Food for ...

Chinese steamed buns

I've eaten out three times this week. Two of these times was dim sum. There's a chain popping up around London called PingPong. One of them is right opposite my office and there is also one around the corner on my way to the tube stop. So on Friday night, me and a friend from work stopped by there for an impromptu visit to savour some of their "little steamed parcels of deliciousness."

Having now gotten the taste of dim sum I thought I would try my hand at it myself. So to go with my chicken and sweet potato curry (below), I thought I would make Chinese steamed buns with pork filling.

I did some research and realised it wasn't going to be easy. I mean if this guy and everyone who commented on his site were struggling with it, I was sure to have a hard time of it. I pre-warned Paul that they may be a flop, but I was game.

Oh, I don't have a steamer so I had to fashion this device:


It worked just fine.

Anyway - here's the recipe:

Chinese Steamed Buns:

Ingredients

flour 300g
sugar 40g
a pinch of salt
instant yeast 4g
baking powder 10g
milk 140ml
vegetable shortening 15g (I used butter)

Method:
Mix all the powdered ingredient in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the wet ingredient into the well and mix in thoroughly. When they’re combined, add the shortening and knead until smooth. Rest at room temperature for 30 mins.

Now go on to make the filling:

Filling

Ingredients

lean minced pork 150g
garlic 2 cloves, minced
ginger about half the size of a golf ball, minced
shiitake mushroom 1/2 cup, sliced
dash sesame oil
dash soy sauce
dash oyster sauce
sugar 1TB
Japanese cooking sake wine 1 TB (I counldn't find this so omitted it)
cornstarch 1/2 TB
s + p to taste

Fry shallots, ginger and garlic in a wok until fragrant. Add in the mince and the rest of the ingredients - with the exception of the cornstarch and fry for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, add cornstarch and set aside until bun dough is ready.

Separate dough into ten balls, and roll into circles. Place your the filling in the centre of each circle and fold dough up until all sides meet at the top, and pinch to seal. Let rest for at least 15 minutes. Steam for 15 minutes. (To prevent some discoloration, add a splash of vinegar to the water under the steamer.)

One of the biggest issues that people seemed to have when making these was that they couldn't get them restaurant-white. I failed with this also, but I'm not one to be really fussed about colour. Mine turned out okay. A little bit heavy - but for a first go, not bad. Paul loved them.

They don't look that great though. See below:

posted by Melissa @ 1:54 AM 0 comments

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

I bought some Jamaican sweet potatoes last weekend from an asian grocery store so thought I'd put them to use in a curry. I searched the web for an appropriate recipe and found this below:

Ingredients:

45ml Indian curry powder or garam masala
15ml ground turmeric
500g skinless chicken thighs or chicken portions
25ml raw cane sugar
30ml sesame oil
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
4cm galangal, peeled and chopped (or ginger)
2 stalks lemon grass, chopped
10ml Chili paste or dried chili flakes
1-2 medium wweet potatoes, peeled and cubes
45 ml Nuoc cham (recipe for this to follow)
1 sml bunch of basil and coriander (cilantro), stalks removes
600ml can coconut milk
Salt and ground black pepper to taste


Method:

In a small bowl, mix together the curry powder or garam masala and the turmeric. Put the chicken thighs in a bowl and coat with half of the spice. Set aside.

To make the caramel sauce, heat the sugar in a small pan with 7.5 ml water, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup turns golden. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Heat a wok or wide heavy pan and add the oil. Stir-fry the shallots, garlic, galangal and lemon grass until they begin to smell fragrant. Stir in the rest of the turmeric and curry powder with the chili paste or chili flakes, followed by the chicken, moving it around the wok for 2-3 minutes.

Add the sweet potatoes, then the nuoc mam, caramel sauce, coconut milk and 150 ml water. Stir well to combine the flavors. Bring the liquid to the boil, reduce the heat and cook for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Season with salt and pepper and stir half the basil and coriander through the curry.

Garnish with the remaining herbs.


Now to make the nuoc mam:

Nuoc Cham

ingredients

1 clove garlic
2 to 3 chillies, cored, seeded, and minced (more or less to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground chilli paste; more or less to taste
2/3 cup hot water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. shredded carrots (optional)


Method

In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and fresh chillies to a paste, (or mince them together with a knife.) In a small bowl, combine this garlic and chilli mixture with the chilli paste, hot water, and sugar. Stir well. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and combine. Float the carrots on top. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before using.


It turned out absolutely yummy. It's a more complicated curry than I've made before and it took me a while, but it was well worth it. We have a lot left over and each time I open the fridge door I get this waft of garlic and ginger. Yum.

posted by Melissa @ 1:26 AM 0 comments