When I was a student in National University of Singapore, there was a food stall at the Engineering canteen selling steamed buns. My favourite filling was chicken and egg. It was delicious and could nicely fill my empty stomach when I had to work overtime for my thesis or when I had to run to the gamelan room for jamming session with my friends in the evening. I just needed to go downstairs, heading to the canteen whenver I needed an energy boost.
Now, living in a European country, steamed bun is not a snack that you can easily find in a shop just around the corner. Yes, you can find the frozen ones at the supermarkets or at the Chinese restaurants. But that means, making a special trip just for a piece of bun. And still, it is not from a small shop around the corner selling many variety of Asian snacks. Buying it from a small snack stall gave a different filling and taste.
We finally had the real winter weather for a couple of weeks after the new year, meaning that the temperature was below zero. This kind of weather makes me thinking of nice, warm, delicious Asian snacks. It would be perfect, if we could sit together, sipping warm tea and eating delicious snacks. I could not stop thinking about that, especially because I wanted to give a special treat for the boys (big boy and small boys). I found a package of HongKong flour (the flour for steamed bun), and I remembered that I still had some chicken thigh fillet and dried mushroom. So, while the kids were at school and my husband was at work, I started to prepare the bun.
My boys love the buns. They could finish a few pieces in no-time. After the steamed buns are finished, they kept asking me when I would make one again.
Ingredients Filling
400 gr chicken (thigh) fillet - cut into cubes around 0.5cm x 0.5cm
a handfull of dried shitake mushroom - soaked for at least 30 minutes in hot water
yellow onion
5 hard boiled eggs
Marinade for the filling
3 tbsp oyster sause
3 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 tsp salt
pepper to taste
a dash of sesame oil
Ingredients for the Steamed Bun -Yield around 17 pieces depends on the size
500 gram bun flour (Hongkong flour)
7 gram instant yeast
2 tsp baking powder
70 gram fine sugar
250ml water
50 gr vegetable shortening/around 5 tsp (I used Crisco) - this can be subtituted with vegetable oil
How to make the filling (The filling can be made 1 day in advance)
1. Cut the meat and the onion.
2. Marinate the meat with marinade ingredients for at least 30 minutes
3. Heat the wok and stir fry the onion
4. Add the marinated meat, mushroom and the sauce. Cook until it is well done.
5. Put aside
How to make the steamed buns
1. Mix the warm water, yeast and 1/2 tsp sugar. Let it rest until the buble rise, around 15-30 minutes.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in the bowl using low speed. Add the yeast mixture. Knead the dough. The important thing is the dough should be kneaded into a smooth dough and does not stick to your hand or the wall of your mixer bowl.
3. Let the dough rest in the bowl, and cover the bowl either with wet clean cloth/napkin or with cling film. Let it rest around 1 hour until it rises at least twice the initial volume.
4. Remove the cling film and punch the dough in the middle.
5. Cut the dough into portions, around 50 grams or to your liking.
6. Shape each portion into a ball shape and with rolling pin, roll the dough. The edges should be thinner than the middle part. Fill the rolled dough with the filling (chicken meat and a quarter of hard boiled egg) and pinch the sides thightly to hold the filling. Put it on top of a piece of baking paper.
7. Let the bun rest for at least 30 minutes.
8. Prepare steamer and when it starts to boil, put the buns in the steamer and steam the buns for around 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them rest for about 10 minutes before serving them.
You can freeze the buns after they cool down. When you want to eat it, defrost the buns and warm them up either using microwave (covered) or steamer.
