Bakpao

Ingredients for the Skin:

500 gm Pau flour or Hong Kong flour
2.1/2 tsp dried yeast
100 ml lukewarm water
125 gm caster sugar
5 tsp Crisco shortening
2.1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
110 - 115 ml water

Ingredients for the Filling

250 gm chicken breast - diced into small cubes
1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp light soya sauce
2 tsp each of - sesame oil, oyster sauce and dark soya sauce
3 tsp or more sugar
3/4 cup water
2.1/2 Tbsp cornflour + 2 Tbsp water to thicken Oil for frying

Preparation for the Filling - (Cook this a day earlier and keep refrigerated).
Heat up a pan with the oil and mix in the diced chicken meat with all the sauces, stir fry. Add in the water and let simmer till chicken meat is cooked, add in the thickening. Dish up and let cool before refrigerating.


                                                                                                                                                                                       Preparation for the Skin
(A) Mix the dried yeast with lukewarm water, stir well. Add in 130 gm sifted pau flour, mix well with the yeast mixture. Roughly form into a ball of dough and set aside for 15 min.

 (B) Mix the balance 370 gm sifted pau flour with the baking powder, sugar and salt, stir well. Pour this mixture into (A) above.

 Add in the shortening and water sparingly, knead till dough doesn't stick to the hands. Cover dough with a damp cloth and let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hr. to 1.1/2 hrs or till double in size.

 Knock down dough to expel some air, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a while. Weigh out 50 gm of dough and roughly shape into a ball. Makes 18 pieces.

Flatten and roll out the dough into a circle. Cup it in the palm of your hand, spoon in the cold filling onto the the dough and pleat up the sides and seal. Place the pau onto a piece of greaseproof paper, on the rack for steaming. Cover with a piece of damp cloth and let rise for another 15 min.

Steam the pau under rapidly boiling water on high heat for about 10 to 12 min. Remove from steamer and serve, hot.

Char Siew Bao

Fillings
A
250g char siew, diced
1 tsp sugar
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2  tbsp  tomato sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1-2 drops red food colouring (optional)
B
150 ml water
1½ tbsp corn flour
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in pan,  for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in all other ingredients A, stir fry for 1 minutes.
2. Mix together water with corn flour, add mixture into the pan and stir well. Simmer until gravy is thickened.
3. Transfer to bowl  and allow to cool.
4. Set aside for later use.

Bun
8g instant dry yeast
170ml lukewarm water
300g  hong kong flour
100g tan mien starch
80g icing sugar
30g shortening or vegetable oil
10g baking powder
10ml cold water





1. Sift together flours and icing sugar. Place sifted flour mixture in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.
2. Fill well with lukewarm water and yeast. Use a spatula, gently stir the water to dissolve the yeast then slowly bring together flour mixture.
3. Add in shortening or oil and knead for 10-15 minutes until soft dough is formed. It should be smooth on the surface.
4. Cover dough with damp cloth and let it rise for 30 minutes.
5. Dissolve baking powder in cold water, sprinkle over dough and knead until well combined.
Divide dough into 16 equal portions and flatten with a rolling pin to make a 3” circle. Then place a teaspoon of filling in the middle, wrap and pleat the dough to seal. Place it on a round  parchment paper, seal side up.
6. Arrange buns into a steamer.
Spray water mist over buns, and steam in a preheated steamer on high heat for 10 minutes.
Remove buns from steamer and cool on rack to prevent soggy bottom.

Xiao Loong Bao

. Penasaran dengan yang namanya Xiao Loong Bao atau Shanghai Soup Dumplings, I watch it on TLC and It  looks so Yummy...
This is the first step: prepare the gelatine broth .

1 1/3 cups Chicken Stock
1 scallion (white and green parts), cut into 2-inch lengths and lightly smashed with the broad side of a knife
3 quarter-size slices ginger, smashed with the broad side of a knife
1/2 tsp. agar-agar powder or 1 1/2 tsp. unflavored gelatin.

 Filling:
350grams pork loin, minced
2 tbsp of ginger, grated, with juice
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 tsp sugar
6 tbsp of water
1 stalk of green onions                 
 a pinch of pepper
 1/2 tsp of salt
 1/3 cup gelatine broth
 Combine all the ingredient in a bowl and  mix well .                                              
                                                     

Prepare the dough,


3 3/4 oz (3/4 cup)bread flour
2 oz (6 tbsp.)  all-purpose flour
About 7 tbsp. just-boiled water
1 1/2 tsp oil.

Roll the dough out into a snake, approximately 1 inch thick and cut it into sections, about 1 inch in length.

 Take a teaspoon full of the filling and fill it into the dumpling skin you've just created and crimp the skin upwards to create a little ball.  Try to make  9 or 10 pleats. My aim was to get the dumpling to close properly so the precious broth do not run out during the steaming process.

Steam your dumplings on a steamer for 15 minutes.  When it is ready, don't pop it into your mouth too soon because the soup  will be so hot.

Hmmmmm.. so Yummy...