plump buns

No, not those kind of buns silly!!  Steamed pork buns!  This is a great recipe and pretty darn easy with the help of the handy dandy crock-pot and a little planning  It’s also a lot of fun to make.  While Chris was at a meeting after work and wasn’t able to enjoy these with me for dinner, I was able to have a little ‘me time’ in the kitchen.  Of course Buster was there at my feet hoping I would drop one tasty morsel for him!  

The day before making the buns I made a batch of Asian-style pork roast in the crock-pot:

• 1/4  cup  low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4  cup  hoisin sauce
• 3  tbsp  ketchup
• 3  tbsp  honey
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2  tsp  grated fresh ginger (I didn’t have this on hand)
• 1  tsp  dark sesame oil
• 1/2  tsp Chinese five-spice powder (love this blend!  anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, ginger)
• 2  pound pork roast (I used shoulder)

Place all ingredients in a zippy bag and marinate overnight.  In the morning, throw everything into the crock and cook on low for about 7 hours.  If you make the steamed pork buns with this filling, there will be a bit of filling left over (about enough for 2-3 servings) which is perfect for stir-fry veggies and brown rice like this . . .

Ok, on to the plump buns . . .

Once the filling is done, now it’s time to make the dough.  I love this dough recipe from CookingLight because it’s super easy to work with and is almost like play-doh!  Did you ever play with that as a kid and try to eat it??  lol

• 1  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
• 3  tbsp  sugar
• 1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 3 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup spelt flour and the rest AP)
• 3  tbsp  canola oil
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  baking powder

Combine 1 cup warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes and watch it get bubbly!

Add flour, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms.  Knead until smooth and elastic or you can use an electric mixer (about 10 minutes). Place dough in a large bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.

While the dough got to rising and plumping, I went to a body pump weight session to try to plump up my muscles

After the dough has risen, punch it down and let rest 5 minutes.  Knead in baking powder and let dough rest another 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 equal portions, forming each into a ball (you can make them as big or small as you like, these would be great for mini appetizers too).  Working with one dough ball at a time (cover remaining dough balls to keep from drying), roll ball into a 5-inch circle. Place 1/4-1/3 cup filling in center of dough circle. Bring up sides to cover filling and meet on top and pinch to seal. Repeat procedure with remaining dough balls and filling.

Arrange a sheet of parchment underneath 5 buns, 1 inch apart, in each tier of a 2-tiered bamboo steamer.  Stack tiers; cover with lid.  Make sure to have the parchment underneath or they stick like glue to the bamboo!

This is the steamer I have and they are pretty darn cheap.

Add water to a large skillet or wok to a depth of 1 inch; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Place steamer in pan; steam 15 minutes or until puffed and set. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

These are sure tasty!  You could also serve it with a nice Asian slaw side salad, but I went with my quick usual of romaine, goat cheese, dried fruit and walnuts

I think my favorite part about these is the dough!  It’s super light, airy and doughy with a slightly sweet and nutty nuance from the sugar and spelt flour.  gah, so good!

Do you have a dim sum favorite?

Tagged as: Asian, pork