Panfried Pork and Scallion Mini Buns

Name: Panfried Pork and Scallion Mini Buns
Yield: makes 32 small buns
Ingredients: 10 ounces fatty ground pork, coarsely chopped to loosen; 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger; 1/4 cup finely chopped Chinese chives or scallions (white and green parts); 1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon white pepper; 1/2 teaspoon sugar; 1 tablespoon light (regular) soy sauce; 2 teaspoons Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 1 tablespoon water; 1 1/4 pounds Basic Yeast Dough (page 92), preferably made with unbleached flour; 1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh ginger; 1/4 cup Chinkiang vinegar or balsamic vinegar; Light (regular) soy sauce (optional); Chile Oil (page 216) (optional); 3 to 4 tablespoons canola oil

December 9, 2011

If you like pot stickers and steamed buns, you’ll love these spongy-crisp panfried treats from Shanghai, where typically they are cooked in humongous shallow pans (much like large paella pans) with wooden lids. These buns are made of yeast dough that is filled with an aromatic pork mixture and then fried and steamed in a skillet. Cooking under cover with a bit of water delivers plenty of moisture to puff up the buns. Ground beef chuck or chicken thigh can stand in for the pork in this recipe. A bāozi is a mini bāo (bun) and for that reason, I like to keep these true to their name and shape small ones. However, you can elect to form sixteen medium-size (2 3/4-inch) buns. Roll the dough circles out to 3 1/4 inches in diameter and use about 4 teaspoons of filling for each bun; increase the water and cooking time a tad.

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