Meat Dragon (the lazy person's bao)

By Chinese Cooking Demystified · 120 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, salt and instant yeast. Add the water and stir until it forms grainy bits, then press into a ball.
2. Knead on a work surface for 5-6 minutes until fairly smooth. Return to the bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour.
3. Soak the Sichuan peppercorns in 6 tbsp hot water and let cool, covered. Discard the peppercorns before using the water.
4. Peel the Welsh onion and ginger. Halve the Welsh onion lengthwise, cut each half into 4 pieces, then mince into 1/2 cm pieces. Mince the ginger.
5. Cut the pork into slivers, then dice, then mince into a paste.
6. Add all the filling seasonings except the Welsh onion and sesame oil, along with the Sichuan peppercorn water. Stir in one direction for a couple of minutes until sticky.
7. Add the Welsh onion and sesame oil, mix well and set aside.
8. Press the dough flat with your palm and mark a cross with a rolling pin at the centre. Roll lengthwise, turn 90 degrees, and roll widthwise, keeping the edges squared into a rectangle.
9. Roll until the sheet is about 40 cm long, 25 cm wide and 2-3 mm thick. Spread the filling evenly over the sheet, leaving 2 cm at the far end and 3-4 cm on the other sides.
10. Roll the sheet up tightly, starting from the far end, folding and patting down as you go to the side without filling. Twist the log 90 degrees, fold the bare dough over the log, and pinch closed from the centre toward both ends. Press both ends with a rolling pin to seal, and trim the ends if you like.
11. Line a steamer with a dry cloth or holed parchment. Place the log in it in a curl. Cover and rest for 20 minutes over 35°C water.
12. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once steam comes out, turn to medium-high and steam for 20 minutes.
13. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the dragon to a board and cut along the curl into 4-5 cm pieces.

Summarized from Chinese Cooking Demystified's video. Watch it for the details.

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