The Art of Making Perfect Asian-Style Buns

To begin with, let's talk about the importance of fat ratio in making the perfect buns. We are starting with 140 grams of flour and we want to get a fat ratio of 17, which means that for every gram of flour, there should be 17/140 = 0.119 grams of fat. This might seem like a small number, but trust me, it's crucial in achieving the right texture and consistency of our buns.

So, let's start by adding half cup of diced scallion and half cup of diced cilantro to the dough. If you don't eat cilantro, you can use a fennel or celery mix instead. We're using these ingredients to add flavor and aroma to our buns. Mix them well with the flour mixture and set it in the fridge for about 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together.

Next, let's move on to making the dough. We need 160 grams of room temperature water, a quarter teaspoon of salt, and a half teaspoon of instant yeast. Stir this mixture really well until it's smooth and consistent. Then, drizzle in about one tablespoon of oil and mix again. Slowly pour the mixture into 300 grams of all-purpose flour in batches. Stir It with a pair of Chopsticks at the same time, go in with your hands and gather all the flour together until a rough dough forms. Don't forget to scrape the bottom and the edge of the bowl so you don't waste anything. Let it rest for about 10 minutes to relax the gluten, which will make the dough softer and easier to work with.

I simplified this recipe by using one-time proof method, which requires you to knead the dough really well after the resting period. This is because there's no deflating process later on, so we need to put in some effort to get the right texture. Kneading the gluten for about five minutes will make the dough smooth and beautiful. After that, let it rest for another 10 minutes, and you'll find that it's much easier to work with.

Now, poke a hole in the middle of the dough to create a donut, and then enlarge the hole. Cut it open to reveal a long log. Roll it even to achieve the perfect shape. This recipe is enough to make 12 buns, so we're going to divide it into 12 even pieces, each one about 38 grams in size. Dust some flour on them to prevent sticking and cover them with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.

Take the filling out of the fridge and prepare for wrapping the buns. Dust one piece of the dough with some flour to prevent stickiness. Use a rolling pin to roll it flat, making sure it's about 4.5 inches in diameter. Lift the sheet and roll the edge to make it thinner. This will help create a wrapper with a thicker middle and a thinner edge.

Pack about 3 tbsp of the filling onto the wrapper, pressing it tightly together. Use your right hand to lift and pinch the edge of the wrapper, while using your left hand to push and fold the plate. Continue this process all the way around until you get to the end. Twist and pinch to close the bun.

Let the buns proof for 15 minutes, covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. This will allow them to rise slightly and develop their texture. After 15 minutes, check on them to make sure they're not too soft or too firm. If you touch the skin, it should feel a slight dense but not mushy.

Now, it's time to cook our buns in hot oil. Drizzle some cooking oil into the frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom. Turn the heat to medium and don't wait for the oil to get hot – just place the buns in one by one, leaving space between them for even cooking.

As soon as you hear the sizzling, mix two and a half teaspoon of cornstarch with three tablespoons of water, and pour it into the frying pan. Place the lid on top and let it cook for about 8 minutes, or until the water has almost completely evaporated. You should see a beautiful crust forming at the bottom of the pan.

Gently shake the pan to release the buns from their surface. If they don't come out easily, just wait for another 10-20 seconds and try again. As soon as they can be released, turn off the heat and let them cool slightly on a wire rack. The cornstarch crust should be golden brown, but not burnt.

Finally, it's time to taste our buns! Even though we waited until the cornstarch became golden brown, we didn't burn the bottom of the buns, resulting in a beautiful trimbien (skirt) that looks like a white dress around the bun. The juice bursting out of the bun is proof of its freshness and flavor.

