BAMBOO STEAMED FISH RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. To make the filling, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger. Pick the coriander leaves and set aside, then finely slice the stalks. Heat a splash of groundnut oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the garlic, ginger and coriander stalks. Fry for around 3 minutes, or until golden. Slice the mushrooms, then add to the pan for around 5 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
  2. Add the vinegar, chilli sauce and soy, then cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the liquid has boiled and bubbled away and the mushrooms are golden brown and starting to caramelise. Transfer to a bowl.
  3. Trim and finely slice the spring onions, then add the white part to the bowl. Deseed and finely slice the chilli, then add half to the bowl, reserving the rest for later. Stir in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, then set aside.
  4. Add the coconut milk, 2 heaped tins’ worth of flour and a good pinch of sea salt to a food processor. Whiz to a dough, then transfer to a flour-dusted surface and roll into a thick sausage. Cut into 12 equal-sized pieces, roll into balls, then flatten into rounds, roughly ½cm thick.
  5. Equally divide the mushroom mixture between each of the 12 dough circles (you'll need roughly 1 tablespoon of filling per circle), making sure to leave a 2cm gap around the edges. Pull and fold the sides over the filling, pinching the edges together to seal. Place upside-down (so the scruffy edges are underneath) in double-layered, lightly greased muffin cases and divide between two bamboo steamer baskets.


  6. Place a wok over a high heat, then fill with 1 litre of boiling water and pop the steamer baskets on top. Reduce the heat to medium and steam for around 12 minutes, or until piping hot through and puffed up.
  7. Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Once the buns are ready, sprinkle over the seeds and the reserved spring onions and chilli. Tear the coriander leaves on top, then serve with hoisin sauce for dipping.

Steps:

• Prepare warm water around 35 °C and melt the sugar in. And mix the yeast with the water. Mix well and set aside for around 5 minutes. If you do not want sugar, just skip it.
• Place salt and flour in a large bowl. Pour the water with yeast slowly to the bowl with flour and stir with a chopstick.
• Then knead the flour into smooth and soft dough. At the very beginning, it might be a little bit sticky. Or you can simple resort to a stand mixer.
• Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for around 1 hour or until the paste ball doubles in size.
• When the dough is double in size, get paste ball out, dust the operating board and re-knead the dough for 3-4 minutes until the dough becomes almost smooth again. Divide the dough into two parts, keep kneading and shape each part into 1 inch thick long log.
• Remove the two ends and use a very sharp knife to cut the log to smaller pieces (around 2 cm wide). Try to keep the original shape. Place the buns to a lined steamer one by one. Leave some space among each one as the buns rise after steaming.
• Add cold water to your wok or steel steamer. Cover the lid and rest for 10 minutes in summer and around 20 minutes in winter or until the bun becomes fluffy again.
• Use high fire to bring the water to a boil and continue to steam for around 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the size of your buns).
• Remove off the fire and wait for around 5 minutes before opening the lid. Serve warm or re-steam to soften before serving.