FRASER ELISABETH TAN, PHD

Bacon and Egg Pan-Fried Steam Buns (Shenjian Bao)

This is from a great blog called My Name is Yeh. She likes to combine Asian and Jewish flavors together, and, as a native New Yorker, I can but approve! This dough by itself is also delicious - it's the perfect sweet steamed bread that I remember growing up!

Ingredients

for the buns:

  • 2 1/4 tsp yeast
  • 1/2 c + 1 tsp sugar
  • 3/4 c warm water
  • 3 c flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 c milk (cow or almond)
  • 1/4 c vegetable shortening, melted

for the filling:

  • 6 strips bacon
  • 3 stalks scallions, chopped
  • 6 large eggs
  • a bit of cheese, optional
  • salt + pepper

for serving:

  • soy sauce
  • black vinegar or rice vinegar
  • pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

  1. to make the buns, proof the yeast with the 1 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water.
  2. in a large bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and salt. pour in the milk, vegetable shortening, and yeast mixture, and mix to form a dough. knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 2 hours.
  3. to make the filling, crisp up the bacon and chop it into 1/2-inch pieces. in the bacon fat or a little olive oil, cook the scallions for 3 minutes. beat the eggs with a splash of water and the bacon pieces. pour the eggs in the pan and scramble them, keeping them pretty wet. don’t overcook them because they’ll cook a bit more when the buns steam. add in cheese, if desired, and season with salt and pepper.
  4. roll or pat out the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut out 3-4 inch circles. you could also pinch off small balls of dough and roll them out into circles. fill with 1-2 tablespoons of filling and pinch shut. place on a square of parchment paper and in a bamboo or metal steamer, a few inches apart. let rise for 30 more minutes.
  5. steam over a large pot of boiling water for 10-15 minutes, until doubled in size and cooked through.
  6. coat a pan with vegetable oil, set it over medium-high heat, and lightly fry the steamed buns for a few minutes on each side, until browned.
  7. to make the dipping sauce, combine 1 part soy sauce with 1 part vinegar and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Source: mynameisyeh.com