Baozi

(An American’s Take on Baozi)

Baozi are small Chinese steamed buns/ dumplings.  They can be filled with meat or vegetables.

This recipe makes 7 Baozi

Ingredients

Dough

3 Cups Flour

1 Tb Oil

1 Cup Warm Water

1 Tb Yeast

1 Tb Sugar

½ Tb Baking Soda

Pinch Salt

Filling

1 Small Tomato, Seeded, Chopped

½ Onion (Rough Cut)

½ Pound of Ground Pork

¼ Pound of Ground Beef

100 G Cheddar Cheese, Grated

Pinch Salt

1 Tb Basil, Chopped

1 Tb Olive Oil

1 Tb Soy Sauce

1 Tb Chili Paste

Directions

Dough

Bloom yeast by mixing it with the sugar and warm water.  Allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes until it starts to foam at the top.

Place the other ingredients into a large mixing bowl and then mix in the water/sugar/yeast mixture. 

Knead this dough with your hands until all of the ingredients are mixed in.  You will probably need to knead for about 5 minutes.  The consistency of the dough should be slightly sticky.  Once the dough has been mixed and kneaded, allow it to rise for 1 hour.

After the dough has risen, separate it into 7 separate pieces.

Filling

In another large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the filling.  Stir all of the ingredients together until they are evenly spread out.

Filling the Baozi

Roll one of the pieces of dough on a floured surface to a 6 inch diameter.  Then, position your right hand, pretending to hold a glass.  Next, place the Baozi dough on top of your thumb and index fingers.  The middle of the dough will sag in the middle (where a glass normally would be if you were holding a glass).  Thus, the dough is resting in a concave fashion on your hand.

In the middle of the dough, place 1 Tb to 1 ½ Tb of filling.

Lastly, pinch the four “corners” to the top to seal the dumpling.

Before steaming your buns, allow them to rise again for about 15 minutes.  This will let them be fluffier.

Steaming

The buns should then be steamed in a steamer for about 6 to 7 minutes.  Make sure the dough and meat are cooked through.  Also, make sure to cook the dumpling on a piece of parchment or foil.  It is possible that they will stick without this.