Steamed Pumpkin Turnip Buns: Pumpkin Steamed Bao Buns With Egg and Turnip Filling
Steamed Pumpkin Turnip Buns are pillowy soft and fluffy golden steamed buns filled with a mildly sweet and savoury turnip filling. These homemade Steamed Pumpkin Turnip Buns are truly amazing in taste, just like the ones you buy at the stores, if not better. These chinese style steamed buns are also known as Steamed Bao Buns, Baozi (包子) or Steamed Pau.
An Easy, Beginner Friendly Steamed Bao Buns Recipe
These Pumpkin Turnip Buns are steamed buns made using the basic steamed bun recipe but with added mashed pumpkin. The buns have a mild flavour of pumpkin as it is infused with mashed pumpkin. The colour is absolutely vibrant too, but with no artificial colouring, as the golden colour comes from the mashed pumpkin itself. Above all, these Chinese steamed buns are easy and quick to make and its 100% fail-proof!
Part 1: How To Make Vegetable Turnip Filling For Steamed Bao Buns
To make these vibrant looking buns, we need to first prepare the turnip filling. This filling can actually be prepared ahead of time. Be sure to shred and cut all vegetables into thin and small strips and pieces to ensure they can be easily wrapped in the dough. Saute and stir fry all ingredients till fragrant and are well mixed and seasoned. Leave to cool and we can start to make the buns.
Part 2a: How To Make Dough For Steamed Pumpkin Bao Buns
Before making the dough for the buns, we need to first steam some pumpkin till fork-tender, mashed and leave to cool. To make the dough, place and mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Then add in the mashed pumpkin and slowly pour in preferably cold or room temperature water while mixing (medium speed) with a dough hook attachment till the dough comes together, about 5 minutes. Then add in the shortening and continue to knead till a soft, smooth and elastic dough is formed, about 8 minutes.
Part 2b: How To Assemble and Shape Bao Buns
When the smooth and elastic dough is formed, remove from mixing bowl onto a floured work surface. Form the dough into a log, cut into equal pieces and form into small and smooth balls. Using a small rolling pin, flatten each ball and roll into small circles making the edges thinner than the middle. Then place it on your hand and top with the prepared filling. Pinch and pleat the edges to seal the filling in the buns. Its that easy to assemble and shape a bao bun!
Part 2c: Steaming Pumpkin Turnip Bao Buns. And We’re Done!
Place on parchment paper and leave to proof for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the steamer and steam the buns for 15 mins. Leave the buns on the steamer for about 1 minute before removing to ensure the surface of buns are smooth and free of wrinkle. Then transfer the steamed buns onto a wire rack and served warm.
A Versatile Steamed Bun Recipe That Can Be Made Many Ways and With Any Filling You Like
This steamed pau recipe is very versatile. It can be used for other types of steamed buns that are filled with savoury or sweet fillings. If you prefer steamed white buns, just omit the mashed pumpkin and increase the amount of water, just enough for the dough to come together. Also making these cotton soft and fluffy buns is quite a breeze and effortless especially so when you are using a stand mixer to make the bun dough. So you can have fresh homemade steamed buns anytime you like without much hassle. So Enjoy!
Steamed Pumpkin Turnip Buns 蒸金瓜沙葛包子
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Ingredients
Bun Dough:
- 250 grams pau flour, sifted
- 60 grams sugar
- 60 grams pumpkin, cooked and mashed
- 65 grams water , cold or room temperature, enough to form a soft dough
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tbsp shortening
Filling:
- 400 grams turnip, jicama, yam bean
- 50 grams french beans, sliced thinly
- 50 grams carrot, julienned
- ¼ cup dried prawns, soaked, drained, chopped
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, drained, diced
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken stock granules
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- ½ tsp chinese five spice powder
First remove skin of turnip. Cut into big chunks and shred into thin strips.
Then shred carrot into thin strips and cut french beans into thin slices .
Minced soaked dried prawns and dice soaked dried mushrooms.
