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Baozi steamed Chinese pies

Baozi — Chinese Steamed Buns

Unusual, meaty, juicy Chinese steamed buns!!! Baozi are Chinese steamed buns made from a soft yeast dough. They can be filled all sorts of ways, but they're always steamed. It's a really unusual dish for those of us who didn't grow up with it — but in China it's hugely popular. Let's give it a try.

Pirko Rita

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Yeast dough (for steaming)

500

Pork

400

Ginger (a 2-inch piece of ginger root)

Garlic

Green onion

Salt

Ground black pepper

Soy sauce

Mirin (sweet rice wine) (mirin - sweet rice wine)

Cornstarch

Water

Vegetable oil

Worcestershire sauce

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 20 % 9 g

Fats 30 % 13 g

Carbohydrates 50 % 22 g

261 kcal

GI: 23 / 77 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

Rinse the pork under cold water, pat it dry with paper towels, and cut it into small pieces. Grind it in a blender or run it through a meat grinder.
Step 2:

Peel the ginger root and grate it. Add the grated ginger to a hot skillet with a little vegetable oil and fry it briefly — just a few seconds.
Step 3:

Next, add the ground pork and a little filtered water (about 50 ml / ¼ cup) to the pan and mix well. Pour in the soy sauce and mirin, then season with salt and ground black pepper. Keep cooking the filling until almost all the liquid has cooked off, but the meat is still juicy and soft.
Step 4:

Dissolve the cornstarch in a little water (1 tablespoon). Press the garlic through a garlic press. Add both to the meat filling and stir thoroughly. Once the liquid has cooked off and the filling has thickened, turn off the heat, take the pan off the burner, stir in a little Worcestershire sauce, and mix. Add other spices if you like. Now let the filling cool.
Step 5:

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each into a rope no more than 1¼ inches (3 cm) thick. Cut each rope into 6 pieces. Take the first piece and, holding it down in the center, roll it out to about 5–6 inches (12–15 cm) across, keeping the middle thicker than the edges. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Step 6:

Transfer the cooled meat filling to a deep bowl. Finely chop the green onion, add it to the meat, and stir everything together.
Step 7:

Now spoon the meat filling (about 1 tablespoon) onto each rolled-out round of dough and pinch the edges together, shaping each bun into a little pouch.
Step 8:

Cut parchment paper into small squares. Set the squares in a steamer basket and place a baozi bun on each one. Leave plenty of space between the buns, since they'll expand as they cook. Set the steamer aside for 1 hour so the buns can proof and rise again.
Step 9:

After that, steam the baozi uncovered for 15 minutes, then cover the steamer with the lid and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer the finished buns to a platter, garnish as you like, and serve.

The baozi came out delicious and the filling was juicy, but I did notice one drawback: the ginger got in the way for me — or rather, there was too much of it. Ginger has a very distinctive flavor, and fresh ginger is very different from ground. So use it with care. By no means leave it out — add it to the dish, just go light. Green onion works beautifully in the filling, and the sauces give the meat a special East-Asian aroma and flavor. These are perfect in winter, since they're quite filling and nicely spiced.
Besides pork, you can use any other meat in this dish. Keep in mind that the cooking time, flavor, and calorie count will change. Beef, for example, takes longer to cook than pork, while chicken or turkey takes less.
When adding soy sauce, remember that it's quite salty. Cut back on the salt, or you risk over-seasoning the dish.
For cooking, it's best to use neutral-tasting filtered or bottled water. Tap water can give the dish an off, distinctive aftertaste.