Text 18264, 85 rader
Skriven 2011-11-25 10:35:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: adventures nonbaker 260
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Rosemary had not much on hand before our Thanksgiving
shopping: a part of a pork tenderloin that she'd roasted
earlier in the week with a coating of thyme from the
garden, which, as she's on an island in the Atlantic,
is still unfrozen and unsnowed on and still bearing.

I diced the meat up and found some nasty old Ah-So red
barbecue sauce in the back of the fridge to put on it
(it's cornstarch, sugar, vinegar, red coloring, garlic,
and I think coriander seed, and it had been in the
back of the fridge at least since Rosemary's husband
died, 11 years ago, and probably long before that, as
he had not done any cooking in the last two or three
years of his life), doctoring this with sherry and fresh
garlic. Nuked for a minute, this made a reasonable
facsimile of red roast pork.

For one dish I made chow mein with part of a head of
nappa cabbage left over from last time I was here,
3 weeks before, the last half package of thin spaghetti,
ditto, an onion, ditto, and some of this pork. Perfectly
straightforward, something I can do with my eyes closed.

The adventure lies in my deciding to make pork buns with
the remainder. In my just under 60 years on this planet I
have never before made yeast dough before by myself!
always having relied on other people's expertise or that
of the frozen food company. It's dead easy, as it turns
out, or maybe I was beginner's lucky. I took a cup and
half of flour out of the freezer (it had this slight
refrigerator smell, which I hoped would cook out, but it
didn't completely). Proofed half a packet of yeast with
warm water and a tablespoon of sugar (same situation as
the flour), poured it gradually into the flour, with a
sprinkle of salt as well, mixing with a fork, then added
water as needed to make a firm, slightly sticky dough,
which underwent two risings. Then: Rosemary, where's the
steamer? Oh, it went moldy and I threw it away. So plan
B was to make baked baoze:

Roast pork bao
cat: baoze, baodze, bawdz, bow, pau, bread, snack
yield: 6

1 1/2 c flour
1 pn salt
1/4 c warm water
1 Tb (heaped) sugar
1/2 pk active dry yeast
water
6 oz Chinese red roast pork
- or the filling of your choice
6 squares waxed paper, at least 2x2"
1 egg
1 Tb water

Make a pile of flour with a well in the middle on a
greased board. Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt.

Proof half a packet of yeast in warm water with sugar.
When the liquid starts to bubble, gradually add it to
the flour, mixing with a fork the same way you'd do
with egg for pasta. Add water as needed to make a firm,
slightly sticky dough. Knead well until dryish; cover
with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise until
double, about an hour. Knead well again and let rise
a bit more. Cut dough into 6 pieces and roll each out
into a thinnish circle. Into the center, put an ounce
of filling. Bring the edges up to the center over the
filling, crimp or twist to seal, then invert and set
seam side down on a sheet of waxed paper. Cover with
the damp cloth and let rest and rise a while longer.
When ready to bake, make an egg wash and paint the
tops and sides of each bun with it. Bake at 375F for
about 15 minutes or until buns are deep golden brown
on top. I'd have preferred to steam these (no egg
wash), but you gotta do what you gotta do. These
tasted and felt totally exactly like the buns you
buy from the Chinese bakery, except for the slight
whiff of freezer-burned flour.

Source: moi
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