When Peter and I first dated, I often took him to this Chinese bakery right around the corner from where he used to live to get pork buns. After that, Peter wanted a pork bun almost everyday but I limited his consumption. Yes, I know, I'm mean. But who knows what goes in those things?! MSG? A ton of salt?! How long have they had the meat filling?! Is it mystery meat?! Anyway, you get the idea.
I also do come from two families where making things from scratch is not an option but a must. I've been yelled at for pressing on instead of gathering the pie crust and seen many of my first and second batches go into the trash. So, of course, it was natural that I chose to make these little puffs of heaven for my love on our anniversary. I could have written him a poem or wore nothing but sexy lingerie for a week. However, this way, I go straight to his heart without any fluff.
I used the same meat filling as I did in my dumplings recipe, except this time I added some wood ear mushrooms and thinly sliced scallion greens.
Sometimes, they're also known as Dried Black Fungus because, you know, that sounds more appetizing. :)
You gotta' soak these suckers for a little while. It didn't take very long but I soaked mine overnight because I wasn't planning on making my pork buns until today.
I roughly poured in about 1/2 cup of these guys and the next morning, whoa, I woke up to at least 3 cups full of black fungus. BTW, what a good deal.
I simply minced them. Fine is good. Super fine is not necessary. Unless you have a food processor, then just throw them in there and pulse for a bit. Or press whatever buttons that will give you the same results. Like Peter, I'm sometimes stuck in the stone age and forget about the wonders of modern technology.
Throw them in the meat mixture and combine.
Now you will need 3/4 cup of lukewarm water. Add 1.5 teaspoons of instant yeast and 2 tablespoons of canola oil into the water. Whisk to blend.
Take a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups of all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. Combine.
Now, make a hole or well in the center of the flour mixture. I used my oh-so-useful measuring spoon to help me.
Pour the water mixture into the hole/well.
Use a wooden spoon (because they're green?) to slowly combine the flour and water: moving slowly from the inside then out to the edges. Got it?
The dough should be kinda' raggedy so don't worry. You will have a chance later to press it all together and knead it out until it's smooth.
Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough on there. Now gather your dough together and knead it for about 5 minutes until it is smooth. The dough should bounce/spring back every time you press on it. The dough shouldn't be sticky, if it is, you probably need to add a little more flour.
Put the dough into a bowl and completely cover it. Place the bowl somewhere other than the refrigerator (unless you don't need to use it right away) to allow it to rise. The dough should double in size after 45 minutes to an hour. Once it's done, take it out and place it on your floured work surface, again.
Cut the dough in half. Put the other half back into an airtight container or wrap it up in plastic so it doesn't dry out. Hand roll the other half into a log.
Cut the log up evenly. I am planning on making mini pork buns but if you're planning on making regular size ones then cut the dough into larger pieces.
Roll it out. Try it get it as round as you possibly can. I did an okay job.
Pinch four sides/corners together so that it looks, almost, like a box.
Scoop in the meat filling. Yup, you guessed it. I used my measuring spoon to scoop the meat into the dough.
Pull up the sides/corners and kinda' twist it at the top to hold. I know it's a bit hard to see but you can do it.
Placed the buns on individually cut out parchment paper then steam for about 7-10 minutes on medium heat (based on the mini size pork buns with about 1 -1.5 tsp of meat filling). I would recommend serving these guys immediately so don't steam them until you're ready to serve also. You can definitely make them ahead of time and freeze them too.
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