How We Made Taiwanese Pork/Beef Buns

Last Sunday it was Father’s Day. My dear husband Shawn, the father of my kids, received his Father’s Day gift – a nifty tripod, with nice ball head and all. Now Shawn will be able to shoot photos of exceptionally good quality, using long exposure times, in any kind of light, even Chiaroscuro. This tripod can do it all. 

Father’s Day morning and early afternoon were spent by the pond, swimming and playing baseball with some friends. In the afternoon a few of our other friends came over, for a scheduled cooking demonstration. Joy and Joe were teaching us how to make Taiwanese pork and beef buns. 

Just like the previous gathering when we all made sushi, this time the bun-making tutorial and the dinner afterwards were equally as much fun and equally delicious. Everyone had a chance to make a bun or two. I myself made three buns, effortlessly and without any smallest problem, especially since the dough and the filling were brought to my house already prepared, the portions of both were handed to me, and all I had to do was to tuck the meat neatly inside the dough and pinch the tops. I love that kind of cooking. 

The focus of the dinner menu was clear – MEAT:  

Taiwanese pork/beef buns

Grilled pork chops

marinated with grain mustard, olive oil, white wine vinegar and a mixture of herbs

Sous  vide roast beef sirloin

prepared by Makoto

Sous vide roast pork tenderloin

also prepared by Makoto

Everything was delicious: buns were extremely soft, steamy, juicy and fragrant; I definitely will be making them again. Makoto’s sous vide creations were melt-in-your mouth tender, especially pork;  I have never expected that meat could be so tender. 

After dinner Jonas, Julius and Izzy made sure that all our guests get a healthy dose of exercise. We had dessert. I drank excessively large amounts of wine, because I obtained 1,5 L bottle of Zinfandel, purposefully for the occasion, and ended up being the only one drinking it. I was a very nice evening. 

Needless to say that the photos in this post were not taken by Shawn. There were taken by me, using my embarrassing Fuji FinePix F20, under the influence of all that wine that I drank. But I promise that in the future things will change. Now that Shawn has this amazing can-do-it-all tripod, I’ll  try to recruit him as a full time photographer for this blog, and I expect to be able to present you with  the photos of superb quality. No more of this point-and-shoot mediocrity.  

Thanks everyone for a wonderful time. 

And thank you for reading. 

Aušra

 

Taiwanese baked pork / beef rolls

Joy’s recipe

Dough:

340 g water

1 package dry yeast

3 tablespoons sugar

600 g flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

400 g ground pork / beef

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon black pepper

100 g scallions

To make the dough: dissolve sugar in lukewarm water. Add yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes until bubbly. Mix salt into flour. Add yeast/sugar mixture to flour/salt mixture and work into a smooth dough ball. Let rise for 30 minutes.

To make the filling: add spices to the meat. Mix well. Place into fridge until read to make the buns. Chop scallions and add them to the meat mixture right before making the buns.

To make the buns: preheat oven to 375^oF. Lightly grease baking sheet with a little bit of oil. Divide dough and filling into 16 equal portions. Take one portion of the dough, shape into a flat round, thinner at the edges and thicker in the center. Place one portion of the filling onto a dough round and start tucking the meat filling in by pinching the outside edges of the dough,  encircling the filling with dough wrapper. Brush the tops of the buns with water. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let buns rise for about 20 minutes*.  Bake buns for 20 minutes. Open oven door every 5 – 10 minutes for about 5 – 10 seconds, to let out the accumulated moisture. Buns taste best if served hot, with some good soy sauce for dipping.

*This step can be skipped if your kitchen is really warm, since the dough will be rising while you are shaping the buns.

 

Taivanietiškos mielinės bandelės su kiauliena arba jautiena

Joy receptas

Tešlai:

340 g vandens

2 šaukšteliai sausų mielių

3 šaukštai cukraus

600 g  miltų

3/4 šaukštelio druskos

Įdarui:

400 g kiaulienos arba jautienos faršo

1 šaukštas sojų padažo

1 šaukštas sesamo aliejaus

1 šaukštas ryžių vyno

1 šaukštas cukraus

1/2 šaukštelio druskos

1/2 šaukšto maltų juodųjų pipirų

100 g svogūnų laiškų

Paruošti tešlą: cukrų ištirpinti šiltame vandenyje. Suberti mieles ir palikti maždaug 5 minutėms, kol pradės putoti. Sumaišyti miltus ir druską. Į sausus ingredientus supilti vandens/cukraus/mielių mišinį, viską gerai išmaišyti, kol tešla taps vienalytė ir minkšta. Tešlą suformuoti į rutulį. Palikti maždaug 30 minučių, kad pakiltų.

Paruošti įdarą: į faršą suberti visus prieskonius. Prieš pat formuojant bandeles, smulkiai supjaustyti svogūnų laiškus ir suberti į faršą. Išmaišyti.

Bandelės: Orkaitę įkaitinti iki 190^oC. Aliejumi plonai patepti žemą plačią kepimo skardą. Tešlą ir įdarą padalinti į 16 vienodų porcijų. Iš vienos tešlos porcijos suformuoti plokščią diskelį, storesnį viduryje, plonesnį kraštuose. Ant diskelio dėti 1 porciją mėsos įdaro. Suformuoti bandelę, apsukant įdarą tešla ir viršuje užspaudžiant tešlos kraštus. Bandelių viršų patepti vandeniu ir apibarstyti sezamo sėklomis. Bandeles palikti 20 minučių, kad pakiltų*.

Kepti 20 minučių. Maždaug kas 5 – 10 minučių praverti orkaitės dureles ir jas palikti atviras maždaug  5 – 10 sekundžių, kad iš orkaitės išeitų susikaupę garai. Iškeptas bandeles traukti iš orkaitės. Bandelės skaniausios kol dar karštos; tiekti su geros kokybės sojų padažu.

*bandelilų kildinti nebūtina, jeigu virtuvėje yra labai šilta.