Vegan Steam Vegetable (Bangkuang) Bao

Bāozio 包子 are a very popular Chinese breakfast item. These buns usually present themselves as sweet or savoury fillings wrapped in a dough and also it is one of the popular street foods in China or Southeast Asia. 

Surprisingly, steam bao find its origin in the 2nd century, when this food was much simpler. Over the course of history, steamed baos have witnessed many changes, which leads to the diversity of this traditional Chinese delicacy. Today, you can find bao in different sizes, shapes and with various stuffing.

Today I decided to make a vegan vegetables bao using bangkuang (know in Malaysia) Bangkuang/ sa kot/ yam bean/ jicama is a tuberous root native to Mexico. The Spaniards spread its cultivation to Philippines, and from there it went to China and other parts of Southeast Asia. It is sweet with a crisp texture and yellow papery skin. It is commonly eaten raw in salads such as Rojak and Yee Sang. It is an essential ingredients in Jiu Hu Char or Popiah. That is how bangkuang look like as below photo.

For the bao dough follow the link below:

https://yummymummyrecipes.blogspot.com/2019/06/steamed-bao-buns.html

For the filling:

• 750g coarsely shredded bangkuang/jicama/yam bean
• 200g coarsely shredded carrot
• 5 dried shitake mushroom, soaked to softened and cut into small pieces
• 2 pips garlic, finely chopped
• 3 stalks of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 3-4 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• salt to taste

Method:

For the filling: Heat 2 tbsp cooking oil, add in the garlic and fry until fragrant, then add in the carrots. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add in the bangkuang and continue frying for another 2 minutes. 

Add in the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil and salt. Mix well and add in about ¼ cup water and bring to boil. Once boil, let it simmer until soft and nearly dry. Just before taking the fillings off the heat, add additional seasoning such as white pepper, salt and sugar. Make sure you are slightly heavy handed adding in the seasonings because it will be eaten with steamed buns which is plain.

Transfer the cooked fillings to a bowl. Leave it aside to cool completely before filling the bun.

To fill the bun, shape the dough into round shape using a rolling pin. Put the dough on your hand or on top of the table. On the top of the dough, put 1-2 tbsp of the cooked fillings. Pull up the sides of dough and seal off the edges with your fingers. Well seal needed so that the fillings do not burst out from the dough.

Put the buns on top of a square baking paper on top of the steamer rack. Leave space of about 1.5cm between the dough for expansion. Proof the dough for another 30 minutes or almost double in size. By the end of the second proofing, you will notice that the dough skin become smoother as compared to before proofing. 

After the second proofing, get ready the steamer with some water. Bring to boil. When the water boils, steamed the buns under high heat for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, off the heat and let the buns sit in the steamer, without opening the lids for about 10 minutes before transfer the buns out of the steamer. The process of letting the buns sitting in the steamer is to prevent wrinkles and rough surface appearing in the buns. Put the buns in cooling rack.

Best served warm as breakfast or snack items. Re-steam the buns for 3-4 minutes will make the buns soft as if they are freshly prepared.

Lion's Head Meatballs (獅子頭 Shi Zi Tou)

 With the grand and exotic-sounding name, you would think the Chinese meatballs known as "Lion's Head"( 獅子頭 Shi Zi Tou ) would be troublesome to make at home. Fortunately, they are as easy as can be. A Shanghai speciality, Lions Head meatballs are made of simple, humble ingredients.

You will find quite a few versions of Lion's Head in China. One popular rendition in northern China is braised meatballs, which are braised in a soy-sauce-based liquid after browning. Another type is meatballs cooked in chicken broth. 

What are Lion's Head Meatballs?

Lion's Head meatballs (獅子頭 Shi Zi Tou) are large pork meatballs that steamed/braised and served with vegetables. Their name derives from their shape, which resembles the head of a Chinese guardian lion, or foo dog. It can be eaten anytime of the year, but is often served as a celebration dish!

Ingredients:

• 450g ground pork/chicken
• 10g ginger, minced
• 1 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 large eggs
• 3 tbsp plain breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
•  ½ tsp white pepper
• ¼ five spice powder
• 1½ tsp corn flour
• ¼ cup water
• 100g water chestnuts

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 4 slices ginger
• 2 spring onions, cut into 2 inch lengths (separate the white and green)
• 2½ tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
• ¼ tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1½ cups water
• 1 tsp corn flour, mixed with 1 tbsp water
• ¼ tsp sesame oil
• bok choy for serving

Method:

For the meatballs: Put the ground pork/chicken in a large bowl. Add the minced ginger and spring onions, egg, breadcrumbs, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, five spice powder, corn flour and water.  Whip everything in one direction for about 10 minutes, until the meat mixture resembles a paste. This step is important to making sure the meatballs have the right texture and don't fall apart during frying.

Finely minced the water chestnuts and add to the meat mixture and continue to mix everything together for further 5 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape everything together.

Heat enough oil to submerge the meatballs in a small, deep pot (small pot requires less oil) to about 175ºC. Make sure there are enough oil to cook the meatballs evenly.

With oiled hand, divide the meat mixture into 8-9 equal portions and shape each into a ball. Carefully lower the meatballs one at a time into the heated oil, and fry in batches until the meatballs are evenly golden brown. Remove the par-cooked meatballs with slotted spoon and set aside.

For the sauce: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over low heat. Add the ginger and white parts of the spring onions and cook for 1 minute. Then add the sugar and cook until dissolved.

Add 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 1½ tbsp light soy sauce, ¼ tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce and 1½ cup water. Stir and bring the liquid to a boil.

Once boiling, add the fried meatballs. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes over medium/low heat, flipping the meatballs halfway through.

After simmering, there should be about ¾ cup liquid left. Remove the meatballs from the liquid and arrange on your serving plate. I served mine with blanched baby bok choy. Just add 1 tsp oil to boiling water for the shinny look, and blanched for 30 seconds.

Mix your corn flour mixture, and pour into the sauce to thicken. Once it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, stir in ¼ tsp sesame oil and the green part of the spring onions. Once the spring onions are wilted, drizzle the sauce over the meatballs.