Super Soft Pau

When my friend. Lena wanted to make pau, i suggested that she try out this Tien Tsin Pau recipe. She liked the pau skin alot and has been suggesting to friends to try it.

The recipe is HERE

Glutinious Rice Roll

Today is the 5th Day of the Fifth Moon following the Lunar Calender and today is the day of the 'Chung/Rice Dumpling Festival'.   I had wanted to make  some 'chung'  but due to unforeseen circumstances was not able to make some - excuses - excuses!!!  But...... since i do have leftover Law Mei Farn which is a very good filling for these Rolls.  These rolls are so much easier and faster to make and I am pleased that i have kept half the tradition by having glutinious rice served today but in another form.  You can follow any pau dough recipe or follow the one below.

 Ingredients:

Pau Dough:

2 cups pau flour(if all-purpose flour is used - add more water to make into a soft dough)
3/4 cup wheat starch
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup powdered/confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 tbsp shortening/lard
1 tsp instant yeast
2/3 cup water(adjust according)
1/4 tsp vinegar

Filling:

1/2 recipe of Law Mei Farn

Method:

To make pau dough:

Put flour, wheat starch, baking powder, powdered sugar and yeast in the food processor and pulse a few times to mix ingredients well..

Add in shortening/lard and pulse until well mixed.

Add vinegar to the water and pour into flour mixture with the food processor on,  Mix until a soft ball forms - water has to adjusted, adding more a little at a time, to make dough into a very soft and pliable dough.

Remove from food processor and knead until smooth, then leave to proof until double it's size.

To assemble:

Roll the 'law mei farn' into a 2 inch log.

Punch down the pau dough and roll into a rectangle that is big enough to wrap the law mei farn log.

Wrap the law mei farn log with the pau dough rectangle and pinch the seam well.

Cut the log into 1 1/2 inch pieces and put a piece of greaseproof paper underneath every piece. Leave rolls to proof again before steaming.  Pau dough should feel puffy and if touched lightly, the dough should not spring back and the dent remained)

Bring the water in the steamer to a very high boil and steam pau rolls for 8 - 10 minutes.

Serve hot

Serves

Layered pau

Another pau which is layered but not as much as the Thousand Layers Cake, this one has only 4 layers of pau and 3 fillings.  The color of the filling is so vibrant as it has so many egg yolks and the custard powder bring it to another level.  Try making this, it is not as tedious but just as or rather more delicious.



Ingredients:

Filling:

6 egg yolks
1 cup dessicated coconut
7 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice flour
3 tbsp custard powder
3/4 cup milk

Dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp oil
Topping:

Wofberries/goji/kee chee(optional)

Method:

Mix filling ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high one minute at a time stir well after every minute, until mixture has thickened(it was thickened in 3 minutes in my 900 watts microwave, so if you are having a higher wattage microwave oven, you could use 3/4 power or stop at 2 minutes).  Divide into 3 equal portions.

To make the dough:

Knead dough. let dough rise until it is double in bulk.

Divide dough  into 4 portions.

Roll out each portion of dough into 7 inch square (Roll the first portion and if it resists, let it rest and roll the second, repeat rolling and resting for all 4 portions)

Spray or grease a 7 inch cake pan with non stick butter spray and line with parchment paper.

Place  on piece of rolled portion on the bottom and spread a portion of the filling on top, level filling with an off-set spatula.

Top filling portion with another piece of rolled dough, press down to release trapped air. 

Repeat with filling and topping with another piece of rolled dough, ending with a piece of rolled dough on top.
Press wofberries/goiji/kee chee on top in a pattern.

Brush top of dough with oil to prevent drying out.

Let it rest for 30 - 45 minutes and in the meantime, bring the water in a steamer to the boil.

When dough has rested and risen, put into steamer and steam on high heat for 35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when pricked into the middle of cake.

Let cake cool before cutting into bite-size portions and serve warm.

