!

Al
jimster
16 years ago
It's great to hear (and see) that your Char Siu Bao worked out so well. Good thinking on your part. For our part, we did our best to cheer you on. :-)

Do I understand correctly that the baskets you are attempting to get will fit on top of the vegetable steamer? That would be a neat arrangement.

Jim
lindac
16 years ago
My buns are getting steamy just looking at the pictures!
althetrainer
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Jim! The buns did turn out better than expected.

I've decide, instead of getting another steamer I will get a wok. We already have a bamboo steamer but it's bigger than all the pots and pans that we have. My initial thought was to buy a smaller bamboo steamer. But now I see a smaller size bamboo steamer is no difference than the veggie steamer that we have. In that case, it's still impossible to steam more than 5 buns at a time. To solve this problem, we need a big wok.

We never have a wok because we don't have space for it. Now I want one for steaming. If we're going to get a big one we will have to keep it in the basement; only to bring it to the kitchen on need basis.

Al
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
16 years ago
Those are authentic looking steamed buns.
You should make a whole bun-ch and freezed them. There is no difference in taste and texture of steamed frozen buns.

dcarch
andyman
16 years ago
Wow, those look great!! I thinks I needs a trip to chinatown now...
jimster
16 years ago
Al, you will like a wok for other cooking, not just for steaming. With a wok you can flail about without spilling. A wok is an extremely versatile piece of equipment. I see you are hooked on Asian cooking. :-) Put the other stuff in the basement and leave the wok on your stove.

BTW, if I can recommend a wok, get a plain, ordinary, round bottomed steel one. If you have an electric stove, use it with a ring to hold it above the burner. If you have an induction or other new-fangled stove, I can't help you. Someone else can.

Jim
althetrainer
Original Author
16 years ago
Oh dcarch, thanks for reminding me. I had left the last three buns "naked" - without wrapping - in the freezer. If not because you mentioned freezing, I would have left them there until tomorrow morning. Phew!

Andyman, thanks! My husband used to get those in the Chinese grocery store. The homemade ones are SO much better.

Jim, unfortunately, we have a glass top range so will need to use one of those flat bottomed woks. Thanks for the suggestions though. I don't have a lot of experience using a wok; it seems very heavy and hard to handle. Of course, I may feel differently when I try it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Al

Here are my steamed buns...

Comments (12)

caliloo

triciae

Related Discussions

althetrainer
Original Author

triciae

althetrainer
Original Author

jimster

lindac

althetrainer
Original Author

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

andyman

jimster

althetrainer
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Here are my steamed buns...

Comments (12)

Related Discussions

althetrainerOriginal Author

althetrainerOriginal Author

althetrainerOriginal Author

althetrainerOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

althetrainer
Original Author

althetrainer
Original Author

althetrainer
Original Author

althetrainer
Original Author