Recipe: Kimchi Pork Steamed Buns

INGREDIENTS

The Bau dough:

The Dry Mix

530g middle gluten wheat flour (altenatively, plain flour)

½ teaspoon salt

7g fast action dried yeast

40g caster sugar

15g baking powder

The Liquid

50g milk

200g - 250g warm water (depending on how humid your room feels- if the air feels very dry you’ll want to add a little more water, but if it is very humid, a little less water is required)

25g vegetable or sunflower oil

The Kimchi Pork Filling:

The Filling

2 cloves garlic

1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 nest of mung bean vermicelli / sweet potato noodles, soaked in hot ware for 3-4 minutes

500g pork neck or shoulder steaks

200-250g kimchi, finely chopped

The Sauce

½ tsp Korean chili powder

1 tbsp light soy sauce

½ tbsp dark soy sauce

½ tbsp gochujang

1 tsp sesame oil

½ tsp sugar

Allergens are marked in bold

Using a free-standing mixer with a dough hook attachment (if available), pour in the measured out ‘Dry Mix’ ingredients.

Mix ‘The Liquid’ ingredients together into a measuring jug. Then slowly pour the liquid into the mixer while kneading on a low speed for around 2 minutes until all the water is mixed into the flour. Once combined, turn the speed up to high speed for a further 2 minutes until the dough has a smooth-yet-tacky feel to it.

Once the dough has been well kneaded, dust with 2 tablespoons of flour, scraping off any additional dough on the sides of the bowl. Shape the dough into a rough ball, and then coat lightly with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside in a warm, preferably moist, draft free location (like inside a room temperature oven) for 1 – 1.5 hours.

Finely chop the garlic, spring onion and soaked vermicelli and cut the kimchi and pork neck / shoulder steaks into small dices.

Mix all “The sauce” ingredients together ready to stir-fry.

Now heat a wok to a medium – high heat and stir-fry the garlic, spring onion first, then add the pork and vermicelli and stir-fry until the pork starts to brown nicely. Lastly add the kimchi and then pour in “the sauce” and stir-fry until all the sauce has wrapped around the pork.

Spread the filling evenly on a tray or plate to cool down quicker. Once cool, cover with cling film and place in the fridge to chill.

Once the Bao dough has doubled in size, you can then shape it into whatever shape you wish before steaming. For these kimchi pork buns, divide the dough into 15-20 pieces and then roll each piece into a ball. Flatten and roll out into a circle and then fill each piece of dough with 1-2 tbsp of “The Filling”.

Steam on full steam on a steam oven or steamer for 8 minutes. You may also pan fry for a golden-brown finish if you wish.