Oyaki Buns with Pumpkin Filling, No Added Refined Sugar
Sweets and drinksFried CakesJapanDough rested 30 minutes, pan fried then steamed 10 minutes
Oyaki buns with pumpkin filling come out browned on both faces, with a chewy wrapper around sweet pumpkin seasoned with soy sauce. They are fried and then steamed, so the surface stays crisp while the inside turns soft. The difficult part is the dough, because water that is not truly boiling gives a crumbly wrapper that tears.
The water has to be at a rolling boil when it goes into the flour, stirred until the dough thickens and only then kneaded by hand. A full 30 minutes of resting makes the dough supple enough to roll without cracked edges.
This batch weighs about 1.7kg, at roughly 122 calories per 100g.
Method
Stir 1/3 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil into 260ml of boiling water.
Pour 400g of all purpose flour into the bowl of boiling water and stir until the dough thickens, turn it out onto a work surface and knead it until supple, then put it in a clean bowl, cover it and rest it for about 30 minutes.
Peel 800g of pumpkin, rinse it and cut it into small pieces.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan, fry the pumpkin briefly, add 100ml of water, cover and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
Once the pumpkin is soft, stir in 4 tablespoons of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 4 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1g of salt, then tip it onto a plate to cool. Divide the filling into 16 pieces and roll them into balls.
Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Dust the work surface lightly and roll each piece into a thin round.
Set a ball of pumpkin filling in the middle, pinch the edges shut, turn the bun seam side down and press it gently flat.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the buns over low heat until both faces are golden brown.
Move the fried buns to a steamer for about 10 minutes to cook through, then serve hot.
Tips
Vietnamese pumpkin is already sweet, so the amount of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend can be reduced to taste.
Truly boiling water is what gives a supple wrapper rather than a crumbly one.
These are best hot, and a few minutes back in the steamer revives them.
The filling has to be completely cool before wrapping, since hot filling softens and tears the dough.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend takes longer to dissolve, so stir the filling for another minute over low heat.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend does not caramelize, and the brown color of the filling comes from the soy sauce, so there is no point frying longer to darken it.
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.