I made buns this weekend and I hope that title got your attention. I was inspired by these Taiwanese buns from a place I tried in SGV (San Gabriel Valley), Kingburg Kitchen. Anytime I want to try something new and tasty in that part of town, my go-to-resource for great photos and info about tiny,traditional places is the LA based blog, potatomato. These twins seem to eat every meal out, so I can bet that they are gonna know just where to go in SGV. I didn’t care much for the other items on the menu, like the beef noodle soup, meaning I have had much better elsewhere, but the buns were really good and seemed like something I could achieve in my home kitchen. 

 

 

pork and oyster mushroom with chives 

 

Taiwanese buns are like giant potstickers, more of a good thing is how I like to see it. They are much easier to make then wrapping dumplings and even easier than the small steamed soup dumplings everyone seems to be so crazy about these days. From what I gather, Taiwan has really turned into the food capital for yummy Chinese food these days, as opposed to mainland China. A lot of places in SGV are Taiwanese owned, which would also explain why there are so many awesomely authentic places to eat at right in our backyard here in LA. Though I wouldn’t know what is truly authentic since I haven’t been to Taiwan or the real parts of China, the places I have tried in SGV are really good, packed, and cheap. Good enough for me.

 

 

Dumplings, buns, burritos, and empanadas exist in so many different food cultures with different names and different fillings, but are essentially the same core concept; meat wrapped in doughy goodness. I love it and told my boyfriend they were just like perogis, so he ate some.

 

I did pretty good on my first attempt and think they are ready to go from test-kitchen to party serving. Perhaps Chinese New Year… 

 

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TAIWANESE PAN FRIED BUNS

makes about 12-15 pieces 

 

DOUGH:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tbs sugar

3/4 tsp salt, a bit more if using kosher salt

3/4 tsp quick acting yeast

2 tbs cooking oil

3/4  to 1 cup very hot water 

 

MEAT FILLING:

1/2 cup Chinese chives or 4 stalks of green onions, finely chopped

1/2 lb minced pork, beef or chicken.  your choice.  you can also combine any meat with minced shrimp. Or mushrooms*. be creative!

1-2 tbs grated ginger (to taste)

2 cloves minced garlic 

1 tbs soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tsp corn starch

1 tsp Chinese cooking wine or dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

sesame oil

 

cooking oil, like canola or veggie and water for pan frying, about 1/2 cup per batch.

 

 

 

Dipping Sauce Suggestions:

Soy sauce with sliced serrano peppers and sesame oil

above with vinegar

above with chili oil or hot sauce

whatever you feel like!

 

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add in the oil and gradually add in the water until you get a soft dough. Mix well and then knead on a floured surface for 5 minutes. It will be a bit tacky still. Place the dough back in a bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rise for about 1.5 hours or until it doubles in size.

 

  

 

While the dough is rising, make the filling(s). Since I made a double batch of dough, I decided to make chicken and chives and a pork, mushroom, chive version. Ground chicken can be found at Asian markets as well as pork. If you can’t find ground chicken, you can mince up your own, if you are feeling up for it. I used oyster mushrooms* chopped up but you could use shitake or even woodear (that’s the black, rippled stuff that looks like ruffled fabric). 

 

 

 

When the dough is ready to use, place in a ball on a floured work surface and knead it into a smooth ball. Let it rest for a few minutes then you can stretch and roll the dough to a long snake. Cut the dough into 12-15 even sized pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. 

 

You can either shape each 3″-3.5″ disc with floured hands or with a rolling pin. I prefer using a small rolling pin.  Asian rolling pins are a small rod of wood about 1″ in diameter and do not have handles like the Western ones. You roll it using the tips of the finger of one hand, allowing the other hand to be free as you rotate the disc from above the rolling stick. It’s the same method for dumpling wrappers. I tried it both ways and preferred the rolling pin to really get the edges thin and smooth so when you gather them up it’s not super thick. It also allowed me to get the disc a bit larger for more filling.

 

FYI- the hand stretched way is fine but tiring and felt like I was making a hundred mini pizzas by hand. If you have ever made pizza you will know how elastic this dough can be. You stretch it, it shrinks back, and repeat. It’s like trying to pry a toy from a dog’s mouth. Push, pull, push, pull.

 

I will take a rolling pin over this method any day, even one with handles and going over the dough ball like a steam rolller would be just fine.

 

rise to fame 

If using the stretching method, dust hands with flour, stretch the dough ball into a 3-4″ round. If using a rolling pin, you will roll the edges thin as you rotate the dough until it is a nice round, even shape. Put a large spoonful of filling in the center, leaving about a 1/4″ around the filling of visible dough. Close the bun up by cradling it in the palm of one hand and pinching one end together, then going round and round until its closed. Once it’s sealed, pinch it together to seal completely and then twist it. Pat it in flour on both sides then place it on floured parchment paper or floured surface. Either side up is fine. Let it rise for about 20 minutes more. They should have enough time from just wrapping up all the other buns.

 

golden goodies 

 

Heat up about 2 tbs of oil in a large skillet (with lid) on medium heat. Carefully place the buns into the heated pan. Be careful not to burn all your hard work at this stage!  The buns cook pretty quickly. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown, then flip them over. At this point you will be steam-frying them. Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover with a lid, preferably glass so you can see what’s going on. Once all the water is almost evaporated, remove the lid and allow them to get crispy brown on that side as well. The liquid should be gone in about 5 minutes and you are left with crispy tidbits and finished buns.

 

Eat with your favorite dipping sauce. I love these with soy sauce and sliced serrano peppers and sesame oil. Some people like a little vinegar or spicy hot sauce too. Go crazy.

 

wallFlour tips:

 

* If using veggies or mushrooms in this case, you want to sprinkle some salt on them in a strainer for about 10 minutes, then squeeze out any excess liquid before making your filling. This will make it so your buns stay intact during the cooking.

If you are making more than one filling version, experiment with different shapes so you can distinguish between them

Reheating them is easy on the stovetop, using the steam-frying method from before

If you have leftover filling, just freeze it and use within a couple weeks 

Grate ginger with a Microplane

Experiment with different fillings or a combination of them 

The rolling pin would be the preferred method of shaping the dough 

Chinese or Asian chives are bigger than regular chives.  They are more like ramps or garlic shoots. If you can’t find them using green onions is fine too but these may produce more liquid and may need to be salted and strained of excess liquid.