This Delicious Steamed Kosher Veal Buns recipe is a Chinese delicacy that has always piqued my interest in the ever-popular steamed pork bun. Although the traditional pork bun is made with roast pork, I found an enticing recipe for spicy steamed veal buns. I’ve found that a great substitute is a 50/50 mix of veal and dark chicken mince. I’m not sure how much it does taste like pork – but it is bloody good. Make sure you set aside a good couple of hours to make these Delicious Steamed Kosher Veal Buns – but rest assured, the reward is worth the effort.
Delicious Steamed Kosher Veal Buns
Print RecipeIngredients
- FOR THE STUFFING:
- 40 grams of unpeeled fresh ginger
- 200 grams of veal mince
- 200 grams of dark chicken mince
- 4 small red chilies (or two large red chilies)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon of sesame oil
- FOR THE DOUGH:
- 250 grams of plain white flour – and a bit more for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 30 centimeter Bamboo steamer
- Spray oil
Instructions
1. You may wish to wear gloves for this bit, chop the chilies finely – seeds and all. Combine with the salt and leave at room temperature for at least 30 minutes – you can even do this the night before and leave the chilies in a jar until the next morning.
2. Smash the ginger with the flat part of a blade and place it in a small bowl. Cover with water – about 5 tablespoons should do it and leave it for a few minutes to infuse.
3. Combine the chicken and veal in a bowl. Add the water from the ginger – without the ginger – to the mincemeat. To combine the meat with the water, you may need to pick the mixture up and slap it against the side of the bowl. Once the water is combined with the meat – add the salted chilies and sesame oil and combine. Mix well and place the meat into the freezer for about 20 minutes. This helps to firm up the mixture so that it retains the ginger water during cooking.
4. Mix the dried yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water together until dissolved.
5. Add the yeast mixture to the plain flour in a large bowl and combine with your hands. You will need to add more water at this stage – another couple of tablespoons should do it – in order to make a stiff but moist dough.
6. Roll the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about 10 minutes – the dough will be ready when it is smooth and glossy. Cover with a damp cloth and leave at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.
7. Roll the dough into two long sausages – about 3 centimeters thick. If you have ever made challah before, this is a pretty similar process. Once rolled out, cut the dough into pieces about 3 centimeters long and dust lightly with flour – you will end up with approximately 20 pieces of dough. Each piece should be about the size of a 3 centimeters cube.
8. Place a sheet of baking paper at the base of the bamboo steamer – you may want to cut a few air holes into the paper for the steam. Spray with oil and set aside.
9. The process of making the dumplings is time-consuming – but you will get faster as you go.
- Take a piece of dough and roll it between the palms of your hands, forming a ball.
- Press it between your hands so that you end up with a disc shape that is thicker in the middle.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured board, and using a rolling pin, roll from just outside the center of the disc to the edge.
- Turn the dough a quarter and repeat until you have a circular piece of dough between 7-10cm in diameter. It needs to be thicker in the middle than at the edges in order to support the filling.
- With the dough in your palm, put about one teaspoon of the meat mixture in the middle.
- There are two methods you can use to seal the pork bun – the easier option is as follows:
- Fold the dough in half and pinch the middle together, encasing the meat.
- Now fold the other two opposite edges into the middle and pinch again – you will now have a dumpling with a cross shape of dough on it.
- Bring in two of the remaining opposing edges and pinch in the middle.
- Bring in the last two edges and pinch all the dough together – twist the top of the bun slightly to ensure that it holds its shape. If the dough doesn’t stay closed, dab the dough with a little water. Pinch it all together, and it will now hold.
- The second option involves folding the dough over the meat mixture in a flan pattern. Fold the first part of the dough, turn the dumpling about an eighth and repeat the process until all the dough is folded over the mixture. Pinch the top of the dumpling and twist slightly. This process takes a little bit more practice to perfect but results in a very impressive-looking pork bun.
10. Place the dumplings in the steamer, leaving a little bit of space between each one so that they won’t stick together.
11. Once finished making all the dumplings, leave them at room temperature for about 20 minutes to allow the dough time to rise.
12. Steam the dumplings over high heat for about 15 minutes – make sure there is enough water in the wok so that it won’t boil dry. Keep the water boiling at a rapid pace for the full 15 minutes
13. Serve immediately with some soy sauce and perhaps a cup of Chinese tea – it is Yum Cha, after all!
