Chinese Steamed Beef Buns With Ginger
The dough for these Chinese inspired steamed beef buns uses a surprising ingredient - yogurt - to achieve the fluffy and light texture baos are known for. The fragrant ginger beef filling and the low maintenance "scrunch and bundle" shape make these steamed buns a super easy recipe to follow!
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, room temperature
Ginger Beef Filling
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 inch (2.5cm) piece of ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
- ½ lb ground beef
- 3 shiitake mushrooms, wiped with a damp towel and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Chinese spicy black bean paste (I use Lee Kum Kee brand)
- Optional toppings: chili oil, chopped cilantro, Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce
Instructions
- To make the filling, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and green onions and fry for 1 minute.
- Add the red bell peppers, shiitake mushroom and ground beef and fry until the beef no longer pink.
- Add in the soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce and Chinese black bean paste. Remove from heat and cool for 10-15 minutes.
- While the filling is cooling, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Mix in the Greek yogurt and stir until a shaggy dough forms. If the flour mixture seems too wet add a little more flour. If it looks too dry, add a few drops of cold water.
- Turn out the dough onto a clean floured work surface and knead until smooth, about 3-4 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a long sausage shape and then divide into 8 equal portions.
- Keeping the remaining dough portions covered with a clean dishcloth (to prevent drying) use a rolling pin to roll a piece of dough into a thin round, about 3 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. For best results, keep the dough on the thin side as it will expand during the steaming process.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of filling to the center of the round and then gather the edges in the center to form a small bundle. Alternatively you can pleat the buns to make a spiral shape or even fold in half to make a half-moon shape.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place the buns smooth side down in the pan.
- Add the water and cover with a tight fitting lid. Steam the buns for 8 minutes until the water has evaporated.
- Remove the lid and continue frying the buns for about 2 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and crunchy.
- To serve, top with chili oil and chopped cilantro or Chinese black vinegar.