Serves

Steamed Thousand Layer Cake

.Steamed Thousand Layer Cake,  I cannot decide on the name for this, should it be a cake or pau?  Although the ingredients for the dough is the same for 'pau' and assembled into a huge 'pau', it needed to be cut into bite-size pieces for serving, so i think i will call it a cake. The traditional filling is usually with coconut and dates but i have tweaked the filling to pork floss and hope that Renee will eat this cake as she does not like coconut at all..  She loves anything made with yeast and loves to smell the pau and bread before she eats them.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cup  all purpose flour
2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 cup or more water

Filling:

1/2  cup Sugar
1/2 cup Lard /shortening/margarine
1 cup pork floss

Place flour, yeast and water in the food processor and pulse until a dough forms.

Remove and knead until dough is soft and smooth.

Cover with a wet cloth and let rise until double in bulk.

Remove the dough to a pastry board.

Then roll until very thin, about 30 inches long and 12 inches wide.

Spread some lard and sprinkle sugar

Divide dough into 3 portions

Sprinkle sugar on to the center third only

Spread pork floss all over the center third and sprinkle more sugar

Fold the right third over the center third

Brush with melted margarine/oil

Sprinkle on sugar

Spread pork floss and then more sugar and fold the left third over

Roll dough out to 18 inch x 12 inch and divide into thirds.  Repeat brushing, sprinkling of sugar and pork floss and sugar again

Repeat folding the right third and the brushing, sprinkling and folding the left third over

Roll dough out to 18 inch x 12 inch, then fold 3 inches in on both sides of the 18 inch edge to make a 12 inch piece of dough.  Fold the dough in half and then half again to make a 6 inch square.

Perforate an 8 inch piece of parchment and put into steaming rack

Place the 6 inch square dough on top of parchment paper and leave to proof  for 30 minutes  In the meantime, bring water to the boil and steam cake for 45 minutes.  Cool cake before slicing.

Pleating Pau

I have been watching this Pau Pleating Video for umpteen times and still not able to pleat as pretty.  The saying is true - Hard to teach old dogs new tricks.  These pictures showed that i tried and perhaps i will have to make more than 360 paus to really pleat well.

Serves

Oyster Sauce Char Siew Pau

I was very surprised and happy that my Miss Picky Eater, ate 2 char siew paus, filling and all.  Usually she would just eat the pau and leave the filling.  She must be getting older and eating alot more, variety that is, like green leafy vegetables and fish.  I will go to any lengths to make or cook the food she likes to eat and looking at her devout that 2 paus made me go looking for this recipe which has been with me for more than 30 years.  I had been lazy and depended on the premixed cos pau flour is not readily available here and i have even asked the dim sum restaurants to sell me some of their stock but the reply is that they are always short.  Anyway, the bleached all-purpose flour and wheat starch made pretty good paus - perhaps not as fluffy or perhaps it is not the flour, it is that i do not have the expertise to make them as fluffy.  Even the folding of the paus, has an important part to play when it comes to making them smile.  I noticed that more dough should be on top of the pau and don't be like me, leaving the knob behind.  I must remember to break that knob away.

Ingredients:

Yeast Dough:
300 g pau flour/260 g bleached all-purpose flour and 40 g wheat starch
1 tsp instant yeast
150 ml water




To make pau dough:
150 g pau flour/130 g bleached all-purpose and 20 g wheat starch
3/4 tbsp double action baking powder
130 g sugar
1/2 tbsp lard/shortening
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp ammonium bicarbonate
2 tiny drops kan sui

FILLING:

300 g char siew(recipe is here
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
2 3/4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp dark thick soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp waterchestnut powder diluted with 2 tbsp water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp roast sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil


Method:

To make YEAST DOUGH

Mix flour yeast, yeast and water together.  Knead well and leave for at least 15 hours.

To make FILLING

Cut char siew into tiny dices.

Heat wok with a little oil and add in the minced garlic.  Saute until fragrant and add the diced char siew and the water and sauces.  Mix well and thicken with waterchestnut solution.  Cook until sauce comes back to the boil.

Add in chopped cilantro and roasted sesame seeds and drizzle with sesame oil.

Leave to cool.

To make pau dough after 15 hours:

Sieve the baking powder with the flour.

