mandarin: bao, baozi
there are many kinds of stuffed buns, great for meals, snacks, breakfast or dessert. here are the basics of making them:
* follow the recipe for basic leavened dough. one batch of dough makes about 32 buns. the easiest way to divide up the dough is to roll it into a cylinder and chop it in half five times, then you'll have 32 equal-sized pieces.
* for each bun, take a piece of dough and roll it into a ball with your hands. then use a rolling pin to roll it into a circle about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
* what do you fill the buns with? here are some ideas:
- bun filling #1
- sweet red bean paste
- sweet black bean paste
- sweet mung bean paste
- sweet lotus seed paste
- peanut butter & jelly?
* put a small amount of filling in the center of the dough circle and wrap the bun into whatever shape you want. you can either make it into a round bun that is pressed or twisted together at the top (1), a triangle with three seams that meet at the top (2), or a sphere whose seams are hidden (3). remember to press the dough together firmly to prevent it from breaking during the steaming process.
* let the buns sit for about 10-15 minutes before steaming them, so the dough has a chance to rise again. then put them on individual squares of wax paper (leave space between them -- they expand) and steam them over rapidly boiling water for about 12-15 minutes.
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