Big Pork Dumpling (大包)
Steamed yeast buns has always been my nemesis. It looks so deceptively simple yet, I find it harder than any cake, bread, and pastry. It is harder than making croissants, than that 1000 layer French mille-feuille, harder than the impossible to handle HK reverse puff pastry.
Why.
Simply because I refuse to use the standard ingredients for this really quite simple bun. No bleached flour, no milk in the dough, please. So I will always end up with rubbery, rubbery, yellow yellow buns which I will just go and bake instead.
Today, I gave it another go. Still not using those bleached flour, and changed the way I handle a bit. Not too difficult, and soft buns greeted me at the end of the hour. Give it a go, it is worth the many years of trying for me.
Dough waiting to be used while preparing the pork filing
I ground the pork leg that has been in my fridge since last night. Beat till it is QQ, or bouncy.
Ingredients ready to be wrapped.
Proof for 30 minutes was sufficient in our house.
Super soft buns to be enjoyed.
Big Pork Dumpling
- Prep
- 0 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 0 min
- Serves
- 0
Ingredients
- 125 gLow gluten flour, cake flour
- 60 gHigh gluten flour, bread flour
- 30 gWhite Sugar
- 1/2 tspSalt
- 3 gInstant Yeast
- 1/3 tspBaking Powder
- 90 gWarm water
- 12 gWhite Lard, vegetable lard
- 150 gGround Pork
- 1 TbspSesame Oil
- 1 TbspSoya Sauce
- 1 tspPepper, ground, white
- 1 tspChicken bullion
- 1 tspGinger ground or 1 Tbsp juice of ginger
- 2bunches of spring/green onions, sliced thinly
- 2hard boiled eggs
Method
- Dumpling skin
- 01Combine all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, add the water and knead for 1 minute on a machine (I used the Thermomix) or until smooth if hand kneading (takes about 3 minutes if hand kneading).
- 02Put it aside covered and prepare the filing.
- Filing
- 03Mix everything together and cut the eggs into quarters.
- Wrap
- 04Divide dough into 8 portions (~40g each). Do likewise to the pork mixture (~25-30g each).
- 05Roll each portion of dough into a round ball. Flatten along the circumference more.
- 06Place one portion of the filing and one portion (1/4 of an egg) of egg into the wrap.
- 07Gather and seal the dumpling.
- 08Place the dumplings on non-grease proof white paper.
- 09Allow to rest and proof for 30-40 minutes.
- 10Steam for 25 minutes under high heat.
- 11Let it rest in the steamer with cover ajar for 2-3 minutes before removing the buns from the heat source.
- 12Eat when it is really hot.