Chinese Steam Buns, Dim Sum, Sticky Pork Recipes
We hope you loved your cookery class. You’ll find your recipes below, ready to bring to life and enjoy all over again.
- Steamed buns with Savoury and sweet fillings
- Sui Mai Dim Sum
- Sticky Pork Belly
Steamed Buns Dough
A sweet-filled steamed bun has the folds underneath, and a savoury filling traditionally has the folds at the top.
Ingredients
- 5 g Fast action dried yeast
- 5 g Caster sugar 1 tsp
- 165 ml Water warm
- 290 g Plain flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
Method
- Add lukewarm water to a small bowl, just a bit above body temperature. Add the sugar and active dry yeast. Let it sit for 5 minutes so the yeast will activate.
- While the yeast activates, add the flour and baking powder into your mixer bowl.
- Once the yeast is activated, you should see bubbles on the surface of the mixture. Pour it into the mixer bowl. Mix, until the dry ingredients just absorb the liquid.
- Install the dough hook on your mixer. Start at low speed, then gradually increase to speed setting to 6 out of 10. Knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is very smooth. Stop the mixer in the middle and scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl.
- Knead on level 6 for another 5 minutes. The dough should be soft, smooth, and easily lift from the bowl without sticking to your hands.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with butter or oil. Transfer the dough into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm part of your room until the size triples, about 2 hours.
Hoisin Chicken Filling for Steamed Buns
Makes 5 steam buns for one person
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 100 g Chicken mince
- 1 tbsp Water
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tsp Fresh ginger grated
- 1/2 Onion or banana shallot, diced
- 1 Spring onion sliced
- 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp Hoisin sauce
- 1/2 tsp Granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cornflour
Method
- Preheat the wok or a cast-iron pan until it starts to smoke lightly. Add in sunflower oil, along with the minced ginger and diced onion. Cook over medium heat until the onions soften. Add in the ground pork and turn up the heat, stirring to break up any large chunks. Cook until all the pork turns pale and opaque–there is no need to brown or crisp the meat.
- Add wine, dark soy sauce, hoisin, sugar and sesame oil. With the heat on high, stir everything together until well-combined. Taste the filling and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Cook for a couple of more minutes to cook off any remaining liquid. Stir in the cornflour and water mixture, allowing everything to bubble together for 30 seconds to a minute. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool uncovered. After the filling has cooled, mix in the chopped spring onions.
Sweet Custard Filling for Steamed Buns
Makes 5 steam buns for one person
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 5 g Cornflour
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Plain flour
- 30 g Caster sugar
- 2 Medium Egg yolks
- 120 g Milk
- 8 g Butter
- ¼ tsp Vanilla essence
Method
- Prepare the custard while the dough is resting. Mix the cornflour, plain flour, and half of the sugar in a small bowl.
- Place the egg yolks in a large bowl. Stir a few times to mix the yolks.
- Add the milk and the remaining half of the sugar into a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve the sugar completely. Cook until it reaches about 120 °F/ 49 °C (no more than 150 °F / 65 °C). You might see a few bubbles here and there. If the milk starts foaming, it’s too hot.
- While the milk starts to get warm, add the dry ingredients (from step 1 of the custard) into the bowl with the egg yolks. Whisk until it forms an even paste. Do not add the dry ingredients too early, because the sugar will change the texture of the eggs.
- Add the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk constantly until the milk is fully incorporated into the paste. Continue to add more milk, a 1/4 cup at a time, and continuously stirring, until it forms a thin, smooth mixture and all the milk is added.
- Return the mixture to the pot (the one you used to heat the milk). Heat over medium-low heat and stir constantly, until the mixture thickens, 5 minutes or so. Keep cooking and stirring until you can draw a line on the bottom of the pot using a spatula. Remove the pot from the stove immediately. Add the butter and vanilla extract. Stir to mix well.
- Line a large, deep plate with cling film and pour the custard into it.
- Cover the custard with cling film and press it against the custard, so it won’t form a skin once it’s chilled.
- Chill the custard in the fridge until it’s cooled, 2 hours or so. Or in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Steam Buns - Assembling & Cooking
Method
Prepare & Fill the Dough
- Cut some parchment paper into 3” (7 cm) squares to hold the buns.
