Steamed Buns and Fried Buns 蒸包子和水煎包

Steamed Buns and Fried Buns 蒸包子和水煎包

Pork shoulder meat is perfect to make the filling. It is an inexpensive cut of meat, but contains good amount of fat to render a juicy tender filling. See this post for how to make filling.

Then you need to prepare the dough for buns. When dough doubles in volume, punch down and knead again. Sprinkle flour on work surface and roll the dough into a log. Cut desired amount to make buns.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a circle. Add 2 tablespoon of meat mixture. Hold the wrap in left hand, cup left hand a little bit. Use right hand thumb and index finger to lift edge of wrap, fold it counter clockwise and let each fold stick to the next part of the edge. It takes 10-12 folds to close the top. To steam bun, or fried with opening on top, it’s not necessary to completely close the hole. If you like to fried the bun fold-side down, then make sure it’s completely closed and sealed.

To make steamed buns, place each bun on a piece of parchment paper in the steamer, 1 inch apart. To fry them, put them in non-stick pan, only slightly apart from each other, as we would like them to stick to each other and rise upwards when cooked. Let them rest in the pan or steamer for 15 minutes. Steam over high heat for 15 minutes, rest 10 minutes before opening the lid to avoid “collapsing”. To water fry, add 2 tablespoon of oil along the edge of the pan, as well as gaps in between the buns, then add 1/2 cup of water, close lid, let it “water fry” over medium high heat till water is dry and you hear a sizzling sound. At this point, all buns are crowded with each other, and the bottom of the buns are golden brown. Sprinkle scallions and sesame seeds. Serve warm with dipping sauce of choice, usually rice vinegar or Worcestershire sauce.