Red Bean Bun (Mantou)
There are many kinds of buns, but I only love eating the red bean buns made by my mom π©π» because they are really delicious! π I remember that my mom π©π» spends quite a long time making red bean filling! She always prepares the filling a day before making the buns! π₯° If you find it too troublesome to make red bean filling, you can replace it with other fillings like vegetable, meat, or three delicacies fillings. They are also fine! π€ Or you can buy red bean filling from the supermarket, but supermarket fillings are often too sweet and contain too many additives. Homemade red bean filling tastes better as you can control the sugar content. Too sweet fillings aren't tasty either. We don't like overly sweet foods, so we usually make the filling ourselves π€.
Ingredients
Steps
Prepare the flour and add sugar, then mix well.
Add yeast and mix well, then add baking soda and mix well. (Note: Sugar, yeast, and baking soda are mixed in sequence, not all at once. My mom says this step is very important.) For convenience, I didn't dissolve the sugar and yeast in water; I just added them directly to the flour, so the dough may feel grainy. Don't worry, this won't matter after fermentation. (If you're diligent, you can dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water separately first.)
Prepare warm water, but don't pour it all in at once because the amount required depends on the water temperature and the flour's absorption. Add water gradually while stirring with chopsticks.
Once the mixture looks clumpy and there's no dry flour visible, stop adding water. Knead it into a dough!
I usually stop kneading when it looks like this π€ (My dough is not smooth. If you want smoother buns, knead for another half hour as if washing clothes, until the dough is smooth without visible holes when sliced. This will result in smoother and finer steamed buns. However, because I don't have enough strength, I usually stop here. The buns still taste just as good.π)
Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let it proof for 2 hours (proof faster under sunlight).
After two hours!!!
After proofing, it should look like this...
Then deflate and knead to make a smooth dough like this.
Cover it to prevent drying. Meanwhile, prepare a pot and add water to it.
Cut the large dough into two halves, roll each into a long strip, and cut into even small portions.
As shown in the picture.
Roll each portion gently into a round ball β.
Roll into thick disks and wrap the red bean filling inside.
Line the pot with steamer cloth (optional) and place the buns one by one inside, as shown.
When placing them, make sure not to crowd them because they will expand while steaming...
Stack two steamers, cover with a lid, and proof for another 8-10 minutes.
Turn on high heat to boil the water, then place the steamers on top. Cover with a layer of steamer cloth, as shown, to prevent water from dripping onto the buns during steaming.
When it starts steaming (as shown), turn the heat to low and steam for 20 minutes. Then turn off the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes.
Hot and fragrant red bean buns are ready! Take them out and enjoy... π€π€π€
The world's most delicious red bean-stuffed buns! π€π€π€
Handmade red bean filling with visible red bean grains, thin skin, thick filling, rich red bean flavor, not too sweet or greasyβjust perfect!!! I ate two right after steaming π€π€π€