Soft and fluffy buttery and garlicky knots are studded with tiny pieces of Chinese pork jerky /bak kwa made with an easy no-knead dough. These are a fun twist to the popular garlic knots/garlic bread.
If you use an active dry yeast, combine it with water and small pinch of sugar and let it blooms for 10 minutes. The mixture will be foamy. If you use instant yeast, you can skip this step
Combine the flour, salt, sugar, cilantro leaves, instant yeast (if using). Stir to combine. Make a well in the middle and add milk, lightly beaten egg, yeast mixture (if using active dry yeast), bak kwa pieces, and melted butter. Use a spatula to stir to combine into a dough that is slightly sticky to touch. Just make sure there are no more pockets of flour in the dough. The mixture won't be smooth at this time. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, use the spatula to fold the edge toward the center of the dough. Do this all around the dough, about 15-20 times. This step is to strengthen the dough, so please do not skip. The dough will be smoother too after this round
First proofing:
Cover the dough and let it proof until double in size at a warm place. This may take about one hour or so, depending on the temperature
Shaping:
Once the dough has doubled, use a spatula to fold the dough several times again to degas (or punch down the dough to release gas)
Lightly oil your palms and divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes so they are easier to be rolled out
Working with one dough at a time, take one dough and roll it out into a rope, about 20 cm (8-inch long). Tie it into a knot and tuck the extra dough under neath. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough
Final proofing:
Prepare the topping by mixing all ingredients for topping together and set aside
Place the shaped dough at a warm place to let them proof again until about 1.5 x puffier than the original, this may take 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on temperature. 10 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat the oven to 400 F (204 C) for a conventional oven, 380 F (195 C) for a convection oven
Brush the surface of the knots with half of the toppings and place the baking sheet on the middle rack and bake for 15 minutes, rotate halfway throughout baking
When they are out of the oven, brush the buns with the remaining butter mixture. The buns won't be shiny because we don't use egg wash. The outside will be slightly crisp because we brushed with butter before baking. The inside remains soft and fluffy. So good!
To serve:
Serve them while they are warm
How to store:
Let them cool down completely and then store in air-tight container or plastic bag, push all the air out and seal. They can be kept at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer storage, you can freeze them for about 1 month for the best result. Simply thaw at room temperature and reheat in the microwave for a few seconds until warm
Notes
You can also replace with same amount of whole-milk plain yogurt instead of using an egg