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.
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?
