**The Art of Making Cantonese Steamed Buns**

Making traditional Cantonese steamed buns is a labor of love that requires patience, skill, and attention to detail. The process begins with preparing the dough, which should be smooth and pliable. To achieve this, one must continue to roll out the dough repeatedly, allowing it to relax and become easier to shape into a round ball. Once the dough is shaped, it can be covered with plastic wrap and allowed to rest for about 10 minutes, during which time the gluten relaxes and makes the dough easier to work with.

**Shaping and Preparing the Buns**

After the dough has rested, it's time to shape the buns. Starting with one of the balls of dough, dust it with flour to prevent stickiness. Then, use a rolling pin to roll it flat, deflating any large air bubbles as you go. Once the bun is rolled out to a diameter of about 4 inches, lift the sheet and roll the edge to make it thinner, creating a wrapper with a thicker middle and a thinner edge. This technique allows for even cooking and prevents the buns from becoming too dense.

**Filling and Shaping the Buns**

The next step is to fill the center of each bun with custard filling, pressing it down to compact the mixture and prevent air bubbles from forming. Use your forefinger and thumb to squeeze the filling around the edge of the bun, pushing the rubbery skin up to seal the bun tightly. To create a clean finish, lightly moisten the top with water and press the buns gently with your finger.

**Steaming the Buns**

To cook the buns, place them on a steamer rack, leaving space between each one to allow for even cooking. Place room temperature water in the steamer and cover it with a lid. Steam the buns for 20 minutes, then turn the heat to medium-low and continue steaming for an additional 8-10 minutes. During this time, steam will release from the bun, creating a characteristic milky aroma that signals the buns are done cooking.

**Tips and Variations**

One of the best things about making Cantonese steamed buns is their versatility. They can be enjoyed at any time of day, whether it's as a breakfast treat or a sweet dessert to pair with a cup of tea on a Sunday afternoon. And while they may seem intimidating to make, these buns are surprisingly easy to freeze and re-steam when needed. In fact, frozen steamed buns can last for up to three months, making them a great option for meal prep or special occasions.

**The Final Result**

When the buns have finished steaming, remove the lid and let them sit for at least 3 minutes before opening. This allows the skin to set and prevents it from shrinking when exposed to cold air. As you open the lid, the aroma of freshly baked steamed buns fills the air, enticing everyone in the room to gather around and try a warm, fluffy bun straight from the steamer.

