How to Make Bao Buns
my first week in Goa
It’s 10 p.m. on a Monday and I am eating leftover rumali roti from class. Today we learned a little bit about oil-free cooking and how to play around with textures and colors with fresh and smokey flavors like marinated tofu and green spinach gravy. Cooking in front of an instructor is so strange because you’re always stuck between following a recipe exactly as demonstrated or experimenting and failing in front of an audience. The benefit of option 1 is that the chances of messing up are low, and it’s likely that your final product will come together pretty well. The downside is that you are recreating exactly what you’ve seen demonstrated and had the chance to taste, so it’s no fun. Option 2 is interesting because cooking intuitively feels like some sort of culinary high, and. you can create something new and better than the original recipe. Downside: you probably won’t most of the time, and an entire class is there to taste test your failure.
I still haven’t made Munish’s curry. I can’t find brussels sprouts at the local grocery store and I’m not sure what to replace them with.
Here it is, since I’ve been talking about it so much:
Munish’s Brussels Sprouts Curry -5 tbsps mustard oil medium heat till foam go away -1 tsp cumin seeds -1 onion, medium, cook till brown -1 tomato, cook for 1 minute -3 scoops salt -2 scoops turmeric -1 scoop chili powder Mix it and keep for 2 mins Add brussels sprouts Pan - 10% filled with water Heat it till brussels sprouts soften *Try with yogurt and chapatti (wheat roti/bread)
Things to note:
I’m not sure if he was referring to tablespoons or teaspoons when he was telling me about his go-to dinner, since he kept saying “scoops”. Also, I bought some mustard oil and it has such a strong flavor. I might adjust it a bit this week. Maybe with eggplants?
Until then, here’s a recipe that I know works…
Chinese Bao Buns.
I made them last week and am having recurring dreams about balls of dough and vegan mayonnaise.
Let’s begin.
We’ve been practicing mise en place, a French technique that involves many many dishes and more patience than I came to India with. Before cooking, we measure all of our ingredients and separate them into bowls so when you start you can jump right in without having to pick up a measuring spoon. It seems like a pain in the ass, and it kind of is, but I can’t knock it. It’s nice to have all of your ingredients pre-measured and ready to add once you’re in the zone.
For the buns, you’ll need
Yeast 1 tbsp
Sugar ½ tsp
Water 40 ml (lukewarm)
Make sure your water is lukewarm. It should feel like bathwater 30 minutes in. Kind of nice, but you wish it was hotter. Add your sugar and stir a few times to dissolve the granules. Then add your yeast, stir again, and cover for 10 minutes. I don’t know what kind of yeast is living in India but the stuff we used in class ate that sugar UP. It was so foamy after 10 minutes that the bubbles rose above the mouth of the bowl. So if you get no foam at all, either your yeast is deceased and you’ll need some new stuff, or your idea of bathwater 30 minutes in does not match up with my idea of bathwater 30 minutes in.
Next
Flour 200gm (Red Lotus if you can find it, otherwise all-purpose)
Water 100 ml (room temperature)
Baking soda Pinch
Neutral oil 1 tsp (canola, sunflower, or coconut works here)
Pinch of salt
Add your pre-measured ingredients to a bowl along with the foamy yeast, and mix until well combined. Using your hands, start to knead the dough in the bowl until the ball begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Use some more flour to lightly dust the surface of your workspace and start to knead your dough on the counter. After about 5 minutes, the gluten in the flour with strengthen and you’ll see the dough change from sticky to pillowy. Almost marshmallow-like? Brush your original mixing bowl with some oil, add the dough ball, and brush the top of it with a little more oil. Wrap your bowl in cling wrap at let it rise for 1:30 hrs.
For the filling
Garlic, minced 4 cloves
Ginger, minced 1/2 inch
Spring onions 20g (thinly sliced)
Hoisin sauce 5 tbsp
Sriracha 1 tbsp
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Light soy sauce 1 tbsp
Sesame oil ½ tbsp
Firm tofu 150g, sliced
Tapioca starch 2 tbsps
Neutral oil 1 tbsp
Lime juice ½ tbsp
Green chili 1 (minced)
Water ¼ cup
Roasted peanuts. 3 tbsp, chopped
Add tapioca starch and sliced firm tofu to a container with a lid and shake to coat. In a bowl, add all of your remaining ingredients expect neutral oil and mix well. Heat up a sauce pan over medium and add your oil and coated tofu. Cook until golden, about 5-8 minutes. Once the starch has browned and the tofu looks crispy, add your sauce and cook over medium low for another 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Back to dough…
Once it has doubled in size, return dough ball to floured work surface and divide it into 6 equal pieces. You can roll these into oval shapes and fold them in half, or roll them into balls. Once rolled. cover all 6 with a wet cloth and let them sit for another 30 minutes. I added sesame seeds to mine. Then, add 1 or 2 inches of water to a small pot and bring to boil. Using a bamboo steamer or metal steamer, place your risen and rolled dough onto the steamer and add to pot. Cover and let buns steam for 4-6 minutes.
I like these with crunchy fillings, like thinly sliced carrots and cabbage, cucumber, radish kimchi, micro greens, crunchy fried onion, potato chips…
And I paired mine with spicy mayo, which is just 1/4 cup of vegan mayo and 1 or 2 tablespoons of chili sauce or sriracha. They are heavenlyyy.
All in all, Goa has been great, and culinary school has been great, and I love who I’m surrounded by and all of the new things I’m learning. About food, yes, but also about how people interact with each other when they’re working as a team, how quickly we connect with people when the options are limited, how affectionate and warm I find India to be (which is taking a while to grow on me — the touchiness. I don’t remember growing up with much of it but there’s something so nice about someone placing their hand on your arm when you’re speaking to them and kissing you goodbye even though you’ll see them tomorrow).
I took a yoga class today with three other women that I didn’t know and an instructor that didn't speak English and thought I was a lot more flexible than I really am. She took progress videos for me? She also thought I was Russian. Very strange.
It’s 11:40 now. Goodnight from Goa.
Let me know if you try the buns.
imma have to try Munish’s curry, sounds🤌