Mix ammonium bicarbonate, kan sui and water and mix until ammonium bicarbonate is dissolved.

Tear up the yeasted dough into small pieces and place in an electric stand mixer bowl,, add in the sugar, lard and the ammonium bicarbonate solution.  Using the dough hook, knead until well mixed,  Add in flour and knead the dough until it is smooth.

Remove dough and spread dough out into a rough rectangle.  Mix 1/2 tsp of baking powder with a little water and spread it over the rectangle.  Roll it up and knead until smooth and not sticking to your hands.

Divide dough into portions (i like to weigh them 35 gms each).  Line the divided dough up.  Start from the first portion, cup the dough portion with your palm and round it.  Repeat with the rest of the portions, lining them up in order.

While making the paus, fill steamer pot with water and bring to the boil.

Roll the first rolled portion dough out into a circle and fill with a tablespoon of cooled filling.  Pleat the circle up and seal well.(i roll the circle bigger, so that i can have more dough on top of pau.  I find that more dough is good for the pau to smile.  Remove the last pinch from the top).  Put a piece of paper at the base of pau and leave in a steamer rack, covered with a damp cloth while you prepare another 6 more paus.

Make sure water is in a rolling boil before putting the steamer rack with the prepared paus to steam for 10 minutes(if you are making bigger paus, then steaming time will be longer).

Continue to wrap paus with the char siew filling and steam.

These paus cannot be consumed yet as they stink from the ammonium bicarbonate.  A second steaming of 10 minutes is required to allow the ammonium to dissipate.

Enjoy the paus warm.

 Serves

Pan-Fried Pau/Sang Cheen Pau

Pan-Fried Paus ready to eat - Bon Appetit

Ready for the pan

This is a very quick and easy way to make paus and these paus are second to none. You do not necessary have to steam paus although Steamed paus are healthier, other ways of cooking them are more exciting, like this Pan-Fried version. The crispy bottom and the soft top with flavorful, succulent filling make these paus to die for.


Ingredients:
A
2 cups bleached flour, remove 2 tbsps and replace with 2 tbsp wheat starch(tung mein fun)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lard/shortening
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 + cup water

For Frying

1 tbsp oil

1 cup water

1 tbsp bleached all-purpose flour

FILLING:

600 gm pork

4 stalks of spring onion

15 gm young ginger

50 gm shallots(sliced and fried till golden)

Seasoning:

1 1/8 tsp salt

1 ½ tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soya sauce

2 tsp sugar

½ tsp msg

100 cc stock

BEFORE

AFTER

Method:

For pau:

Mix ingredients A together.

Knead until smooth and elastic.

Let it rise for 40 mins or until dough has double in size(to accelerate rising, put a pan of hot water on the lowest rack of oven and put bowl with dough on the rack above - cover bowl)

Cut into equal portions and line them in a row.

Cover with a slightly damp cloth.

Starting from the first portion, flatten into a disk with your hands and fold in the edges of dough into the center, pinch into a round ball and leave covered. Repeat with the second portion and so forth.

When portions are done, start with the first ball, cup with palm of your hand and roll ball on tabletop, in a circular motion. Repeat with the rest of the balls.

Starting from the first ball again, roll into a very thin circle before wrapping in filling. Repeat.

Let it rise for 20 minutes. (Paus are ready for steaming or pan-fried)

Heat a big non-stick skillet with 1 tbsp oil and place wrapped paus onto hot oil. Do not crowd - pau will expand during cooking.

Fry until the bottom of paus are browned.

Mix the flour to the water and add into skillet, cover with lid and cook until paus have risen and cooked.

Remove lid and cook until the water has evaporated and continue to fry until the bottom of paus are crispy.

Repeat this process with the remaining paus.

Serve immediately, the bottom of paus will not be crispy when left out for too long.

For Filling:

Chop pork till fine.

Chop spring onions and ginger until fine.

Mix ingredients for seasoning with pork.

Use the cake mixer and with the paddle beat pork until elastic.

Add in stock, spring onions and ginger.

Serves