Take a bite of one of our freshly made buns, and experience the perfect balance of texture and flavor. It's a recipe that requires patience and practice, but with time and effort, you'll be able to make these delicious Asian-style buns at home.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi everyone welcome to soup top recipes I'm Wendy today we are making a special pan-fried steampunk we call it is a cooking method that you put oil and water to the frying pan the water will evaporate first which creates lots of steam and makes the bun nice and fluffy once the water is all gone the oil will be left behind and it will start the pan frying so you will get a steamed bun that is nice and fluffy and the bottom is golden and crispy at the same time sounds incredible right let's get started by making the filling first I've got here 250 grams of ground beef the fat ratio is 10 you can also change to ground pork or chicken if you want season it with one and a half tablespoon of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce half tablespoon of dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon of minced garlic 2 teaspoon of ginger half teaspoon of 5 Spice powder half teaspoon of white pepper half teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder this is what I'm using I just roasted in the wok over low heat for a minute or two and blend it into a powder it is optional but I love the citrusy aroma and the numbing effect it provides drizzle some sesame oil and mix until the flavor is well combined then we will stir in a third cup of beef stock this will make the filling extra juicy make sure you stir this within one direction to develop the texture okay let's set this aside we're going to add an ingredient to make the filling special bring a pot of water to a boil turn off the heat and dropping some sweet potato starch noodles let them soak for four to five minutes you can also use mung bean noodles but you have to soak them for just one minute because mung bean noodles are so thin take it out and shake off the excess water roughly dice them I know it sounds strange because the wrapper is going to be made with carbs and we're putting more carbs in the filling ground beef with sweet potato starch noodles is a classic filling in karnan province this is what I'm using it's bouncy and slippery texture appears really well with the lean beef if you want to skip the noodles make sure you change the fat ratio to 17 so you get a better result continue by adding half cup of diced scallion half cup of diced cilantro if you don't eat cilantro you can use a fennel or celery mix well set this in the fridge while we are making the wrapper here is 160 grams of room temperature water add a quarter teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of instant yeast stir this really well then drizzle in about one tablespoon of oil mix again and slowly pour the mixture into 300 grams of all-purpose flour in batches Stir It with a pair of Chopsticks at the same time go in with your hands and gather all the flour together until a rough dough forms don't forget to scrape the bottom and the edge of the bowl so you don't waste anything let it rest for about 10 minutes to relax the gluten then the dough will be softer and easier to work with I simplified this recipe by using one-time proof method which requires you to knead it really well at this point because there's no deflating process later trust me it is not difficult just put some effort in for about five minutes and your dough will be really smooth and beautiful after all that kneading the gluten is very intense if you roll the dough now it will bounce back against you let it rest for another 10 minutes and it will be much easier to work with poke a hole in the middle to create a donut enlarge the hole cut it open and you will have a long log roll it even this recipe is enough to make 12 buns so we're going to divide it into 12 even pieces each one should be around 38 grams dust some flour so they don't stick to each other cover them to prevent them from drying out take the filling out of the fridge and we're going to wrap the Buns dust one piece of the dough with some flour to prevent the stickiness use a rolling pin to roll it flat once you get it into three 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 4.5 inches in diameter put about 3 tbsp of the filling on the wrapper pack it tight the right hand lifts and pinches the edge of the wrapper the left hand helps to push to fold the plate just do that all the way around when you get to the end twist and pinch to close it let them prove for 15 minutes cover with a plastic wrap so they don't get dry 15 minutes later the Buns should be a little bit bigger but it is not too soft if you touch the skin you feel a slight dense we don't want them to be fully proved otherwise the skin will be too fluffy and it will turn out soggy after cooking in the water drizzle some cooking oil in the frying pan just enough to cover the bottom turn the heat to medium don't need to wait for the oil to get hot just place the buns in one by one leave some space between them because you want enough room to form the crust once you hear the sizzling you can quickly mix two and a half teaspoon of cornstarch and a third cup of water pour it into the frying pan put on the lid and let it cook for about 8 minutes during this time it is best to move the frying pan to arrange the heat because my stove heat is uneven also my lid doesn't really match this frying pan so it doesn't seal completely that is on purpose to allow the steam to escape if your lid is used well you will have to leave a small Gap now all the water is almost gone you can see the cornstarch has formed into a beautiful crust at the bottom gently shake the pan and see if the Buns will release themselves if not just wait for 10 to 20 more seconds try again as soon as the Buns can release themselves from the frying pan turn off the heat even though the cornstarch crust is not golden brown but the bottom of the Buns is perfectly done if you waited until the cornstarch becomes golden brown the Buns will be burned at the bottom we call this trimbien which means skirt looks quite like a white dress around the Buns so pretty look at the juice that is bursting out of the bun don't tell me that you are not dueling let me open one even though it has been sitting for a while because we have to shoot the video and take the thumbnail the bun is still very fluffy take a bite the crust is still there you'll be surprised by the noodles it absorbed so much flavor from the beef so delicious I just