Napa Cabbage and Pork Steamed Buns 白菜豬肉包子

Ingredients

Makes 8 buns

Prefermented dough - Mix the following ingredients well, cover with a lid and let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour

• 165g water
• 200g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Final dough

• all prefermented dough
• 100g all-purpose flour
• 10g sugar
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Filling

• 200g napa cabbage
• 1 tbsp salt (for salting the cabbage only)
• 200g ground pork
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp rice wine
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 white pepper
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp ginger, minced
• 1 bag (50g) vermicelli, soaked and chopped
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method

Prepare the filling:

1. In a bowl, sprinkle salt on napa cabbage and let it sit for 20 minutes. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix the water, rice wine, soy sauce with the ground pork, and stir well with a pair of chopsticks for about 2 minutes. Set aside.
3. After 20 minutes, drain the cabbage, and squeeze out any excess water as much as possible.
4. Mix the cabbage, white pepper, sesame oil, ginger, vermicelli, scallions, salt with the seasoned ground pork.
5. Refrigerate the filling while preparing for the dough.

Prepare the buns

1. Mix the final dough ingredients together until well blended. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes.
2. Roll the dough into a cylinder 16" long, and cut into 2" pieces (8 pieces in total.)
3. Roll each piece into a ball. 
4. Work with one piece at a time; cover those not being used with a damp cloth.
5. Press a ball down lightly, then roll into a 4" circle.
6. Place 2 tbsp filling in center of the circle.
7. Bring up sides to cover filling and meet on top, pinch and seal closed with a twist.  Repeat for all 8. I made two different baozi shapes with the same filling.
8. Place the buns on the square baking papers. (Cut the parchment paper in squares slightly bigger than the buns.)
9. Spread the buns on the steamer and pour some warm water in the bottom of the steamer. Cover the steamer, and let the buns rise for 15 minutes. 
10. After the final rise, turn on the steamer and steam the buns for 17 minutes until it's cooked. 
11. Serve immediately.