International dishesSavory CakesChina2 hours, including 30 minutes of prep, 1 hour 10 minutes proofing the dough and 20 minutes steaming
These Chinese steamed pork and quail egg buns have a white, springy wrapper, and a quail egg sits in the middle of the meat filling. The hard part is the proofing, since under proofed dough steams up dense while over proofed dough turns sour.
The dry yeast is stirred into 180ml of oat milk and left on its own for 10 minutes to bloom before it meets the flour. Once shaped, the buns rest in the steamer for another 10 minutes before they steam over high heat.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 227 calories per 100g.
Method
Put 500g of bao flour in a large bowl. Stir 7g of dry yeast into 180ml of oat milk and leave it for about 10 minutes to bloom.
Add 2 tablespoons of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a pinch of salt to the flour, pour in all the bloomed yeast, add the egg white and mix. Knead until the dough is very smooth, roll it into a ball, put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover it and leave it for about 1 hour until doubled.
Boil 10 quail eggs and peel them. Finely chop the jicama, the onion and the soaked wood ear mushroom. Slice the shallot and fry it golden. Slice 400g of pork thinly, then grind it.
Mix the ground pork with the jicama, onion, wood ear mushroom, fried shallot, the remaining 1 tablespoon of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of black pepper and 0.5 tablespoon of salt. Flatten a portion of the meat, set 1 to 2 quail eggs in the middle and roll it up so the meat seals the eggs in.
Once the dough has proofed, knead it for another 5 minutes, divide it into small pieces, roll each into a ball and flatten it, place a meatball in the center and close the dough into a round. Set each bun on a square of baking paper.
Arrange the buns in the steamer and leave them for another 10 minutes. Bring the water to a rolling boil before the buns go in, then steam for 20 minutes over high heat. Turn off the heat and wait 5 to 7 minutes before lifting them out.
Tips
A pleated top takes practice, so a plain round pressed lightly in a bao mold gives a neat bun just as well.
Waiting a few minutes after the heat goes off before lifting the lid keeps the tops from wrinkling.
Bloom the yeast in the milk for 10 minutes and pour it into the flour only once the surface is bubbling.
Set the quail egg right in the middle of the filling and seal it in, since an off centre egg steams into a lopsided bun.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.