奶黃包 aka Steamed Custard Buns @ Twenty-Something

This morning was my first attempt at making my own steamed custard buns. I consulted my dad awhile ago on the process but had long forgotten what he said. So I had to look up the recipe on the internet (thanks Google). I looked at a few websites and most said that it is the same process as steaming 曼頭 (man tou) plus the custard.

The Custard Part:

Since I didn't feel like converting kg to the regular tsp,tbsp,cup measurements that I am used to, I decided to create my own custard recipe.

1. Mix 2 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk to 3 tbsp of vanilla pudding

2. On medium heat, stir 1 1/2 cups of whole milk (none of that 1/2 & 1/2 of skim milk business) until warm. On low heat, stir in 1/2 cup of sugar and melt in 1/2 stick of butter.

3. After everything in #2 is melted, turn the heat back to medium, and stir in #1.

4. When it starts to bubble, turn off the heat and let sit for about 45 minutes. It needs to be cooled down before you fill in the buns.

The Bun Part:

1. Add 1/4 cup of warm water to one packet of yeast. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the yeast to 2 1/2 cups of sifted all purpose flour.

3. Then slowly add about 1 1/4 cup of warm water and mix well.

4. Put saran wrap over the bowl and wait for the dough to rise to about double the size.

5. After the dough rises, take it out of the bowl and start to knead the dough to push all the air pockets out.

Now depending on how big you want your custard buns to be, rip a medium size chunk of dough and knead it flat into a 4 inch diameter circle. Place however much custard you want inside and then fold the sides of the dough to the center. If you can't fold the sides together without the custard staying inside than you either scoop in too much custard or your dough was not big enough in diameter. If you can keep the custard inside than proceed to make your next 3,4, 5...10...whatever. Place the almost custard bun into the steamer for about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and take the cover off of the steamer. Then you have your very own steamed custard bun.

For my first attempt at this, I think I did pretty well. The bun tasted fine and the custard was surprisingly good. It didn't exactly look the way I had pictured it to look, but it was good.