Steamed Big Pork Bun - Da Bao (大包)

Makes ~10 servings


Ingredients:
For the buns:

• 600 grams of plain flour
• 50 grams of corn flour
• 100 grams of caster sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 packet of instant dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda/ bread soda)
• 30 grams of vegetable oil
• 320 grams of lukewarm water

For the filling:

• 500 grams of minced pork
• 3 stalks of spring onion, chopped into small pieces
• 3 stalks of coriander, chopped into small pieces
• 3 cm of ginger, grated
• 3 wind mushrooms, diced into small stripes (I used portobello)
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 5 eggs, hard boiled and cut into halves
• Salt to taste

Step One

 For the filling, mix all ingredients (except the eggs) in a large bowl. Season with salt on your preference. Let the mixture marinate for 1 hour. Boil the 5 eggs, and let them cool down while mixture marinates.

 Cut the cooled hard boiled eggs in two with a sharp knife. Weight the mixture (for us it was around 750 gr), and split into 10 equal portions. Take a half egg, and wrap it with one portion of the meat mixture. Shape it into a ball and let aside. Repeat for all 10 filling portions. Pop them into the freezer, so they maintain their shape later on.

Step Two

 For the buns, In the mixer bowl, place all dry ingredients. Add slowly the vegetable oil while mixing on low. Warm the water to 40-50C (100-120F), Add slowly the water to the mixture.   The mixture in my case was not too watery, but because it depends on temperature/humidity, if it feels too watery on your side, add a few extra flour. Mix the flour mixture for 15 minutes on low/medium speed. The result should not be sticking on the bowl sides. Transfer to a working area and kneed for 3-5 minutes by hand. Place into a bowl and let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes, until it doubles in size.

Step Three

 Take the filling out of the freezer. Cut the dough in 10 portions. (I aimed the dough per bun being 1.2 times the filling weight. I used the extra dough making dough balls without filling). For each of the dough portions, shape into a ball and flatten it with the rolling pin. Put a frozen minced meat ball on top of the dough. Seal the edges and place the bun in a cupcake case or a piece of baking paper. Let the shaped buns rest until double in size. 

Step Four

 Prepare your steamer. Ensure steam is at maximum power before adding the buns over the steam. Aim steaming each bun for 20-25 minutes, depending on their size. Let the buns rest for 5-10 minutes before eating. 

Namaste!