Friday, September 16, 2011

Steamed Lotus Buns




I still had some leftover lotus paste and Ann of Anncoo Journal suggested I make steamed lotus buns with them. I didn't want to waste any of it as Ronny and I nearly became crippled making it. It was really hard work. Please refer to my previous post for the lotus paste recipe.

I followed a recipe from Smoky Wok, modifying it a bit. I only used sugar to activate the yeast and omitted the rest of it. I also used cake flour as I read that it was better to keep the protein content low.

These were delicious and much healthier than the mooncakes as the wrapper only had a small amount of butter in it. If you have any kind of paste lying around (Azuki, white bean, lotus, etc.) it's very easy to make and wonderful to have with some nice Chinese or Japanese tea.

Steamed Lotus Buns

Ingredients

5.5g Dry Yeast
1/2 Cup Warm Water
1 1/2 Cup Cake Flour + more for kneading
1 Tsp Baking Powder
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
1 Tsp Sugar

Step 1: In a large bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and 1 Tsp of the cake flour and leave it until bubbly for around 15 minutes.

Step 2: Sift all the dry ingredients in a smaller bowl.

Step 3: Mix the dry ingredients into the yeast mixture adding the butter.

Step 4: Knead for around 10 minutes.

Step 5: Transfer to a clean oiled bowl and let it rise for 60 minutes or until it has at least doubled.

Step 6: Start boiling the water in the steamer* when the dough is ready for another kneading.

Step 7: Knead the dough for another 5 minutes until it is smooth and pliant and then divide it into 12 portions.

Step 8: Roll a small ball of lotus paste and wrap it up. See this.

Step 9: Cut oven paper so that they are bigger than the buns and place the buns on top of the paper.

Step 10: Steam 3 at a time for 15-20 minutes.

Step 11: Serve warm.

*I used a couscoussier.



12 comments:

Dewi said...

Yummy! I love steam bun. Never made it with lotus, but will try it asap.

Btw, thank you so much for your info about YUZU lime, I am totally in love with it. Do you have any Japanese recipe that using this lime. Thanks Murasaki!

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Elra: My recipes used Yuzu, not Yuzu Lime, but I'm sure it will be really nice with Yuzu Lime. If you ever have miso soup try putting a little bit of rind in the soup. It should jazz it up. You can also make deep fried gyoza with shrimp. So it would be shrimp, yuzu lime rind, scallions, garlic, sake or sherry, soy sauce. Make a dipping sauce with soy sauce and yuzu lime for these. :)

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

sounds irresistable..:P
Tasty Appetite

Amelia said...

Delicious steam bun, good ideal for left over lotus paste.

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Amelia: Yes, unlike the lotus paste, these were very easy to make. I had trouble before when I didn't have a steamer but the couscoussier works fine. :)

Smoky Wok (formerly Tastes of Home) said...

Glad that this recipe worked out for you! Interesting that you only used cake flour, shall try it when I get a chance :)

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Smoky Wok: The AP flour here is geared toward bread baking and has a high protein content and none of the flour is bleached. This is why I tried using 100% cake flour. Thanks for posting the recipe. Now I can make steamed buns! :)

Smoky Wok (formerly Tastes of Home) said...

Hi again! Oh I see, that's a great alternative when you can't get pao flour, but I did see pao flour in a lot of Asian grocery stores e.g. Ranch 99 but then I used to live in CA, not sure where you are :)

Oh, when you have a quick minute, would you mind changing just the first part of the link to the buns by replacing "http://tastesofhome.blogspot with www.smokywok.com instead?

Thanks ever so much!

Murasaki Shikibu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Taste of Beirut said...

I like how you used techniques and utensils from other cultures to make your mooncakes! I bought mooncake molds years ago and used them to mame cookies with rice flour from the middle-east; but I am itching to try my hand at mooncakes and will consult you when the time comes!

ann low said...

Oh I love Lotus Buns (莲蓉包) especially eaten when it is piping hot.

Murasaki Shikibu said...

Taste of Beirut: When we eat lots of food that's not local (as you know), we have to be innovative sometimes to satisfy our own food cravings. ;)

Anncoo: Thanks for the idea. It was great!