**Conclusion**

Making Cantonese steamed buns is a rewarding experience that requires patience, practice, and attention to detail. By following these steps and tips, you can create delicious, authentic steamed buns that are sure to impress family and friends. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting out, these buns are a great option for anyone looking to try their hand at traditional Cantonese cuisine. So go ahead, give it a try, and see what all the fuss is about – we promise you won't be disappointed!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHi everyone, welcome to Souped Up Recipes.Today, we are making Cantonese steamed custard  buns. Also known as Nai Huang Bao. If you have ever had breakfast or brunch in a dim2  sam1 restaurant, you will definitely find these lovely little buns. They have a super soft and  fluffy texture, the inside filling is sweet creamy and full of milk flavor. I'll be honest making  steamed buns at home is a labor of love, but well worth the time and effort. This video is going to  be a bit long because I want to cover every detail for you to avoid any possible mistakes. I'll share  all my tricks and tips to ensure you create this classic dim2 sam1 right in your kitchen.Let's start with the custard filling what we called Nai Huang Xian which literally  translates as milk and yolk filling. Therefore, you will need one whole egg  and three yolks. You can use two whole eggs if you don't have any ideas to use the egg whites.  I use three yolks because I want to get a bright orange color which makes a great thumbnail.Whisk them really well until you cannot pick up any obvious egg white.  We are going to add 65g of melted butter and 160g of milk. Make sure the milk is not too cold  otherwise, the melted butter will clump up. Stir to mix.In a separate bowl, combine our dry ingredients.40g of cake flour, and 100g of sugar. Optionally, I will boost up the flavor with 25g of milk powder. Mix them well. If you're allergic to  milk, you can use coconut milk to replace the whole milk and use vanilla extract as  a fragrance enhancer. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. stir to incorporate.  Pour the mixture into a sauce pot. I also like to let it go through a sieve to get rid of any lumps.Turn the heat to the lowest. Stir it constantly. I'm using a gas stove, so this will take 10 to  12 minutes. If you are using an electric flat cooktop, it could take much longer. In the first  6 minutes, the mixture's consistency will not change at all. It looks like nothing is happening,  but when it gets to 7 or 8 minutes, you will feel that the bottom of the liquid  starts getting thick. Lift it up, you can see some solid bits on your whisk.  Now, you have to speed up the stirring to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom.  If you see that the bottom is thickening too fast and the top liquid is still very runny,  you might want to lift the sauce pot on and off to even out the heat. Soon, all the liquid will  turn into a creamy texture. If you are making custard cream as a filling for western sweet,  you can turn off the heat by now, but this is too soft to be wrapped into steam buns,  so continue to stir for a couple of minutes. This part is quite tiring. Your arm might be sore.  If you need to rest a little bit, that's okay just make sure that the pot is off the stove.  Continue to stir until it becomes a thick paste. Kind of like scrambled eggs. You see that  it is separating from the surface of the pot. I'm using a stainless steel pot so it doesn't show  as much. If you are using a nonstick pan, it shouldn't stick to your pan.I think that looks good, so turn off the heat. Take it out and put it into a container.  Cover it with a plastic film. Make sure to push out all the air,  so it doesn't get dry. Right now, it is too soft, so let it sit in the fridge overnight.  The next day, take it out and divide it into 12 even pieces.The custard filling should be solid enough for you to shape it.  Each piece should be about 30g. I'm using a scale, but you can eyeball them if you want.Once you are done, cover them and stick them back into the fridge.  Now, let's talk about the bum wrapper. We will need 15g of softened butter, so don't forget  to put it out before you start everything. It takes about 20 minutes for it to be spreadable.  Here is 190g of milk. Again, if you are allergic you can use coconut milk or water.  To that, we will add 60g of sugar and 6g of instant yeast. Stir it well. Another note here  it is better to use cold milk from the fridge. Otherwise, the yeast will bubble up too quickly  before you get a chance to knead them smoothly. In a KitchenAid mixing bowl,  add 350g of all-purpose flour, and 10g of milk powder. Stir to incorporate them.This is the all-purpose flour that I'm using. It gives the buns a whiter look compared to  other brands that I have tried and the final result does come out with a smoother surface.  If you cannot find this brand, a bleached flower is a good way to reach that authentic bright color  if you care about the presentation. Pour in the yeast milk solution,  get your spatula, and give that a nice pre-mix before you run the machine.Use the hook attachment. Let it run at medium-low speed for a couple of minutes. Once you cannot  see any dry flour baked and the dough is formed into a big rough piece, you can add  in the softened butter. Steamed buns are the best when they just came out of the steamer,  but after you serve them on the table and they get to room temperature, they will be tough and chewy.  Adding butter to the dough is a great way to keep the soft and fluffy texture. Don't add the butter  all at once, or else you will end up with a sticky mess. You have to add it in little by little,  spread it out, turn the machine on, and let it knead for about 10 seconds. Turn it off.  Add a little more butter. Let it run again. Keep doing that until all the butter is well mixed.  Then continue to run the machine for another 8 minutes. Another question that I often get is why  you add the butter so late. Could I add it at the beginning with all the other ingredients, so it  will be easier to work with? If you add the butter too early while the flour is still a powder form,  the fat will coat the proteins and prevent them from contacting water which inhibits  the gluten formation. You will end up with a less fluffy result. You want to add it when the  dough is already formed which means the gluten is formed as well. That way, the fat will wrap  around the protein chain and make them even more elastic. Adding ingredients in order is important.  Sometimes a small little thing can make a big difference. Once the machine is done kneading,  it should look like this. Take it out of the mixing bowl and shape it into a round smooth ball.Cover it and let it proof for 1 to 1.5 hours. Depending on your room temperature. My room  temperature is 75℉ and it took about 1 hour and 20 minutes. It should be doubled in volume.  