I’m continuing on my “Bake ALL the things” rampage by having a go at making some filled Baozi (steamed buns). My filling is heavily improvised, I pretty much threw in what I had lying around while trying to keep a vaguely Chinese-ish flavour profile. They taste really good, and that’s the important thing.

Ingredients:

150g self raising flour

300g plain white flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 pack (~7g) quick yeast

2 tbsp white sugar

300ml warm water

sesame oil

For the filling:

3 cloves of garlic

thumb sized piece of ginger root

1 spring onion

1 small red chili (adjust according to taste)

1 yellow pepper

2 cup mushrooms

1 carrot

approx one cup of frozen peas and green beans

approx 10 cashews

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp Szechwan peppercorns (optional)

Instructions:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and mix in the sugar, salt and yeast. Gradually add about 250ml of the water to the dry ingredients, stirring as you go. Continue adding water until you have a ragged clump of dough.

Knead the dough for about 15 minutes (or until it feels like your arms are about to fall off), until you have a smooth surface. Put a little sesame oil in the mixing bowl and place the dough back in the bowl, roll it around to coat in the oil. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm place to rise. (or leave in a cool place. It will take longer but result in a finer textured bun. I left mine in a warm place because I am impatient)

After rising it should have doubled in size.

Punch the dough down, cover it back up and let it rise again. The more times you do this, the finer the texture of the bun. I simply did it once, and prepared the filling during the second rise.

Making the filling:

I pretty much threw in what I had to hand, any kind of stir fry veggies in a similar quantity would work just great.

Finely dice all the veggies (get thin carrot strips with a peeler), and crush the cashews with the Szechwan pepper if you’re using any. Defrost the frozen veggies.

Start by adding the ginger, garlic, chilli and cashew/pepper mix to a saucepan with some sesame oil. Gently fry for about 5 minutes and then add the remaining ingredients  to soften and heat. You don’t need to cook the vegetables too much because they will be cooked a second time when you steam the buns. Add the soy sauce to taste.

Making the Baozi:

By now your dough should have risen for at least a second time. Punch it down and then shape into a large pizza base shape. Divide the large disc into two and roll into long thin sausage shapes, and divide each sausage into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball.

Take each ball and shape into a disc that is thicker in the centre than at the edges, about 4 inches across. Then make a shape as though you are holding a glass with one hand and place the disc on top, pushing the thicker centre down to make a little well.

Put about a tablespoon of filling into the well, then fold up the sides to make a parcel and twist the bun closed.

Ready to cook Baozi, made with varying degrees of success…

When you finish each one, place it on a little square of baking parchment to stop it from sticking. Try to remember to remove the parchment before you eat it! (Just saying because I definitely forgot to do that…)

To cook the Baozi, use a steamer. Any steamer will do, bamboo is recommended but I didn’t have one to hand so I used a metal steamer. Steam in small batches of 3 or so (depending on the size of your steamer) for around 15 minutes.

These are best served hot and fresh out the steamer but can also be kept in the fridge and either re-steamed or microwaved for 30 seconds or so to reheat. You can also use any leftover filling to make veggie fried rice!