Steamed Pumpkin Muffins

 On a recent trip down to Singapore to visit my adorable nieces, I noticed a lot of steamed muffins being sold.  Aha....this must be the latest food fad in food-fad-mad Singapore.  This is one uniquely Singaporean trait - be it apple strudel, bubble tea, doughnuts, ramen, or Hello Kitty plush toys - come the latest fad, you will find Singaporeans queueing for hours to purchase the product and proudly sharing their find (spoils?) with all and sundry.  Then you'll find restaurants and kiosks sprouting up like lallang after the rain, all selling the same stuff.  And just as sudden as the next thunderstorm, it'll die down when the next new kid on the block comes along.  Economics 101, the law of supply and demand; real-life demo.  To be fair, you do get the same behaviour in Malaysia, but somehow just not as intense and frenzied. 

Steamed buns with yambean filling

I've never been a fan of buns with sweet fillings and I have to politely decline whenever the likes of custard buns, red bean buns or tau sar buns are served at the end of meals.  Savoury buns, now that's another matter altogether.  Having tried my hand at the sweet potato buns the last time, I ventured to savoury filled buns.  These are filled with fried yambean or "bangkuang char".  Think of buns, filled to bursting with vegetables instead of the usual char siew.  There's also the contrast in textures - starting off with the soft fluffy bun, and then biting into the savoury vegetables.  This is a very wholesome snack in itself, and wholly vegetarian if you omit the pork slices in the fried yam bean.  It's also a great way to use any leftover fried yam bean from dinner.  Unless you are planning to feed an army, you don't really need very much fried yam bean.



I shaped them into buns.  Easy-peasy shapes.  Actually, I haven't mastered the pau folding technique, that's why :D

I also used the no-mess method - the trusty bread-maker for the kneading.  You can knead by hand too if you prefer; just takes a little more elbow grease.  This simple recipe is just that - simple.  It was a success the 1st try. The buns steam out like fluffy pillowy clouds, so if that's your cup of oolong then read on...



Recipe : adapted from Corner Cafe by Sea Dragon
Makes approximately 15 steamed buns

Ingredients:

A.  Pau dough:
200ml lukewarm water
2 1/2 cups (375g) pau flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-action baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons oil
Baking paper for base

B.  Filling:
Fried yam bean - click here for recipe in my previous post

Method :
1. Cut baking paper into 4 inch squares and set aside.
2. In breadmaker, pour in the water, then add flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and yeast.  Put into dough mode and start cycle. 
3. After about 10 minutes,dough should be incorporated and coming together.  Pour in the oil bit by bit and continue kneading.  Knead in oil until incorporated. Dough should be smooth, elastic and pliable.  Remove from bread maker.
4. Form the dough into a round ball, in a large covered bowl.  Place in a warm area and let rise until double in size - approximately 1 hour.
5. Punch down, knead briefly and form into a rough log shape. Then divide the dough into 40g each. Form each piece into balls and let rest for 15 minutes, covered loosely with damp tea towel.
6. Roll each ball out into a circle, and fill with a tablespoon of fried yam bean.  Gather the sides up like a parcel and seal by pinching the edges together.   Place each bun on a piece of the prepared baking paper squares. 
7.  Cover the buns loosely with a damp tea towel, and let rise for about 30 minutes. 
8. Steam the buns for about 10-15 minutes.
9. May be stored frozen.  Thaw before using.  For best results, reheat by steaming. 

before sealing the bun

2nd proofing

Notes :

You can use plain white flour instead of pau flour.  The buns will have a yellower tinge.
Double action baking powder works once upon contact with water, and the second time upon contact with heat.  That's how the buns steam up fluffy and soft.  The yeast and baking powder work hand in hand will ensure maximum leavening.
Don't get greedy and over stuff the buns.  Trust me, it will burst.

Using a bamboo steamer gives the best results as it prevents water droplets from condensing onto buns and making them wet.

Potahto, potayto, I say steamed sweet potato buns

As a kid, I grew up eating these home-made steamed flour buns.  My Tua Eee is a dab hand at making these and they'd be coloured pink and shaped like a traditional chinese pillow.  I believe the buns were originally made as altar offerings.  We would have these fluffy little pillows steamed up for breakfast and extras would be packed up to be devoured during school recess time. 

These buns are versatile and can be made plain, flavoured or stuffed with sweet and savoury fillings.
To make these more nutritionally acceptable, I've made them with sweet potatoes.  The buns will come out a light yellow colour.  Did you know how nutritious sweet potatoes are?  They are high in fiber, beta-carotene, and loads of other goodness (source : foodreference.com).  And amongst root vegetables, sweet potatoes have the lowest glycemic index, meaning it digests slower and doesn't spike blood sugar levels.

The yeast and double action baking powder makes the buns pillowy soft - it's a very airy cottony-like bun.  I've used a breadmaker to  do the kneading, but you can hand knead as well - it's just a little messier.  The sweet potatoes make the dough a little stickier.  To make the shapes, I reverted to the simple swiss-roll shape. While I don't always use estimates, in this instance you may have to adjust the water quantity slightly.  I find that 200ml is usually adequate, but sometimes you may need a little bit more to bind.  Just add it bit by bit - don't slosh.

Makes about 20 buns
Ingredients :
200ml water
2 tbsp oil or melted butter
500gm pau flour
250gm sweet potatoes, cleaned
80gm sugar
1 tbsp double action baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
11gm instant yeast
Greaseproof paper - cut into 3"x 4" squares

Method:
1.  Steam the sweet potatoes until soft, peel them and then mash with a fork or potato masher.
2.  Put the rest of the ingredients together with the sweet potato into the breadmaker and knead about 20 minutes. 
3.  The dough is ready for proofing when it is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky.
4.  Cover and leave to proof in a warm place till double in size, approximately 60 minutes.
5.  Punch down the dough, and divide into 50gm portions.
6.  Lightly flour the workspace, roll each portion out with a rolling pin and fold into 3rds.  Roll it out again and roll it up like a swiss roll.  Place on greaseproof paper.  To see illustration of this, refer to previous post on Tanzhong Method - Bread.
7.  Proof another 45 - 60 minutes or until double the size.
8.  Ensure the water is boiling before you place buns into steamer.  Steam over high heat for 13 - 15 minutes.
9.  Serve hot, preferably with some hot kopi.
10. The buns can be re-heated by steaming again.  If you wish, they can be kept frozen and then steamed up again.

sweet potatoes after steaming

shaped buns waiting to proof

Notes :
1.  Pau flour can be substituted with any low-protein flour or all-purpose flour.  Do not use bread flour for this.  Pau flour makes the buns whiter which is irrelevant when using sweet potatoes.
2.  I used orange sweet potatoes, but you can use any coloured ones. To check for doneness, pierce with a fork and if the fork goes through, it is cooked.
3.  Double action baking powder reacts twice to help with the rising.  Once upon contact with water, and the second time upon contact with heat from the steam.
4.  If using a non-bamboo steamer, you may find pock marks on the buns from the water condensation.  So gently remove the pot cover when opening to minimise the water droplets falling onto the buns.