Sweet Steamed Buns

There are a variety of sweet fillings for the steamed buns (baozi) that are usually eaten for breakfast. Like the other baozi recipes on this blog, these can be made ahead and frozen, then resteamed from the frozen state. equipment: 24 squares of wax or parchment paper, 2×2″ steamer: for this recipe, if you have been [...]

Savory Pancakes

This dish makes a great appetizer – you can serve it with soy sauce or a 1:1 mixture of soy sauce and hoisin or oyster sauce. I use shrimp in this basic recipe, but it’s a great way to use up tiny bits of leftovers: chicken, pork, bacon, beef, vegetables. Whatever addition you choose to [...]

Scallion Loaf

Getting tired of rice with Chinese food? This savory loaf makes an excellent accompaniment for Chinese dishes, it contains less fat than scallion pancakes, it’s baked instead of fried (so you have time to do other things while it cooks), and it makes a great savory breakfast as well! ingredients: 1 recipe yeast dough 1 [...]

Mandarin Pancakes

These thin pancakes are most often used for serving mooshu style dishes and Peking duck, but they make a great wrap for just about any stirfry, such as Vegetable Stirfry Wearing a Hat. The simplest way to make this is to use the food processor, in which case you may need less water than indicated. [...]

Vegetable-Stuffed Steamed Buns

We often buy frozen steamed buns at our local Asian market, but a special treat is to have the homemade version. The vegetable-filled version, cai bao,  makes a great savory breakfast. equipment: 24 squares of wax or parchment paper, 2×2″ steamer: for this recipe, if you have been rigging up a steamer as I discussed [...]

Lotus Leaf Buns

A nice variation on the plain Steamed Buns – the result looks a little like a Chinese croissant! You can take this recipe a step further and add a filling to the bun when you fold it over (sweet or savory would work) – just be sure not to add too much, or it will [...]

Steamed Buns with Sugar

This is simple recipe for buns that you can make ahead and freeze, then quickly steam to reheat – served with a little warm soy milk, it’s a great quick breakfast for kids (of all ages) on cold mornings. The kids can also get involved in the making of the buns – no intricate coordination [...]

Mantou – Steamed Chinese Buns

This recipe used the basic Yeast Dough from my previous post and is the simplest preparation for the steamed buns that are often eaten for breakfast with hot, sweetened soy milk and sometimes a dab of fermented beancurd or chili paste. When I studied in Taiwan, most kids grabbed this breakfast from a street vendor [...]

Yeast Dough

Much of China features rice as its staple ingredient for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But in the northern part of the country, wheat products (mianshi) are much more prevalent and this is where many of the breads, rolls, noodles, and dumplings hail from. This basic yeast dough recipe can be made into a number of [...]