Barbecue Steamed Buns with Judas Iscariot
You know when you first attempt a recipe for a food you love and somehow it turns out wonderfully? Well we did and ate nine each of these then felt very bad about ourselves.
We adore BBQ steam buns, back when Lydia was a student she would go through a packet of these from the local Chinese grocer in the space of a week.
Something about the sweet, moist, spongy bun with a smoky tangy filling just feels like absolute comfort. This is a perfect treat to stock the freezer with so if you need an easy side dish or a pick-me-up, you've got them ready to go.
We made these vegan but you can just substitute pork for your meat alternative!
Ingredients:
Filling:
1/2 onion
3 cloves garlic
Grated ginger
1 stem of green/ spring onion
1 small carrot, julienne
1/2 cup cabbage
300g pork or quorn mince
Sesame oil
2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
6 Tbsp Judas - Spicy Smoked Barbecue
1/2 cup water
1 tsp corn or rice flour
1 tsp beef or chicken stock
1 tsp brown sugar
Dough:
1 teaspoon yeast
150ml warm water
240g white flour
1 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
Method:
We'll start with preparing the dough. Pour 150ml warm water into a bowl. Add yeast and set aside for 20 minutes or so until it blooms.
Then, in a mixer - sieve your dry ingredients together and then with the mixer on low, slowly pour in your yeast mix and oil.
Leave to mix until the dough comes together and forms into a smooth, stretchy ball. Take out of the mixer and leave to rest for 1-2 hours in a lightly oiled snap lock container or in a bowl under a damp tea towel.
While leaving the dough to rest, in a hot pan heat your sesame oil then add your onion and saute until translucent.
Add the remainder or your vegetables excluding the garlic and ginger.
We want to cook it thoroughly enough that your cabbage has lost a lot of its moisture and the bottom of the pan is mostly dry as you stir before adding either your pork/quorn along with the garlic and ginger.
Once the protein has become fragrant with the garlic and ginger and is almost cooked through, thoroughly stir through corn or rice flour before adding the wet ingredients and leave to simmer on low until the mixture has become a thick saucy consistency.
Leave your filling to cool. Once the dough has finished resting and has risen, on a well floured work surface form into a log and cut into 18-20 even sized pieces.
Using the palm of your hand and rolling pin, form the dough balls into rounds similar to dumpling wrappers, making sure they are even and flat and thinner along the edges than in the center.
There's a bit of a trick to wrapping these, as you can see from the picture - we're not great at it as it does take a bit of practice to look good!
Cupping the dough in your hand, add a tablespoon or so of mixture into the center.
Crimp around the outside of the wrapper using your forefinger and thumb until you've sealed the outside of the bun, then pinch and twist to seal the top.
Here's a link to see how to do it close up!
Place each bun on a piece of wax paper and steam each batch for 9-11 minutes and enjoy with a side of rice and greens.
Alternatively you can place them in a snap-lock container and pop them in the freezer and they'll last for months.