Last week we
looked at how to make basic steamed bread. Today it is all about steamed filled
buns, or baozi. This is China’s answer to the sandwich, only better.
Hot and juicy, snack food just doesn’t get any better.
Most parts of China have
their own takes on this delicious way with steamed bread and filling:
Guangdong’s char siu bao, for example, with their reddish sweet-salty pork
filling, are standard issue in dim sum restaurants, and near the mouth of the Yangtze they are filled with nothing but vegetables, packed
with meat, or turned into tiny morsels packed with broth called xiaolongbao.
Up north around Beijing and Shandong, baozi are often very large, stuffed
with pork or sweet paste, and meant to stick to your ribs.
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| Step 1 |
These might look daunting
if you have never made them before, but the simple truth is that they are a
snap to make. All it takes is an understanding of the basic principles and a
bit of practice. After that, the sky’s the limit.
A quick note on the
nomenclature, before we get any further: These are often simply referred to as bao in
English, but in Chinese, they are called either baozi or
something-something bao — like xiaolongbao or shuijianbao — but never plain old “bao.”
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| Step 2 |
Now, on to the directions:
Follow the last week’s
directions on A Steamed Bread Primer all the way to
the end. Once that is done, we can start shaping and filling the buns. (We will
discuss the insides later – today it is all about learning how to fill and wrap baozi.)
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| Step 3 |
1. Work on one piece at a
time and keep the rest of the dough covered so that they do not dry out. Cut the dough into as many pieces are directed. Lightly roll the piece into a ball between the palms of your hands.
2. Press down on the ball
with the palm of your hand to flatten it into a disc.
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| Step 4 |
disc counterclockwise (or clockwise, if you are left-handed) about 45 degrees, meaning that you will do this 8 times before you get back to the starting point, while you continue to roll out the dough. This way you will end up with a fairly even circle. Keep rolling and turning the dough until you have a circle of the desired diameter.
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| Step 5 |
4. As you roll out this
circle, leave the exact center alone so that you end up with what looks like an
egg fried sunny-side up.
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| Step 6 |
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| Step 7 |
6. To fill the baozi,
make a cup shape with your left hand and poke the circle into that cup, so that
the base of the dough is cuddled up against your middle finger.
7. Carefully
place the filling inside the center of the dough. Do not get any
filling on the edges, as the oil in the filling will not allow you to seal
the dough.
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| Step 8 |
8. Pleat the top of the baozi closed:
Do this by using the thumb of your left hand to poke down the filling
while you pinch the dough closed with the thumb, pointer finger, and
middle finger of your right hand.
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| Step 9 |
9. Work your way around the
circle, pinching with the thumb, pointer, and middle fingers, while the thumb
of your other hand keeps the filling away from the pleats.
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| Step 10 |
10. If you keep all of the
pleats controlled with your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers, you will end up
with a pointed top.
11. If you release the
pleats as you go along, you will end up with a little depression in the top,
which is also pretty. Place the filled baozi on oiled steamer
paper and let them rise once more before steaming.
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| Step 11 |
