Fullbean Recipes - Steamed Rice Buns


Rice Buns

I enjoy making steamed buns, aka Gua Bao and have had good success when I rely on wheat flour.
My recipe for those buns is available here
However, my wife has a wheat allergy so I tried making the steamed buns substituting rice flour for wheat.

Far too cheap to buy commercial rice flour, I attempted to grind my own using a Vitamix blender.
My flour came out grainy and the buns were a disappointment.
I reasoned that if I had a dedicated flour grinder, I would get better results so I purchased a Wondermill electric grain mill grinder.
Sure, I spent over $300 but I was getting a lifetime tool and could easily recoup the price of my purchase if I lived to be 100 years old and ground a lot of grain.
For the recipe below, I ground the glutinous rice and the Basmati rice with the Wondermill using the finest grind, pastry.

Below are the steps that I followed
Proof the yeast
10 gr instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
4 Tbsp water at 115° F
After 10 minutes the mixture should be foamy and bubbly, which indicates that the yeast is still active.
If it doesn't after 10 minutes, the yeast is no longer working and you need to get a new one before proceeding with the recipe

Dry ingredients for the dough
176 gr cornstarch plus more for dusting as needed.
86 gr tapioca starch
90 gr glutinous rice flour
100 gr rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
60 gr sugar

Wet ingredients for the dough
160 ml of milk. Start with 130 ml, adding more if needed for a Play-doh-like consistency
60 ml cooking oil

Preparing the meat filling
I did not follow the recipe offered by the source (Linked below)
Instead, I used my own recipe for cooking pork in an Instant Pot
See my complete Instant Pot recipe here
The meat-filling ingredients are as follows
1½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 lb. pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
2 cups boiling water
2 teaspoons of Hondashi powder
3 tablespoons Miso paste
1 onion cut into quarters
Once that the pork finished cooking, I shredded it and added 2 oz of sweet soy sauce
I then chilled the pork until I was ready to stuff the buns

Instructions for Preparing the Dough
Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl to mix them up. Add the yeast mixture.
Then gradually add the water/milk and oil and stir to roughly mix. Don't add all the water/milk yet
Start with about 160 ml of it and gradually add. This is important as different brand of flour may have slightly different liquid absorption capacity.
Use one of your clean hands to knead it into a dough.
The dough should feel a bit wet and moist but not sticky to your fingers.
If the dough feels dry, cracking and falls apart, add a bit more liquid, a teaspoon at a time until it comes together.
It should feel like a "Play-doh". The dough doesn't have any elasticity

First proofing until doubles in size
Cover and put the dough in a warm place. I put mine in the oven and use the "bread proof" function.
It took a bit over 1 hour for the dough to double in size. Don't go by time.
It may be faster or longer depending on the temperature
Shape and fill the dough:
Scoop the proofed dough out onto a working surface, lightly dusted with cornstarch.
Use your clean hands to gather the dough back into one large dough and then divide into 8 equal portions.
Keep them covered and work with one dough at a time
Prepare a small cup of water next to you in case you need it to help you shape the dough.
Roll the dough into a round ball and then use your thumb to gently press it in and then to the side to form a bowl
Put the filling inside the cavity. Gently mold the dough to seal the filling.
If at any point the dough feels dry and crackly, dab the dough with a bit of water and then roll it into a smooth round ball.
Place this on parchment paper and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
Side Notes
I found it impossible to shape the buns for stuffing. They did not hold together. Perhaps they were too dry
My work-around was to form each bun on a piece of parchment paper held in my hand.
I then squeezed the dough around the filling and placed it in the steamer whose trays were also lined with parchment paper

Steaming
Get the steamer ready by bringing the water in the steamer to a rolling boil.
Place the shaped buns inside a steaming basket or on a steaming rack.
If you have a 3-tiered steamer, you can steam them all at once.
Otherwise, you need to steam in batches. Lower the heat to medium and let the buns steamed for 12 minutes.
After 12 minutes, turn off the heat and wait for an additional 12 minutes before opening the lid
Remove the steamed buns from the steamer and place them on a cooling rack.
This is to prevent the bottom of the steamed buns from getting soggy from trapped condensation at the bottom


Yield: 10 buns

Serve
Gluten-free steamed buns (or any steamed buns gluten-free or not) are best served warm.
Gluten-free steamed buns will harden considerably when they have cooled down completely and after refrigeration.
Simply reheat in a microwave or in the steamer and they will be as good as new

Source (modified) https://whattocooktoday.com/gluten-free-chinese-steamed-buns.html
If you prefer wheat-based steamed buns, see my recipe here

coffee bean imageReturn to the Fullbean Recipes Main Page