Bentoism

I made some Chicken Char Siew Buns today, simply because I'm too lazy to drive to San Francisco for some. It's a long drive and I've had enough driving the day before when I had to wake at 5:30 am to drive, half-awake, to Chico to take an exam.

Here I used one of those pre-mixed flour packets you can get at your local asian supermarket. Just look out for steamed buns on the packaging. If you don't have those pre-mixed flour packets, I've made this from plain all-purpose flour before with little difference.

Ingredients
Chicken Char Siew filling
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup water or chicken broth
2 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch dissolved in 1 tbsp water

Bun dough
3 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 pk yeast
2 tbsp warm water

Proof the yeast in 2 tbsp warm water with a pinch of sugar.

In a pot, sweat diced onions in cooking oil over medium heat. When onions appear translucent, add ginger and chicken cubes. Turn heat to medium high. When the chicken no longer appears raw, add hoisin sauce and oyster sauce. Stir to coat.

Add 1/4 cup of water to pan and cover. In a few minutes, the mixture should boil. Add sesame oil and the cornstarch slurry to the pot. Stir until the sauce begins to thicken. Turn off the heat, add scallions, stir them in, and set aside the mixture for later.

By now the yeast should be blooming, and you should see a top layer of foam in your cup. Warm the milk briefly in the microwave to slightly above room temperature. When in contact with the skin, the milk should feel comfortably warm but not unbearably hot. Add sugar to milk and stir to dissolve. Add the dissolved yeast to the milk solution and stir.

In a bowl, sift in flour and salt. Add milk in portions and stir to mix. When the mixture begins to form a dough-like consistency, stop with the milk. Flour a clean surface and roll the dough onto it. Dust your fingers well and knead the dough for about 15 minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and continue kneading for another 10 minutes. After that, allow the dough to rest in a bowl covered with a damp tea towel for 30 minutes.

Before working the rested dough, cut up 18 2.5-inch squares of parchment paper. Separate the dough into 18 portions. Roll out each potion into a circular disc about 4-5 inch in diameter and fill it with the chicken char siew filling. Rest the stuffed bun on a piece of parchment paper. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough potions and chicken char siew filling.

Allow the stuffed buns to rest for 20 minutes in a humid environment. I chose to hold them in my wok already filled with water. My stove has a simmer temperature setting that kept the temperature steady in the wok while the dough continued to rise.

After 20 minutes, turn up the heat to high and steam the buns for 12 minutes. Before steaming, I've tied the tea-towel used to cover the dough earlier around the lid so that when I lifted it later, the condensation would not drip all over the steamed buns. When done, removed from the wok with tongs.

Let cool before serving.















I also carved my first pumpkin today. Not too bad for a first try, eh?