Banh Bao: Vietnamese Steamed Pork Buns
In this blog entry, we are going to find out what method will produce a fluffier bun—a homemade flour mixture or store bought pre-mixed flour. I am experimenting with the Kim Tu Thap brand of Bot Banh Bao flour, in which I will follow the exact bag directions then compare it to my homemade mixture of cake flour and yeast. I used the same meat filling for both. The following meat recipe makes enough for 24 buns.
Ingredients
Meat Fillings
2 lbs ground pork
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/3 - 1/2 cup dried black fungus (equals 1 c. hydrated)
1 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp MSG (optional)
24 quail eggs
5 Chinese sausage links
For the Buns
360 grams cake flours
4 grams instant yeast
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
185-200mL milk, room temperature
To make it easier on myself, I went ahead and prepared my fillings the day before. Make the meat mixture, boil your eggs (chicken or quail), and slice your Chinese sausage. Combine all the ingredients, except the Chinese sausage and eggs, together. Black fungus usually comes dry and needs to be rehydrated by soaking it in hot tap water for about 15-30 minutes does the trick. I cut my black fungus into small pieces with scissors so that it mixes better with the meat and diced onion. Pop this mixture into the refrigerator.
I prefer quail eggs over chicken eggs for my buns because the egg white doesn’t dry out when you are steaming them and it’s more aesthetically appealing when you cut down middle and find a hidden surprise versus a quarter wedge of egg on the side. It also makes it easier to form your buns. Boil your quail eggs for about 4 minutes and peel them (I know, this is the tedious). Slice your Chinese sausage on the bias. Store your quail eggs and Chinese sausages in a sealed container then refrigerate.
I formed my meatballs around the quail eggs the same day that I made the dough for the buns, but if you want to save yourself that step and do it the night before then refrigerate, that’s an option as well.
I usually measure out my dough ingredients in weight versus volume because it is more precise. When making any sort of bread or dough, the proper ratio will ensure that your dough raises. I used a stand mixture to get both my dough started. For my homemade mixture, add cake flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and cooking oil into a bowl in the portions stated above. On low speed, slowly add the milk until the dough comes together. At this point, you could mix with the dough hook on a medium speed for 10 minutes to develop the gluten but I prefer to hand knead my dough. It’s good exercise! Use the window panel test (https://www.thekitchn.com/bakers-techniques-how-to-do-th-70784) to check if the gluten is developed then let the dough rest for 15 minutes before forming the buns.
I repeated with the pre-mixed four and followed the bag instructions. I dumped all the contents of the bag into the stand mixer bowl and added 1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. As this dough was coming together I could already tell that it feels a little denser. It also came together easier so I let the stand mixer knead the dough for about 10 minutes on medium speed then allowed the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
At this time, I started to boil some water at the bottom of my metal steamer (a bamboo steamer over a pot works as well). Keep your water at a low rolling boil - I find that medium or medium-low heat worked well. While my second batch of dough rested, I went ahead and started forming my buns. In order for my testers to be able to identify the difference between the two dough, I decided to roll my homemade buns into a round shape (A) and pleated the buns for the pre-mixed package dough (B).
There was an overwhelming preference for A as it had a fluffier/soft texture. My sister said that it needed a little more flavor so I adjusted the sugar and salt amount. It is reflected in the final recipes. It was determined a homemade bun dough is the way to go.