Lastly make some hard boiled eggs. Put eggs into a pot. Add water and bring to a rolling boil, uncovered. Then cover the pot and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Transfer into some ice water, remove the egg shells and cut into pieces. Then prepare to fry the fillings.
To fry the turnip filling, first heat up 1 tbsp oil. Then saute chopped dried prawns till fragrant. Add in diced mushroom and season with sugar. Stir fry till fragrant and is well mixed.
Then add in shredded turnip followed by carrot and french beans. Continue to stir fry till the vegetables softened. Add in sesonings and stir fry till well mixed. Remove from wok and leave to cool.
Set aside the turnip filling and cut hard boiled eggs while we prepare to make the bun dough.
Have ready ingredients needed to make the bun dough.
First prepare mashed pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into slices. Steam over high heat for 10 to 20 minutes till the pumpkin is fork-tender and is easily mashed. Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes. Spoon out the flesh and mashed with a fork. Set aside for later use.
To make the bun dough, first place the pau flour, instant yeast, sugar, baking powder in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Mix well using a dough hook attachment. Add in the mashed pumkin and water. Knead till the dough comes together, about 5 minutes.
When dough has come together, add in shortening and continue kneading on medium speed for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough turns soft, smooth, elastic and does not stick to the sides of the mixing bowl or to your fingers. And we're done!
Remove dough from mixing bowl onto a floured surface and briefly knead into a smooth and elastic round dough. Roll the dough into a log and divide into 8 portions, about 50g each.
Work with one small dough portion at a time. Pull and tuck the dough from top to bottom so the seams are at the bottom and the surface is relatively smooth. Roll each dough into a smooth dough in between the palm of your hand. Then using a small rolling pin, roll out each dough ball into thin circles, making the edges thinner than the middle.
Next, spoon fillings into each flattened dough and gather the edges together sealing the bun at the top. Pinch to seal and give it a good twist. Cup the dough with both palms and move the dough in a circular motion to shape it taller. Then put on paper liner/ parchment paper.
Next place the pumpkin turnip buns into a bamboo steamer. Leave to proof at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes to let the dough rise to almost 50% increase in size.
Meanwhile prepare steamer by bringing awater in the wok to a boil. Then place the buns in the bamboo steamer on the wok. Cover and steam the buns over high heat for 15 minutes.
Off the heat and leave the buns for about 3 minutes before uncovering to cool on rack. This is to prevent wrinkle or rough skin. Then transfer the pumpkin buns from bamboo steamer onto a cooling rack. And we are done!
Steamed cotton soft, fluffy and delicious buns are now ready to be served. So Enjoy!
Instructions
Preparing Turnip Filling for Pumpkin Bun:
Preparing Pumpkin Turnip Bun:
Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Notes
- To pleat the bun, the key part is to roll out the dough into a small circle whereby the centre is thicker than the edges as thinner edges are easier to fold and pinch.
- After pleating the buns to seal the filling, place the bun in between both palms and move the bun in a circular motion to shape it taller. This part is important so your steamed buns come out tall instead of spreading to the side after steaming.
- To make sure the buns are ready for steaming, check for these details during proofing:
- *Press gently on the surface of bun and it should slowly bounce back. If it bounces back immediately, it needs to be proofed longer.
- *Also, you can lift the buns up to feel if they are lighter. A well proofed bun will feel much lighter on proofing.
- *Proof till the buns are at least 50% larger than the original size. There is no need to proof till double in size before steaming.
- Steam for 15 minutes for medium size buns or large buns (with no fillings) and 18 minutes for larger size buns with fillings
- After steaming, turn off heat. Leave the buns in the steamer for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not immediately open the lid of the bamboo steamer. Otherwise the buns may sink or wrinkle due to the sudden change in temperature.
- To store steamed buns, first let the buns cool down completely. Then wrap each bun individually in freezer bag and put in freezer without overlapping.
2 comments
May i know if the steamed turnip pumkin bun still soft for the next day?
You can wrap the freshly steamed buns in a plastic after cooling down to room temperature and it will still be soft the next day. You can also keep them in the freezer after cooled to room temperature. And steam when needed. It will be just as soft and fluffy.