Directions

• Pork Skin Aspic
• One of the most important elements of Sheng Jian Bao is pork skin aspic, which we need to prepare and let set overnight in the fridge.
• Put the spring onion, pork skin, water, 1tsp of white vinegar, 5g of ginger in a cooking pot, bring it to a boil for 5 mins.
• Carefully take the skin out, let it cool off a little.
• Use a knife to remove any leftover fat on the skin.
• Cut it into small stripes.
• Add 3 cups of fresh water and the pork skin stripes in a pressure cooker, then set it to stew mode.
• After it’s done, take a hand blender to blend the “stew” until no visible big chunks.
• Let it cool completely in a container before putting it into the fridge overnight to set.
• The next day you could see two visible layers in the container.
• Remove the top layer and keep the bottom layer.
• This step is important because this aspic will create a juicy texture for our Sheng Jian Bao.
• On the day you plan to cook Sheng Jian Bao, you need around 1 hour to let the dough rise and rest while mixing all the other ingredients for the stuffing.
• To make the dough
• Mix 250g plain flour, 1 tsp sugar, 3g instant yeast, 100g lukewarm water (30℃), 20g lukewarm milk (30℃) in a big container.
• Knead the dough well and cover it with either a film or a lid, let it rise, and rest for 1 hour in winter, or 30 mins in summer (the dough should visibly raise to 2 times the original size).
• Here you could utilize the time to prepare the stuffing.
• Knead the dough again, to release the air inside the dough.
• Sort it to a long and round shape, then cut it evenly into 14-16 sections.
• Spread more flour on top, further sort the mini doughs into smooth and rough shapes. Each is about 2cm in diameter and 1cm thick.
• Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. The edge should be thinner than the center.
• To mix the stuffing
• While waiting for your dough to be ready, let’s mix the stuffing first.
• Cut a handful of Chinese chive into small pieces, chop 2 king oyster mushrooms into small chunks, peel 5 cloves of fresh garlic, put them together with 300g minced pork in a blender until well blended and mixed. Put the mix into a big container.
• Add 300g pork skin aspic in the blender, blend until turn into small pieces.
• Mix the pork skin aspic with the meat and vegetable mix and set it aside.
• Make the bao
• Now to make the actual Baozi (Bun). If it is your first time doing it, you may find it a bit intimidating to seal it. The trick for folding, especially if it is your first time is not to put too much stuffing in the center. This way you will have more space to work around. Here is a quick video from Youtube which I think is a good way to learn how to make the pleat.
• After you are done with all the buns, put them in a flat container with folds facing down and cover them with a layer of film. Let them rise again for 1 hour in winter or 30 mins in summer. The well-rested buns should be fluffy and light.
• Heat up a flat pan on low heat with a couple of sprays of vegetable oil.
• Gently place the well-rested buns in the pan and cover with a lid, let it fry on low heat for 3-5 mins, check to make sure the bottom is not burnt.
• Increase the heat to medium, then add a cup of water and cover with a lid. Let the buns steam until the water is completely dry, reduce the heat if needed to avoid overcooking.
• Switch off the heat and let the buns sit in the pan until it cools off a little (If you take them out right away, they may not be able to hold the puffy shape).
• Open the lid and garnish, usually we use black sesame seeds and finely chopped spring onions.
• In China, we usually dip Sheng Jian Bao in dark vinegar, but Yanni loves them with sweet chili sauce Enjoy, 请慢用(qǐng màn yòng).