- Punch the air out of the dough. Transfer it onto a lightly oiled working surface. Knead a few times to make the dough into a round ball. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces. Each piece of dough should weigh 30 grams. Use your hands to roll and shape the dough pieces into dough balls.
- Flatten the dough ball using your palm. Use a rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a round disc that is thick in the middle and thin on the edges, about 2.5 to 3” (6 to 7 cm) in diameter. Carefully remove it from the surface and place it onto your palm.
- Place about a tablespoon of filling (custard or chicken) in the centre of the wrapper. Press the filling into the dough to release any air bubbles inside. Use your other hand to gather the wrapper onto the top of the filling. The dough sheet will start to form pleats and retain its round shape.
- Once done, place the buns onto one of the cut parchment squares, pleated-side down, then place it on a plate. Loosely cover it with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out. Repeat the process to wrap the rest of the buns.
- Set a stopwatch (or timer) after wrapping the first bun to keep track of the resting time. You need to rest the buns for 20 to 30 minutes before steaming.
Steaming
- Depending on the size of your steamer, you might need to steam the buns in batches. What I usually do is prepare the steamer after wrapping half of the buns, so some of them are ready to be cooked as you work on the rest.
- Cover and let steam for 10 minutes. Once done, remove the steamer rack and place it onto a trivet. Uncover the steamer rack carefully. Let the steam out and then transfer the buns onto a serving plate. Let the buns cool for 5 minutes before eating.
- Cook the rest of the buns and serve
- Steamed buns taste best when they are still warm, but you can serve them at room temperature, as well.
Siu Mai - Dim Sum
If you don't eat pork, you can substitute with chicken mince; or dried shitake mushrooms, diced
Serves: people
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 90 g Pork mince Substitute with chicken mince; or x5 shitake mushrooms, diced
- 35 g King prawns x3 King Prawns
- 1.5 Dried shiitake mushrooms (dried) soaked & minced
- Sea salt a pinch to taste
- White pepper a pinch to taste
- 1/2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 1/2 tsp Soy sauce
- 1/4 Spring onion finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp Chicken stock powder or MSG or Cornflour
Wrappers
- 5 Wonton pastry wrappers round or square
- 1 tbsp Water approx, in a bowl
Method
- Pre soak shiitake mushrooms in hot water until soft, 5-10mins and dice finely.
- Dice pork and prawns, slice spring onions.
- Mix the pork and prawns, salt, pepper in a bowl, then add the rice wine and soy sauce, chicken powder, sugar and spring onions
- Set aside.
- Cup the wrapper in your hand and fill - keep compressing with a spoon or butter knife. Then seal by pinching the money bag together. The should be full but not overflowing.
- Steam in Bamboo steamer for 8 minutes
Sticky Pork - Char Sui Style
We have developed a recipe to quickly make this delicious sticky pork with a Char Sui marinade. Using slices of pork belly cuts down the cooking time.
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 240 g Pork Loin Steaks 2
For the Marinade
- 1 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Honey plus extra to basting/glazing
- 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 2 clove Garlic mashed or grated
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce light
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine Chinese wine
- 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice
- 1 tbsp Vegetable oil for cooking
Method
- Put all the marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix together.
- Slice the pork into long strips and marinate for 30 minutes.
- Put the pork into a cold pan and bring up the heat; this prevents the fat from burning. Know as a cold-sear method.
- Drain the fat and cook until sticky and pork is coated, takes about 10 mins.
- In the final 5 minutes, brush with honey and a splash of water to get a sticky, glossy finish.
- Serve with rice or stir-fried vegetables.
Dipping Sauce for Dumplings
This was pre made for you by chef.
Serves: People
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Ponzu
- 1 tsp Black vinegar
- 1 tsp Water
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 clove Garlic Mashed or Grated
- 1 tsp Fresh ginger Grated
For Korean Dipping Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Gochugaru Korean chilli flakes
To Garnish
- 1 tbsp Spring onion sliced, optional
Method
- Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Food Sorcery’s Favourite brands to Use
Available in Asian supermarkets such as Hang Won Hong, W.H.Lungs or Wing Yip
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