Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-Fried Pork Steam Buns)

Homemade dough wrapped around pork filling undergo a brief pan-fry and are then steamed to complete the cook. This recipe is based on using 1 lb ground pork, which will fill roughly 24 steam buns. You can assume 2-3 steam buns per person for a serving if there are additional sides.

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Prep Time 55 mins

Cook Time 10 mins

Course Main Course

Servings dumplings

Equipment

large bowl
medium bowl
dry measuring cups
measuring spoons
liquid measuring cup
2 mixing spoons
2 tea linens or other kitchen cloth that will not get fuzzies on your food
dough cutter optional
chopping knife
cutting board
medium grater optional
small grater optional
garlic press optional
rolling pin
medium to large skillet with lid

Ingredients

Dough

2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting your work surface) Unbleached flour is what you should use for yeast breads such as this recipe. The denser texture works better with the yeast to create the puff vs bleached flour. Note: 1 cup flour is roughly 128 grams.
4 Tbsp. corn starch
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder make sure it isn't expired
2½ tsp active dry yeast
1 cup whole milk
⅛ tsp canola oil olive oil, canola oil, any cooking oil will due, this is to grease your bowl

For Frying/Steaming cycle

2 Tbsp. canola oil for frying - other high smoke point oil such as avocado oil or peanut oil.
½ cup water for steaming

Pork Filling

1 cup shredded cabbage This is roughly ⅛ a small head of cabbage
2 medium grated radishes
½ tsp salt
1 diced green onion/scallion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp grated fresh ginger or ¼ tsp ground ginger
1 lb ground pork
2 tsp corn starch
1 tsp cooking sake or dry rice wine. Dry white wine can work in a pinch.
1 tsp black sesame oil black sesame oil provides a stronger flavor than white. Other sesame oils can be used as substitutes
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp ground white pepper white pepper is more subtle in flavor than black pepper. black pepper can be used as a substitute
½ tsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp. chicken stock

Instructions

Review Sealing Methods

There are many ways you can wrap or seal the steam bun. Search "10 Ways to Wrap Chinese Pork Buns". I prefer the ruffle and pinch which can be found at the video linked in the notes section of this recipe. Not matter what your steam bun looks like, it will taste the same.

Prepare the Dough

Prepare the Dough. In a large bowl add the dough ingredients of flour, corn starch, salt, sugar, baking powder, and active dry yeast and mix together.
Heat the cup of milk to lukewarm (~40 seconds in a standard microwave). If you have a I thermometer you should aimed for 105°F (warm enough to activate the yeast but also not hot enough to kill the little guys). Add to the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix until ingredients are combined.
Dust work surface with flour. Place dough on work surface and knead for roughly 5 minutes. The large lumps in the dough should get smoothed out during this process. Form into ball.
Grease bottom and sides of large bowl with the ⅛ tsp oil (can be olive, canola, etc, this is only to prevent sticking. I wash and dry the previous mixing bowl and reuse for this step). Place dough ball in bowl and cover wish a damp tea towel or sealing bowl cover.
Let the dough rest until it doubles in size. This take roughly ½ to 1 hour pending your environmental conditions. While the dough is resting - make your filling.

Make the Filling

If you haven't already prepped, chop or shred your cabbage and the radish, grate your garlic, and dice the green onion . I prefer to use a knife to finely chop my cabbage, a medium sized cheese grater on the radishes, a fine grater for the fresh ginger, and a garlic press for the garlic. This is to prevent getting a massive bite of any in a single bao.
In a medium bowl, combine cabbage, radish, and the ½ tsp salt. Mix and let sit for 5-10 minutes to release water. Drain excess water. I prefer to complete this by drying with a tea towel. Ensure excess water was removed from the bowl.
In the medium bowl combine all remaining filling ingredients. Mix until combined.

Assemble the Steam Buns

Clean your work surface. Dust flour on work surface. When dough has risen, place dough on work surface and divide into equal quarters. You will work with one quarter at a time. Any dough or dumpling you are not actively working should remain under the damp cloth.
Roll the quarter of the dough into a roughly 6 inch long snake. Using the dough knife, divide the dough snake into 6 equal parts (roughly 1 in each in diameter). You will work with once piece at a time. Place all remaining pieces under the damp cloth.
Work the piece of dough into a ball and flatten. Using your rolling pin, roll until it reached roughly 5 inches in diameter.
Add 1 tablespoon of pork filling to the center of your dough circle.
Fold the dough around the filling using your preferred method (see step 1). If you are new to this, like me, some will look great. many will look...not great. The important thing is to have fun and that they will ALL taste great!
When you finish one, place it under the damp cloth. Continue until all dough has been used.
Let all completed buns rest for 10 minutes under the damp towel.

Fry and Steam the Buns

In a large skillet add the 1 Tbsp canola oil and bring to a medium heat.
Set aside ¼ cup water. You will need ¼ cup per batch, and this recipe assumes 2 batches.
Place each bun in the skillet, leaving some room between each. I can easily fit 12 buns in per batch, but this is all pending the size of your skillet.
Let the bottoms fry for roughly 30-45 seconds - it goes fast! You want a bit of brown but not totally cooked.
Add ¼ cup water to the skillet and cover immediately. Let the buns steam for roughly 5-7 minutes. They will puff up and you will notice the water has mostly all evaporated from the pan. Turn off heat and wait until the sizzling of the oil reduces, about a minute. Remove from pan and plate. If you are working a second batch you may need to add a bit more oil to cover the bottom of the pan and repeat the process until all buns are steamed. Serve immediately.