Almost two years ago I was so obsessed with making steamed buns or often known as “bao”. I was trying hard to get the “pleats” on the buns to show and it finally did. Then along came my own “bun in the oven” (a.k.a – my now almost 16-month old daughter) and things have been much more hectic ever since. That’s also how long I haven’t been making any bao.
With my mom around this month, I did manage to experiment on pan-fried chive and shrimp buns. It is pretty much a steamed bun with chive and shrimp filling that is pan-fried first and then steamed. If you are familiar with pot-stickers, this is exactly it, instead of dumplings, we are using buns. Sounds a bit more complicated but alas, it’s not. The result is great. You get a slightly crunchy bottom (from the pan-frying) and then the soft top (from steaming) with great savory filling on the inside. You dip it in the spicy soy dipping sauce and you realized “man…I don’t need to go to restaurants to have such great steamed buns”. I got the recipe for the filling from Ming Tsai’s Blue Ginger cookbook. I used the same recipe for the buns I’ve been using all this time.
PAN-FRIED CHIVE AND SHRIMP BUNS (16 medium-size buns)
What you will need:
- Recipe for the steamed bun/bao is here
- 1 lbs shrimp (shelled and deveined, roughly chopped)
- 2 cups chopped chives
- 2 eggs
- 1½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp finely chopped ginger
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 2 cups chicken stock
- Dash of salt and pepper
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup scallions
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp sambal oelek (available at both Asian and some Western grocery stores)
Instructions:
- Combine ginger, shrimp, chives, eggs and sesame oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly
- Divide the dough for steamed bun into 16 smaller doughs. Dust your working area with some flour and roll it out with a rolling pin into a thin circle (about ¼-inch thick)
- Working with one dough at a time, place about 1 Tbsp filling in the middle of the dough and bring all the edges together and slightly pinch to seal the top and let it rest while continue to work on the rest of the dough
- When finish with wrapping the buns, heat a large skillet with lid over medium heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the buns, flat sides down and let them brown for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of chicken stock and cover the pan with the lid. Allow the bun to steam for about 10 minutes. If stock has evaporated but buns are not yet cooked, add more stock in ¼- 1 cup increments as needed. You may need to work in batches. Don’t overcrowd the skillet, as the buns will expand when being steamed
- Remove from the skillet to a serving platter
- Combine all the ingredients together and serve with the pan-fried chive and shrimp buns
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