Steamed Beef Buns

 

Serves 6

For the braised beef:

1kg beef brisket (boneless)

1 cup soy sauce

1 beef stock cube

600ml water

1/2 cup oyster sauce

2 Tbs 5-spice 

1/2 cup sugar

1 Chilli, halved

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 Tbs grated ginger

Handful of chopped fresh coriander

For the bun dough:

3 cups cake flour

10g active dry yeast

1/4 cup sugar 

1/4 cup sunflower oil

About 2 cups warm water

2 tsp baking powder

Baking paper for steaming

Preheat oven to 180c

Place the beef into a roasting dish.

In a bowl, combine soy, stock cube, water, oyster sauce, 5-spice, sugar, Chilli, garlic, ginger and coriander then whisk until sugar and stock cube dissolve.

Pour liquid over the beef, cover with foil, then roast for 1.5 hours.

Remove the foil, then roast for another 1.5 hours.

Remove the beef from the cooking liquid and set aside. 

Strain the liquid to remove any bits of aromatics, then skim off any excess fat.

Chop the beef into small pieces, then pour over enough sauce to coat the meat. Save any leftover sauce to use for dipping.

To make the dough, mix together the flour, yeast and sugar.

Add the oil and enough water to form a soft dough.

Knead dough until smooth and elastic (it will take about 10 minutes).

Place into an oiled bowl, cover, then leave to rise until doubled in size.

Once risen, knock dough back to original size. Sprinkle baking powder into the surface, then knead into the dough.

Divide the dough into quarters, then roll each into a 2cm thick log. Cut the log into 2cm pieces, then roll each piece into a circle.

Place a spoonful of beef into the centre of each dough circle, pinch and gather the edge to meet at the top, then crimp and close to form into a bun with the seal at the top.

Prepare a steaming basket, cut pieces of baking paper to fit the steamer, then cut holes in the paper to ensure the steam flows through.

Add the buns to the steamer (make sure the bottom of the steaming basket doesn’t touch the water). Steam the buns for 6 minutes until puffed and cooked through, the dumplings will split and open on the top during steaming – that’s the baking powder working.

Serve fresh as soon as they come out of the steamer.