When I was maybe 12 years old I told my mum about a dream that I’d had a few times.
I would be in a restaurant and be served these little white balls of sweet dough with yummy filling. I dreampt of coloured patty pans or little squares of paper upon which sat delicious and surreal savoury morsels and luscious sweets.
“Like a yum cha restaurant?” my mum asked.
You mean such a place is REAL??
I soon learnt (or re-learnt) about the magic of yum cha and dim sum. I found out that I had been to yum cha restaurants quite a few times as a young child.
This dream wasn’t just my imagination; it was a memory!
And so Chinese steam buns or xiaolongbao or baozi aren’t simply a bun to me, they are special; they have that childish wonder to them, where dreams can come true.
I followed this recipe.
I let my dough rest longer than I would have liked – got a little sidetracked making macaron filling. Consequently my dough was oozing out of the bowl…
I used half of the dough to fill with egg custard, and the othed half for something savoury.
For the savoury filling, I used this recipe as inspiration.
I used commom cabbage (not Chinese cabbage), sliced it finely and cooked it in the microwave with a dash of water for about 4 minutes.
I also added in a small handful each of dried shiitake (finely sliced) and black fungus, which I rehydrated by soaking in a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drained the fungi and finely sliced the shiitake.
Also finely sliced some bok choy and added that to the mix.
I forgot to let the filled buns rest before steaming, but they still turned out fine.
The savoury buns were great with a bit of soy dipping sauce.
And the egg custard buns were just like my dreams! Soft and fluffy dough, and tender custard filling.
To be savoured and shared 🙂
bcastell 