New Year's Eve recipe for 4 - 8 people, takes only 40 mins; recipe has fast-action dried yeast, vegetable oil, baking powder, caster sugar, milk, plain flour, chilli sauce, pork fillet, sesame oil, spring onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, clear honey, chinese five-spice powder, chilli flakes and cornflour.
Bao buns with spicy pork
Course: New Years Eve
Servings
4 - 8
servings
Prep time
30 mins
Ingredients
- Vegetable Oil: 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- Spring Onion: 2 spring onions, chopped
- Milk: 1 tbsp dried milk powder
- Chilli Flakes: 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
- Soy Sauce: 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Sesame Oil: 1 tbsp sesame oil
- Hoisin Sauce: 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- Caster Sugar: 2 tbsp caster sugar
- Plain Flour: 350g plain flour
- Baking Powder: 2 tsp baking powder
- Fast Action Dried Yeast: 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
- Cornflour: 1 tsp cornflour, dissolved in 1 tbsp rice wine
- Clear Honey: 2 tbsp clear honey
- Chinese Five Spice Powder: 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- Chilli Sauce: chilli sauce, to serve
- Pork Fillet: 400g pork fillet
Directions
- First, make the filling. Finely dice the pork. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat until cooked through (about 6 mins). Add the spring onions and saute for 1 min, then add the hoisin and soy sauces and the honey, five-spice powder, chilli flakes and cornflour mix. Simmer for 5 mins, then transfer to a bowl and chill.
- In a measuring jug, mix 200ml warm water with the yeast and oil. To make the dough by hand, put the dry ingredients in a mound on your work surface with a good pinch of salt. Make a hole in the middle, pour in the yeast mixture and slowly stir until it comes together. Knead on a floured surface for 10 mins or until the dough is soft. Or to use a standing mixer, put the dry ingredients in the bowl with a good pinch of salt. Turn on and pour in the yeast mixture. When the dough comes together in a ball, keep the speed on medium and knead for 8-10 mins until smooth and soft. Put in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Keep in a warm place until doubled in size (about 2-3 hrs).
- Take the dough out, knock it back and knead for 1 min, then put on a floured surface. Cut into 2 pieces and roll each into a fat cylinder. Cut each into 16 pieces. Press a couple of pieces flat (about 7.5cm wide). Put a disc in the palm of your hand and add 1 tsp of the filling. Bring the sides up and pinch together at the top. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
- Cut circles of baking parchment and put under each bun. Arrange the buns on a baking tray so they don't touch each other. Leave to rise for another 30 mins.
- Make sure your steamer fits snugly over a pan or use a regular steamer with a pan and lid. Fill the bottom pan with water and bring to a boil. Set the steamer with the buns and their liners over the pan and cook for 10-12 mins. You will need to do this in batches. Remove and eat straightaway with chilli sauce.
