#68 Chinese Steamed Buns/Bao with Chicken Filling

If you’ve ever tried steamed Chinese buns at a dim sum restaurant you’ll know how tender and light the dough is and how moist these buns taste when you bite into one and discover the surprise little bit of meat embedded inside it. My favorite steamed buns from the Wow Bao in Chicago and especially the Thai Chicken filled are notably delish! I like them because of the small size, the scrumptious chicken filling and the fluffy dough, but I wanted to make them at home, since Chicago is too far off to visit.   
Now I may have mentioned in one of my previous posts that on each of my trips to the local Asian market, I discover something new that I bring back home. This time hidden on a shelf in the flour isle, I saw a small packet of flour that read “steamed bun dough”  When I got home from the store and decided to read about this new found package, I found out that it is a flour like powder with instructions on how to make a dough. I poured in some warm milk and sugar to the flour and let it rise for a few hours and I was ready to stuff the meat. The chinese chicken filled savory buns turned out so light and fluffy, that when I served it piping hot I had to watch out to make sure I didn’t burn my tongue. With the weather getting colder by the day, this is a wonderful meal for a cold morning or even for brunch.

Ingredients for chicken mix

3 tablespoons oil

2 Lbs ground chicken

1 can water chestnut

2/3 cup mushroom

½ cup chopped onions

3 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/4 cup Cilantro and mint

Whole boiled eggs-3 cut into quarters

Grated Carrots or any vegetable like zuchini- ½ cup

Stir Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

2 Tblspn Hoisin Sauce

1 tspn Ginger grated

2 Red chillies crushed

Method:

1. Make a dough following instructions on the cover of the package.
2. To prepare the stir fry sauce, combine all the ingredients and stir well.
3. In a large wok, sauté onions, ginger, garlic and ground chicken until the chicken is cooked and dry.
4. Add the mushrooms, water chestnuts, cilantro, mint and carrots and mix well. Add stir fry sauce and mix.

5. Make small balls from the dough and roll them smooth. Using some extra flour, roll out the balls with a rolling pin into medium thin pancakes.
6. Place a tablespoon of chicken mix and top with a piece of the egg.
7. Gather up the edges to enclose the filling completely and twist the edges together to seal. Do the same with the remaining dough.
8. Line a steamer rack with wax paper and place in a large shallow saucepan with water upto 2 inches.
9. Cover the steamer and bring to a rolling boil. Arrange the buns at least 1 inch apart on the steamer rack.
10. Cover and steam until puffy, tender and dough has cooked through. I steamed four buns at a time so that they do not stick.
11. Serve warm with extra serving of the stir fry sauce