Lightly dust your finger with some flour and poke a half-inch deep hole in the middle.  The hole remains, so we know we are ready for the next step. You just make a fist and punch the  dough for a minute to eliminate the air bubbles that are formed from the expanding carbon dioxide  during the proving. Then knead it on the working surface for 6 to 8 minutes.  Watch how I do it. Use the palm of your hand and your body weight to open up the dough and  spread it out. By doing that, you will break up the air pocket. Then you just pull  it back and form it into a big piece turn the dough a little bit and do that again.  You can also use a pasta roller to degas the dough which is 10 times easier, but not everybody  has one. That is why I'm showing you how to do it by hand. Some of you might be confused and  ask why are we doing this step. Well, the air bubbles that are formed during the first proof  are always irregular. You want to get rid of that. Kneading it again will redistribute the yeast,  sugar, and moisture. Allowing the yeast to produce finer, regular, and fluffier bubbles. I have  seen many custom bum recipes, but they don't put emphasis on this part. I mean the taste is going  to be the same, but you're not going to get a good texture. I have tested this recipe many many  times. Let me take some time and show you some of my particular examples of this deflating process.  This one is done by the one-time proof method that I use the yeast and baking powder together.  With this method, you cannot degas it. That's why the skin is so bumpy. This is frozen now,  so I cannot open it up and show you the inside, but I can describe it. Inside that the air  bubbles are not as fine some are big some are small, so the texture is not as fluffy.  This one, I tried to degas it, but I didn't need it long enough. I got lazy my wrist was hurting,  so you can see that the surface is smooth, but not perfect you can compare.If your buns come out smooth like this one but with a few concave spots,  that means you degassed it really well, but you probably missed a few bigger air pockets.  Those air pockets will inflate while steaming and then deflate after it is steamed,  That's totally fine because it's just not easy to catch everything manually. Besides the look,  the texture is really well so don't worry about it.  This one was degassed by a pastel roller. It came out perfectly smooth. There is a mark on the top.  You can ignore that. That is because when I freeze it the plastic wrap contact with the bun surface  that leaves the mark. However, it was perfectly smooth and the inside texture is just beautiful.  Every one of the buns here is slightly different. That means there is a test badge behind each one  and I have more examples in the fridge.I just modified the recipe time by time.  Some of you might think it's too crazy to make so many buns, but to me making dim2 sam1 is like art.  I learned new things every time I make it. Too much talking, let's get back to the recipe.  Once you have properly deflated your dough, divide it into 12 even pieces.  If you use a scale, each one should be about 50g.  I covered them with plastic wrap, so they don't get dry. We will shape each one into a  smooth ball. Just watch how I do it. Press the dough, fold it in half, turn the dough, press,  and fold it again. Continue to do that and the dough will have a smooth surface.  You just turn that smooth side up and use both hands to shape it into a round ball.Put it away, You just do the same thing and finish all 12 of them.  Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest for about 10 minutes. This relaxes the gluten  and makes the dough easier to roll out later. Start with the first ball that we shaped.  Dust it with some flour to prevent stickiness. Use a rolling pin to roll it flat. If you see any  big air bubbles, they should be deflated as you are rolling them. Once you get it to 4 inches in  diameter, lift the sheet and roll the edge to make it thinner. That way you can have a wrapper with  a thicker middle and a thinner edge. The size of the wrapper should be about 5 inches in diameter.Put the custard filling in the middle. Press it down to compact with the wrapper,  so you don't trap any air. Then use your forefinger and your thumb to squeeze it around  and push the rubber up. When you get to the very end, lightly with your finger with a bit of water,  so you can pinch and close the bun easily. Put the rough side down on a piece of parchment paper and  shape it nicely. Place the buns on a steamer rack. Be sure to leave some space between each other  because they will grow bigger while steaming. I put some room temperature water in the steamer.  Place the buns in then put on the lid and let them proof for 20 minutes.20 minutes later. Turn the heat to high, when you see the steam comes out, switch the heat  to median-low and start counting the time. Let it steam for 8 to 10 minutes. Then you can turn  off the heat, but do not open it immediately. Let it sit there for at least 3 minutes or else  the skin will shrink when the cold air hits the buns and you will lose the fluffiness.While waiting, let me give you a tip. Steam buns are freezer friendly.  You can freeze them after you steam them. They will last about three months. Whenever  you want to eat them again, you don't need to defrost them just directly re-steam them again.Okay, let's check out our steamed buns. I just love the moment when you open the lid.  All the steam comes out with that pleasant milky aroma - so satisfying.Cantonese dim2 sam1 is always neat and exquisite. You can eat this as breakfast  and it is also a tasty dessert that you can enjoy on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea.  My buns came out pretty smooth. Even though a few of them did have some concave spots  because we rolled it by hand. The texture of the buns is really good. Let me open one and show you  the inside. Oh, it's light and delicate. You see those tiny air bubbles, the finer the better. The  custard filling is rich and creamy that it just melts in your mouth. Actually, these buns have  been sitting out for an hour now because we have to create a thumbnail, but the soft and fluffy  texture is still there. It feels like it just came out of the steamer. How impressive is that?I hope you give this a try soon. If you did leave me a comment let me know how it goes. As always,  don't forget to check the description where you can find all the links, including the printable  recipes, the related videos, the purchase link for special ingredients if you don't know where to buy  them, or the tools that I have used in this video.Thank you for watching, and I’ll see you next  time.Bye.\n"