Steamed Buns to Celebrate the Olympics and the Year of the Tiger

As many of you know by now, I've been a big fan of the Olympic Games dating back to the 1980 Lake Placid games. Although I recall hearing names from the 1976 Winter and Summer games, I didn't get to watch them on television. I think we somewhat unintentionally turned the TV on to find a broadcast of the pairs short program figure skating event, and I was hooked.

Fast forward a number of years now, and we've turned the Olympics into a time to try out new foods representative of the host country such as borscht, feijoada (Brazilian black bean and pork stew), and bulgogi. We tried out hand at tempura vegetables during the Tokyo games this past summer (perhaps I'll write a little more about that later). With early February marking the start of the Year of the Tiger and the Winter Olympic Games being held in Beijing, we decided to try our had at steamed buns. 

The Chinese zodiac features 12 different animals, and 2022 marks the Year of the Tiger. The tiger is associated with strength and bravery, and is regarded as the king of the beasts in Chinese culture. Many children in China wear hats or shoes featuring a tiger image as a sign of good luck. These are some little tiger slippers that I bought during my trip to China in 2000.

So, let's move on to learning how to make steamed buns. Steamed buns or "bao" are bread-like dumplings. The dough is made with a mixture of flour, sugar, cornstarch, yeast, liquid, and baking powder. Because of the sugar, they are typically a bit sweeter than a typical dumpling. Although the fillings can vary, pork is among the most common. The recipe we used is largely derived from one found on the cooking blog, The Woks of Life. I anticipate we will be coming back to this blog for more good recipes. For the present, though, here is how we made steamed buns with pork. Note: Because the meat will need to marinate for 8 hours or overnight, you will need to plan ahead. Just the same, don't be intimidated. The results are worth it.

Part 1: Make the roast Chinese barbecue pork (Char Siu)

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs boneless pork shoulder or butt roast
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice (click here for substitute ideas)
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring (optional, but adds nice color)
• 3 cloves finely minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon hot water

Steps

• Cut the pork into long strips about 2 to 3 inches thick
• Stir together the remaining ingredients except for the honey and hot water. Here is what your marinade will look like. (Don't let the glare from the stainless steel mixing bowl scare you too much.)
• Reserve about 2 tablespoons of the marinade (you will be using it for basting later) and place it in the refrigerator. 
• Place the pork strips in a bag, pour the marinade over the pork, making sure it is all coated. Place the pork in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

All wrapped up and ready for refrigeration.

• Preheat the oven to 475ºF, and position the rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top of it. This will allow the pork to roast more evenly. Pour about 1 1/2 cups of water into the pan below the rack to prevent the drippings from burning or smoking

Pork ready for roasting on a cooling rack placed on the baking sheet.

• Place the pork in the preheated oven. Roast for 10 minutes at 475ºF. Turn the oven down to 375ºF, and roast for another 15 minutes. 
• After these initial 25 minutes, flip the pork. Add more water to the bottom of the pan if needed, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and roast for another 15 minutes.
• While the pork is roasting, combine the reserved marinade with the honey and hot water. You will be using this sticky sauce to baste the pork.
• After the initial 40 minutes of roasting, baste the pork, flip it over, and baste the other side. Roast for a final 50 minutes. Feel free to check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Ideally, the pork should reach an internal temperature of 160ºF.

• Remove from the oven and based with the last bit of the reserved sauce. Let the meat stand for at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Part 2: Make the dough.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon dry yeast (If you are using packets, this will be roughly 1/2 the amount in the packet)
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water (temperature will depend on whether you are using regular or instant yeast) and about 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Adding the sugar will allow you to see if the yeast will "bloom."
• Stir in the flour, cornstarch, remainder of the sugar, and the oil. I like just having my stand mixer do the work. 
• Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 2 hours.
• After 2 hours, stir in the baking powder. Again, I like to let the dough hook on the stand mixer do the work. If the dough seems dry, add in a teaspoon or two of water. 

Part 3: Make the chopped pork filling while the dough was resting. Roasting the pork was just the first step. Now you will need to chop up some of the pork to make the filling for the buns.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups diced Char Siu pork
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
• 2 tablespoons flour

Steps:

• Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add in the onion and stir-fry for a minute. 
• Decrease the heat and add the sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil.
• Add the chicken stock and flour and stir until thickened.
• Stir in the chopped pork and the set aside to cool.

Part 4: Assemble the buns

Steps:

• Prepare the steamer. We went ahead and bought a bamboo steamer. I anticipate that traditional steamers would work well, too. Ours had silicone mats inside to keep the buns from sticking. You can use parchment paper, if you don't have the mats.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Over the past couple of years, I've come to use my food scale more and more to help with ensuring uniform size. 
• Roll each piece out into a circle about 4 1/2 inches in diameter, add some filling, and then fold the edges up, pleating them as you go, until they are closed on top. (You can access different videos for help with the technique.)
• Steam the buns by placing the bamboo steamer in a wok with boiling water. Be sure that the water doesn't touch the bottom of the steamer. you will also need to monitor that the water doesn't evaporate out during the steaming process. Steam the buns for 12 minutes over high heat. (The steaming process really does work!)

We used some of the extra Char Siu pork to make fried rice

Here's another picture of our table before we took the lid off the steamer. Take a look at the little teapot with the handle on the side. This style is believed to have its origins in the Tang and Song dynasties in China.

Although we tend to be fair-weather soccer fans, we are looking forward to seeing what countries will be playing in the 2022 World Cup and may serve as an inspiration for future cooking escapades. We are also looking forward to the 2024 Summer Olympics which will be held in Paris and will inspire French cuisine.