How To Steam Pork Buns Without a Steamer (Recipe)

Instructions

For the dough:

Add half of the flour along with the sugar and yeast into a glass bowl and pour a glass of lukewarm water.
Start mixing all of the ingredients with a wooden spatula and then by hand while adding flour until the dough comes together.
Transfer the dough onto a clean surface dusted with flour and keep kneading until the dough is no longer sticky. When the dough is ready it should be as smooth as a baby's butt.
Put the dough in a bowl that's brushed with cooking oil and cover it with a damp kitchen towel.
Let the dough proof at room temperature for about an hour or until it doubles its size.

For the filling:

Soak the shiitake mushrooms in water for 15 minutes.
Cut the meat into strips then chop each strip into small chunks.
Place the meat into a bowl and mix it with two tablespoons of water.
Finely chop the leeks, and mushrooms and mince the garlic and ginger. Remember to squeeze out the water from the mushrooms before chopping.
Saute all the vegetables except the mushrooms in the canola oil on medium heat.
Add the meat and the mushrooms to the pan and stir while turning on the heat to high. Keep stirring until the meat becomes pale and opaque.
Add the apple cider vinegar, dark soy sauce, granulated sugar, white pepper, dried savory and sesame oil.
Stir until all of the ingredients are well combined and let the mixture cook until all of the liquids have evaporated.
Pour in the cornstarch slurry and cook for another half a minute but never more than 1 minute. After that leave the filling to cool off.

For assembling the buns:

Take out the dough and knead it on a clean dusted surface for 2 - 3 minutes to remove the air pockets. You should hear the air pockets popping while you're kneading the dough.
Split the dough in two halves and roll each halve into a log.
Divide each log into eight equally sized pieces.
Start rolling each piece from the edge towards the center without actually rolling the center. The center should be twice as thick as the edges. Make sure that your hands are completely dry or the dough won't stick when you start pleating.
Grab a bun with one hand and put a tablespoon of the filling at its center.
Pick a corner of the bun and pinch it between your other hand's index finger and thumb.
Pick up more dough with your index finger without moving your thumb and pinch it while rotating the dough with your holding hand.
Repeat until you seal the bun by pinching the last piece of the dough tightly. This should take you roughly 10 - 15 folds.
Place the buns on a piece of non-stick parchment paper and cover them with a damp kitchen towel.
Let the buns proof for 15 minutes.

Steaming without a steamer:

Place a heat-resistant bowl at the bottom of a large pot and fill them both with enough water not to evaporate completely. Obviously, make sure to leave some space between the water's surface and the cooling rack.
Add half a teaspoon of rice vinegar to the water of both the pot and the bowl. The rice vinegar will give the pork buns their trademark milky white color.
Put a cooling rack on top of the bowl.
Bring the water to a boil then lower the temperature on your stove.
Place the pork buns on the rack along with the pieces of parchment paper.
Steam the pork buns for 15 minutes under a lid.
Turn the heat off and let the buns rest for 5 minutes without removing the lid.
Repeat for the remaining pork buns.

I do my best to provide you with the nutritional information for recipes but I'm not a certified nutritionist. The nutritional information provided should only be treated as an estimate since it will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

How To Steam Pork Buns Without a Steamer (Recipe)

Equipment

Ingredients

For the dough

For the filling

Instructions

For the dough:

For the filling:

For assembling the buns:

Steaming without a steamer:

Video

Nutrition