Let’s Make: Chinese Steamed Buns: Mantou. Floral, Steamy, and Fluffy
Aka Mantou, 馒头, 馍, jjinppang or 包子. A simple and classic Fluffy, Warm, and Steamy Asian steamed bun recipe with an optional floral update. This is the perfect snack or breakfast for cold winter mornings and breezy fall nights. Not gonna lie, this recipe is one of my top favorites. It’s very fluffy, springy, and aromatic. I am convinced that the best way to eat it is to peel off it’s skin first, eat it, then bite into the bun. It sounds weird, but if you are gonna sleep with someone, wouldn’t you undress them first?
This classic recipe doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, rather the only special one is the rose water that can be found in Indian and Middle Eastern supermarkets. Although this is an optional ingredient, it truly brings an extra boost within the recipe.
This is probably my mom’s favorite recipe as it reminds her of her childhood in Hong Kong. After her Mom died of cancer when she was 14, and her rich father left her and her four other siblings from riches to rags, this was all she can eat. Similarly, mantou used to be viewed as a food that only poor, hopeless people eat. I don’t know why my mom has such fond memories of being traumatized, abused, and being forced to raise her siblings at such a young age, but I guess we all have a past.
Let’s Get Cooking
In-Depth Recipe Below:
Steamed Buns : Mantou
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- ½ C Water
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Pinch Salt
- ½ Tsp Rose Water (Optional)
- ⅔ Tsp Baking Powder (Optional)
- 1 Tsp Yeast
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 C Cake Flour or All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
Procedure:
- Mix wet ingredients together and then add it into the flour. Mix into a shaggy mess and let it sit for 15 minutes. Knead into a smooth dough ball, about 15 minutes by hand or 5-8 minutes by stand mixer
- Roll the dough into a log and cut it into pieces. Shape it into balls and dab the surface with water. Set on parchment paper squares, and let it rise for 15-25 minutes or until increased in size by 50%.
- Put the dough balls into a steamer basket, and put it on top of cold water in a pot. Turn the heat up to high and wait for water to start simmering. Once the water begins to simmer, turn the heat down to medium, and crack open the lid by about ½ and inch and steam for 15 minutes. After steaming, turn off the heater and let it cool in the steamer basket, then eat.
Notes
In-Depth Recipe:
Chinese Steamed Buns: Mantou
- In a bowl, mix Water, Sugar, Salt, Rose water (optional), Baking Powder (optional), and Yeast together. This is the wet mixture. Pour it into flour and mix it together into shaggy masses. Cover and let it sit for 15 minutes so the flour completely absorbs the water, and then knead into a smooth ball. By hand, it will take about 15 minutes. By stand mixture, it will take about 5-8 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into a log and cut it into even knobs of dough, about 6 knobs. Shape the dough knobs into small dough balls, and dab with water. Set it on parchment paper squares. Let it Rise for 15-25 minutes in a warm spot until it has grown about 50% in size. It is done rising when it springs back half-way, after being assertively poked.
3. Put the dough balls into a steamer basket, and put it on top of cold water in a pot. Turn the heat up to high and wait for water to start simmering. Once the water begins to simmer, turn the heat down to medium, and crack open the lid by about ½ and inch and steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let it sit in the basket till cooled down a little, and eat. Preferably by peeling the skin of and eating it first like stripping clothes of a person before taking them to bed.
