Mantou 饅頭 (Chinese Steamed Buns)

When I was younger, I often did resent my parents wanting me to learn Chinese on top of both Malay (Malaysian national language)and English.

Not until many years later, as I stand next to shelves full of cookbooks written in Chinese in the Chinese section of the Kinokuniya bookstore in Sydney, am I thankful that my parents - especially my dad - insisted that their children should learn how to read and write their mother tongue.

I have learnt many authentic traditional Asian cooking techniques from these cookbooks written in Chinese. Very rarely you see them being translated into English.

Mantou is a Chinese steamed bun. These buns, together with other wheat products such as noodles, are the daily staple for Chinese people living in the northern parts of China. Rice is the regular staple for Chinese people in the southern regions of China. A difference in climate is the reason for this: wheat grows in a colder climate while rice requires a warmer climate to grow.

Most of the Chinese immigrants into Malaysia were originally from the southern regions. This, combined with the tropical climate and the indigenous culture of Malaysia, makes rice the single most important ingredient in the Malaysian-Chinese diet.

Mantou, therefore, is not what we make at home regularly. It's often served in Chinese restaurants accompanying dishes such as the popular Singapore chilli mud crabs / prawns or braised pig trotters to soak up the sauce from these delicious dishes.

Mantou are often served freshly steamed or deep-fried. It's versatile as you can eat it on its own; as an accompaniment to savoury dishes or congee; as breakfast with a sweet (kaya, custard or azuki bean paste) or a savoury filling (pork belly, char siu or pork floss); or even as a dessert.

My favourite way to eat these steamed buns is to deep-fry them until golden and puffed and then dip them into condensed milk.

A good mantou should have a smooth and puffed surface with a soft and fluffy texture when you break it to open. A good recipe is hard to come by and I am happy that I have a fab one to share with you today.

Mantou 饅頭 (Chinese Steamed Buns) Recipe
Makes 8

Ingredients

5 g instant dried yeast
250 ml water
500 g all purpose flour
25 g caster sugar
1 tsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Dissolve dried yeast in water in a small bowl.
2. Mix all ingredients in the bowl of electric mixer. With the dough hook attached with low speed, knead the dough until it's smooth, around 10 minutes.

   

3. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and lay it on a slightly floured surface.
4. Roll out the dough to a 70 cm x 15 cm rectangle.

   

5. Perform a three-fold as pictured.

   

6. Roll it out again to a 45 cm x 25 cm rectangle.

   

7. Brush the surface with water with a pastry brush.

   

8. Roll out the dough tightly from the longer edge to form a log.

   

9. Use a bread knife to slice the log into 8 pieces.

   

10. Cut 8 square pieces of baking paper, slightly larger than the bun.
11. Lay the buns on the square baking papers.

    

12. Spread the buns on the steamer and pour some cold water in the bottom of the steamer. Cover the steamer, and let them rise for 20 minutes. (If you don't have a multi-layer steamer and you can't fit all the buns in your single layer steamer, cover the rest of buns in a slightly damp tea towel for them to rise.)

    

13. After the final rise, turn on the steamer and steam the buns for 20 minutes (15 minutes with preheated steamer) until it's puffed and cooked.
14. Serve immediately or deep-fry them. You can freeze the leftover once they are completely cold. You can keep them in the freezer for 3 months. You can reheat them by steaming them for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the freezer.