can't get enough of it I hope you give this a try soon as always you can click the link in the description and find the printable recipe thank you for watchinghi everyone welcome to soup top recipes I'm Wendy today we are making a special pan-fried steampunk we call it is a cooking method that you put oil and water to the frying pan the water will evaporate first which creates lots of steam and makes the bun nice and fluffy once the water is all gone the oil will be left behind and it will start the pan frying so you will get a steamed bun that is nice and fluffy and the bottom is golden and crispy at the same time sounds incredible right let's get started by making the filling first I've got here 250 grams of ground beef the fat ratio is 10 you can also change to ground pork or chicken if you want season it with one and a half tablespoon of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce half tablespoon of dark soy sauce 1 tablespoon of minced garlic 2 teaspoon of ginger half teaspoon of 5 Spice powder half teaspoon of white pepper half teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn powder this is what I'm using I just roasted in the wok over low heat for a minute or two and blend it into a powder it is optional but I love the citrusy aroma and the numbing effect it provides drizzle some sesame oil and mix until the flavor is well combined then we will stir in a third cup of beef stock this will make the filling extra juicy make sure you stir this within one direction to develop the texture okay let's set this aside we're going to add an ingredient to make the filling special bring a pot of water to a boil turn off the heat and dropping some sweet potato starch noodles let them soak for four to five minutes you can also use mung bean noodles but you have to soak them for just one minute because mung bean noodles are so thin take it out and shake off the excess water roughly dice them I know it sounds strange because the wrapper is going to be made with carbs and we're putting more carbs in the filling ground beef with sweet potato starch noodles is a classic filling in karnan province this is what I'm using it's bouncy and slippery texture appears really well with the lean beef if you want to skip the noodles make sure you change the fat ratio to 17 so you get a better result continue by adding half cup of diced scallion half cup of diced cilantro if you don't eat cilantro you can use a fennel or celery mix well set this in the fridge while we are making the wrapper here is 160 grams of room temperature water add a quarter teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of instant yeast stir this really well then drizzle in about one tablespoon of oil mix again and slowly pour the mixture into 300 grams of all-purpose flour in batches Stir It with a pair of Chopsticks at the same time go in with your hands and gather all the flour together until a rough dough forms don't forget to scrape the bottom and the edge of the bowl so you don't waste anything let it rest for about 10 minutes to relax the gluten then the dough will be softer and easier to work with I simplified this recipe by using one-time proof method which requires you to knead it really well at this point because there's no deflating process later trust me it is not difficult just put some effort in for about five minutes and your dough will be really smooth and beautiful after all that kneading the gluten is very intense if you roll the dough now it will bounce back against you let it rest for another 10 minutes and it will be much easier to work with poke a hole in the middle to create a donut enlarge the hole cut it open and you will have a long log roll it even this recipe is enough to make 12 buns so we're going to divide it into 12 even pieces each one should be around 38 grams dust some flour so they don't stick to each other cover them to prevent them from drying out take the filling out of the fridge and we're going to wrap the Buns dust one piece of the dough with some flour to prevent the stickiness use a rolling pin to roll it flat once you get it into three 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 4.5 inches in diameter put about 3 tbsp of the filling on the wrapper pack it tight the right hand lifts and pinches the edge of the wrapper the left hand helps to push to fold the plate just do that all the way around when you get to the end twist and pinch to close it let them prove for 15 minutes cover with a plastic wrap so they don't get dry 15 minutes later the Buns should be a little bit bigger but it is not too soft if you touch the skin you feel a slight dense we don't want them to be fully proved otherwise the skin will be too fluffy and it will turn out soggy after cooking in the water drizzle some cooking oil in the frying pan just enough to cover the bottom turn the heat to medium don't need to wait for the oil to get hot just place the buns in one by one leave some space between them because you want enough room to form the crust once you hear the sizzling you can quickly mix two and a half teaspoon of cornstarch and a third cup of water pour it into the frying pan put on the lid and let it cook for about 8 minutes during this time it is best to move the frying pan to arrange the heat because my stove heat is uneven also my lid doesn't really match this frying pan so it doesn't seal completely that is on purpose to allow the steam to escape if your lid is used well you will have to leave a small Gap now all the water is almost gone you can see the cornstarch has formed into a beautiful crust at the bottom gently shake the pan and see if the Buns will release themselves if not just wait for 10 to 20 more seconds try again as soon as the Buns can release themselves from the frying pan turn off the heat even though the cornstarch crust is not golden brown but the bottom of the Buns is perfectly done if you waited until the cornstarch becomes golden brown the Buns will be burned at the bottom we call this trimbien which means skirt looks quite like a white dress around the Buns so pretty look at the juice that is bursting out of the bun don't tell me that you are not dueling let me open one even though it has been sitting for a while because we have to shoot the video and take the thumbnail the bun is still very fluffy take a bite the crust is still there you'll be surprised by the noodles it absorbed so much flavor from the beef so delicious I just can't get enough of it I hope you give this a try soon as always you can click the link in the description and find the printable recipe thank you for watching\n"